Summer Movies (and other updates)

This week was the first of the kids' summer movies at Harkins. It was about 10 days after my surgery, and I was still pretty sore, but determined to take them! It felt great to have a "date" with my kids, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Even Tegan, who spent her very first movie sleeping, eating, and sucking away on her binky, couldn't have been more content. Our plans for the summer are tentative (because plans change, this we know) but God willing, I am looking forward to the next nine weeks of movies with my babies.

The boys have been keeping themselves good and busy, despite the craziness of the past several weeks. Everett turned 4, and had a blast at his party. He was lucky enough to have another cake and celebration one week later. I'd been sick for his first one, and missed him blowing out the candles. He's been very into helping us cook, and loves getting the crockpot loaded up for dinner. Everett has his first crush too, on a 14 year old actress named Miranda Cosgrove. Cute.






Paxton has alternately been playing on the computer, and reading his way through a bunch of Beverly Cleary books. His latest was Mouse and Motorcycle, one I remember clearly enjoying when I was a kid. I was watching him finish it up the other day, and I had such a surreal moment of re-living my own childhood, while at the same time marveling that I now have 4 children of my own. How did that happen?

Spencer has been hard to keep up with! He's been in an inventing mood, and is often coming to me to talk through his latest ideas. A few weeks ago, he decided to take a vow of silence, and kept up with it a full 48 hours. He carried around a little chalkboard (after he exhausted his supply of note paper) and wrote down everything he wanted to say. I was impressed at how long he stuck with it, and weirded out by how quiet the house was. Yesterday he found a caterpillar and, along with Paxton and Everett, he spent an entire afternoon making a home for it, getting it food and water, and just checking to make sure it was still ok. It now lives in a converted tupperware container on top of the tarantula's cage, next to the scorpion.

And Tegan, my little smush. She is laughing now, a lot, and no one can make her laugh harder than her big brothers! She is bright eyed and curious and loves playing with her toys, Daddy's watch, her clothes, her binky, whatever is in her line of sight. She almost never naps - life's just too exciting for that! - but she sleeps ALL night. And she has a new thing she does for comfort when she's tired or nursing. She grabs a fistful of hair on either side of her head. It's very sweet to see, but is quickly giving her bald patches! She is, and continues to be, a little ray of sunshine.

Lego Guys

The boys have been on a big lego kick lately. Their legos have joined the matchbox cars in the daily free-for-all dumping of toys on the family room carpet. They informed me a few days ago that they needed more guys ("guys" meaning the men, women, helmets and hairdos, and various body parts that have become separated from their torsos over the years) On Friday, we watched a few auctions on Ebay, and are now the proud owners of 40 more guys - and various accessories - for the bargain price of $32. All three boys pitched in $15 collectively, and I paid the rest.

So what did our $32 buy? Fun, enjoyment, relaxation? Check, check, check. But more importantly, it bought a moment with my kids. Not just after they arrive in the mail either. As we searched the auctions together, read the descriptions, looked at the pictures, watched the prices go up, they knew in that moment that the most important thing in the world to me was them. They knew in that moment that nothing else mattered to me but their happiness.

When you boil it all down, homeschooling (and parenting, and life) isn't about the "big" stuff. It's about living and breathing in the moment. It's about meeting your kids exactly where they are, and really BEING there with them. It's about the lego guys.

Easter, derbies, and gallbladders

I made a slideshow of Easter pictures. Some of them were taken before we discovered Mike's car had been stolen from the driveway... some were afterwards, but before it was recovered... some were before my second gallbladder attack of the morning... and some were after all of the above. It was an eventful morning.

Last weekend was the boys' pinewood derby, and they both came home happy. Spencer's car got third place for his den, and earned him a spot in the finals. Paxton's won for "Coolest Design."





And finally, we are moving forward with my official gallbladder diagnosis and treatment. I had an abdominal ultrasound yesterday, so I would have results for when I meet with the surgeon. I have to say, ultrasounds are not nearly as exciting when you're not looking at a baby. It's good to be closer to a resolution though, as I'm in almost constant pain now. We will all be breathing big sighs of relief when this is all behind us.

Life as we know it

The past five and a half weeks have been in turns painfully slow and incredibly fast. They've been amazing. Tiring. Sweet. Frustrating. Joyful.

Tegan is, just as we imagined, the final piece in the puzzle of our family. She just FITS. We never thought we'd have a girl, and certainly hadn't planned from the start to have four children. I thank God that He put it on my heart to have another, because of course now I couldn't imagine our lives without her! I'm looking at her both in awe and with a strange, matter-of-fact sense of peace. It's a feeling of "Oh, so *you're* the one that's been missing all this time."

The boys are all both doting on her and adjusting in their own ways. Everett adores being a big brother, and loves showering Tegan with constant hugs, kisses, and general in-her-face affection. He's been extra affectionate with me and Mike as well, and frequently needing reassurance of his place in the family. Paxton surprised me by not only being completely smitten with his new sister, but also finding huge amounts of joy in picking out her clothes. Where Everett seems to be clinging to us more tightly, Paxton is doing the opposite. While not exactly pulling away, he's been spending more time on his own, and playing independently on the computer more often. I'm finding if I don't really seek him out a little bit, we often don't truly connect until the end of the day. As for Spencer... like the others, he just adores the baby. It's been hard to figure out what he needs from us though, as each day has been markedly different from the one before it. We're just trying to navigate the ups and downs as they come.

And Mike and I, well, we're fast becoming reaquainted with the world of gummy smiles; sweet newborn noises; and warm, sleepy, bundles of pure squish..... as well as sleepless nights; spit-up on shoulders; eating dinner in shifts; and wrestling noodle-like limbs into tiny onesies. And since the earth doesn't stop turning just because you have a baby, we're also keeping running with appointments and work and Cub Scouts and LIFE (which at the moment includes the pain, stress, and frustration of my ongoing gall bladder issues; and the accompanying HMO scheduling snafus) Still, I look at these faces and it's all beyond worth it. It's a good day to be a mom.

Introducing Tegan Faith

The birth story:

We got to the hospital at a little bit before 7. It was a very strange and surreal feeling, since we'd never had a scheduled induction before! We got all registered and settled in, and they started the pitocin at quarter till 8. We were instantly the talk of the Labor/Delivery wing because 1) We were the only ones in labor at the time; 2) we had three boys and no one could believe we didn't find out the gender of number 4,; 3) I'd never had an epidural which everyone seemed to find mind-boggling; and 4) we were “married, with the same last name and everything.” Apparently that's a rarity at this particular hospital. It was an interesting beginning to say the least, but the nurses were nice and we were receiving the VIP treatment.

The pitocin worked quickly and worked well. The contractions started at 3 minutes apart, and picked up rapidly. The nurse upped the dose a couple of times, and the contractions came with it. Even though I was expecting it, I was disappointed that I pretty much had to stay bed-bound (one of the reasons I'd hoped to avoid an induction). The induction made it necessary for me to be hooked up to a thousand things. Still, everything was going smoothly, baby was happy, I was relaxed, and I was having no problem breathing through the contractions.

My doctor arrived around 10. She was recovering from Strep Throat, and sounded horrible, but burst into the room in high spirits, saying how excited she was that she was finally going to find out what we were having. She broke my water a few minutes later, and I was SO RELIEVED that the water was clear. That was another first for us, as the boys all had meconium in their fluid to varying degrees. My elation was short-lived however, because I was soon distracted. Breaking my water had essentially flipped an “on” switch, and the contractions almost immediately went from frequent but tolerable to toe-curling and right on top of each other. I was getting NO break in between, and no matter what techniques I tried, I couldn't relax through them. Before long, I made the agonizing decision that it was time for yet another first... an epidural. And in a final piece of irony, the first and only time I requested an epidural it came too late. I managed my way through another 45 minutes of continuous contractions, and the anesthesiologist arrived in the room around 11. As I was sitting up so he could place the line, I was suddenly wracked with the pressure of the baby's head, and an overwhelming need to push. I told the nurse that it felt like the head was right there, and she said “It probably is... we'll check you as soon as he's done.” He finished placing the line and told me to relax. It was physically impossible to relax at that point. The baby was indeed crowning. The epidural (which he'd already explained would take 5 to 10 minutes to take effect) was turned on, my doctor was called, the bottom of the bed was dropped off, and everything started moving very fast. When my doctor arrived just a few minutes later, I pushed a total of 4 times (only 1 full contraction) and it was over at 11:13. After the head was out and the doctor had cleared the mouth and nose, everything felt in slow motion as the body came out, she turned it over, and we all saw at the same time that it was girl. I cried as she put her up on my chest, and I was still crying when Mike cut the cord. One unexpected bonus was that the epidural that had proved useless for the delivery had kicked in after she was born. I didn't feel a thing as I was stitched, cathed and delivered the placenta. I was able to relax and focus on my baby – the baby that I had waited a very long and difficult nine months to meet. It wasn't the labor and delivery that I would have chosen, but it was still beautiful and perfect.... just like the little girl that it brought us.

Spencer's Egg-Speriment

Spencer's scout den was working on science experiments this week. All the boys were given a different concept to cover, and Spencer's concept was air pressure. He picked a cool experiment with an egg and a bottle, and gave it a shot this weekend. He most likely won't get to perform it for his den at the meeting this week (this baby has to come *sometime*) so we video taped it to send to his leader. Check out his reaction when the egg gets sucked inside the bottle. It was the first successful attempt, and he wasn't sure how it was going to work. It was priceless!

Diary of my Prodromal Misery

Day 1: The dress rehearsal
After weeks of Braxton Hicks contractions, and a few days of good pre-labor signs, I was thrilled when I started having regular and painful contractions Wednesday afternoon. They were getting closer and closer and not letting up, so I began to suspect that they were the real thing. I cleaned the bathrooms, wiped down the kitchen counters, and called Mike to make sure he had left work on time. He fed the kids dinner while I worked on getting our bags packed, and I called both my mom and my sister, who headed down to our house. The contractions were 5 minutes apart by then, and getting stronger. When my sister arrived, Mike and I went for a walk around the block to get things moving, and by the time we got back my parents were there as well. We sat around and chatted into the evening, and I thought about how nice it was to spend early labor at home with loved ones, instead of being bored pacing the halls in the hospital. Kind of funny in retrospect! When the contractions were around 3 minutes apart - around 10 PM - we kissed everyone goodbye and headed for the hospital.

When we got to triage, they had me put on a gown and put me on a monitor. It showed a happy, healthy heartbeat, and strong contractions that were indeed coming regularly every 3 minutes. The nurse examined me after about 20 minutes, and I was shocked to hear that I was dilated to a 2... the same thing I'd been at my OB appt the day before. It wasn't a big deal at first though... I had a good pattern of contractions, and they were getting more and more painful. "Let's get you up and walking," the nurse said, "and see what happens." Off we go to walk the halls for an hour. The contractions intensified tenfold while I was walking, and I was CERTAIN that I was in full-blown labor. I'd never felt anything like that when I wasn't in labor. After an hour it was back to the triage room, back on the monitor.... and after another disappointing internal told us I was still only at a TWO, back to walking for *another* hour. This.time I wasn't so cheery, or optimistic. Despite the contractions that were still getting more and more painful, for some reason I wasn't progressing. I was exhausted by then, and grumpy, and my legs were killing me (This is what happens when you go an entire 9 month pregnancy without exercising!) Back at our little triage room, I was happy to hear that the last hour of walking had finally yielded some progression - I was a whopping 3 centimeters. It was 2 AM by this time, and I was ready to get on with the show. They don't considered it full-blown labor until you reach a 4 though, so I was sentenced to another hour of walking before they decided whether or not to admit me. That last go-around was honestly a blur. We passed lots of other laboring moms, heard a few crying newborns, and eavesdropped on many a gossipfest at the nurses' stations. One more time on the monitor, and one more exam. The nurse conferred with the doctor then, and came back with the news I'd been dreading but didn't really think I'd hear. "We're going to send you home." I just wasn't progressing. We got home at 3:30 and went to bed, disappointed and exhausted. At first the contractions kept me up, but they eventually died down. I passed out and woke up at 7:00.

Day 2:
I wasn't a fun person to be around on Valentine's Day. I thought I'd be given a gift of a new baby... instead I was still very pregnant, very sleep deprived (both from the night before and 2 previous nights of gall bladder attacks) very sore, and very frustrated. The contractions had picked up again once I got up, but were going nowhere. At times they were 5 minutes apart again, and at others they were spaced out to half an hour. I napped off and on, which I really needed; but it only served to depress me since the contractions tapered off every time I laid down. My sister had gone home, and my mom had gone to work. Mike and dad stayed with me, just in case, and kept the boys entertained. I wallowed in a funk for the vast majority of the day, watched Survivor and went to bed near tears.

Day 3:
I finally woke up in better spirits, despite the fact that I still had no baby. I'd needed the rest. Everyone returned to work, and I was given instructions not to be afraid to call. I kept myself busy with the boys, and paid the bills. I called Mike to come home at 1:00, when my contractions were once again coming one on top of the other. They continued all afternoon and evening. We got takeout for dinner, which made me feel almost instantly sick to my stomach, and the contractions raged on. When I went to bed to watch a movie at 8, I was feeling hopeful once again. This time my contractions weren't slowing once I laid down. They continued on as I flopped from side to back to side again. I slept off and on until midnight, when I was awoken with a contraction that literally took my breath away. I was 2 minutes away from calling my sister and having her come back down to stay with the boys, but decided to give it a few more contractions. I came out to wait, and watch tv on the couch... and at some point they must have died down - again - because I woke up a few hours later and headed back to bed.

Day 4:
Fourth day of labor-strength contractions. Neither Mike or I wanted to spend the day sitting around just waiting for real labor to start, but we ended up doing just that. I was in no condition to go anywhere, either physically or mentally. I didn't even want to go outside for fear that a well-meaning neighbor would make a dreaded "No baby yet??" comment. Even an innocent question about how I was feeling would have sent me over the edge. Everything on my body hurt, my stomach was a wreck, and the contractions were still hard, strong, and coming every few minutes for much of the day. I watched a movie, played a couple of rounds of Don't Break the Ice with Everett, and caught up on a bunch of neglected emails. The contractions were close enough together at one point (AGAIN) that I returned to my restless mode of frantic cleaning, and made sure the bathrooms were clean, the last load of laundry was done, and the living room was vaccuumed. Ironically, instead of making them pick up, the activity actually slowed them down this time, and I went to bed another night sans baby. I think I started to go a little bit crazy from the stress and lack of sleep. I woke up in the middle night having had a strange doctor dream, and couldn't go back to sleep until I'd felt both a contraction and good movement from the baby. I eventually felt both, and slept fitfully for another couple of hours.

Days 5 & 6:
See days 1 through 4. Contractions getting stronger, more painful, lasting for several hours, and keeping me up all night.... and still petering out eventually. Swept and mopped the floor, made cupcakes, watched lots of TV, took lots of walks and lots of naps. Read something that made me feel a little more hopeful:

"Prodromal labor is usually managable and it does not require the same attention that active labor requires. You could still go about your day, but you are really encouraged to rest up for the big event. Think of it this way. **The more work your body does now, the less work it will have to do in active labor**

TO BE CONTINUED...

Cleaning the earth

...one shell casing at a time.

This past weekend, we all joined a massive cleanup of Four Peaks, a popular desert off-roading destination. It really was an awe-inspiring effort, one that we were all proud to be a part of. What had started as a small volunteer group had grown into a 250 strong pack of people, complete with company-sponsored donations of vitamin water, hamburgers, raffles and giveaways. It was disheartening to see the effects of so many people who could so carelessly destroy something as beautiful as the desert.... but it restored my faith in humanity to be around so many willing to put in the time and the effort to help make things right.

Happy Early Birthday to Spencer!

With Spencer's birthday falling at the same time the baby is due, we didn't think we could really plan a party this year. Instead, he took his brother, his dad, and his Pop to see the Monster Jam show. It was a HIT, with all involved. Happy birthday Spencer!!!!

New toys and hobbies

Spencer's doing something cool. A couple of weeks ago he announced that he wanted to start building and selling remote control cars. Knowing nothing about how to do that, but wanting to support his interest, I told him that it was a great idea and that we'd have to research a little bit to figure out where to start. We borrowed some books from the library, and he re-read some sections in his science encylopedia about motors, engines, and the like; but it wasn't exactly what he was looking for. The internet came to the rescue. A quick search revealed that not only are there are about a million hobby stores that sell all the components you'd ever need - and then some - for building a remote control vehicle from scratch, but that there are also a plethora of kits for beginners to get you started and teach you the basics. Awesome. He picked one, we ordered it, he built it. Here's his maiden voyage on Ebay:

Spencer's Car on Ebay

Around the same time, Paxton got a new bike; and Mike got a little '92 Integra for a commuting car. Both completely thrilled their new owners.






Everett didn't get a new toy this week, but he did have a playdate with his cousin and best friend, and they died their hair and took time out to pose for a picture




My new toy? A ridiculously fun little steam cleaner, that I've been using to systematically clean all the grout in the house.

And our final project of the week was to assemble the changing table/dresser, for the baby who is FAST approaching, whether we have everything ready or not

Homeschool video on YouTube

It's less than a minute long, but very neat

New Years, rest, and more rest

Today has been quiet. Quiet and remarkably unremarkable. The dog stole a container of Ovaltine off the kitchen table. Spencer spilled grits all over the kitchen floor. My Magic Bullet lost a rubber gasket, sputtered and burnt out. We played playdoh, Playstation, and Wii. We watched tv, and we did a lot of sitting. I uploaded about 27,000 pictures to Photobucket, and chatted with a friend on instant messenger. We rested.

The normalcy of the day was hoped for and welcomed.

2007 was a crazy year, and for the vast majority of it, a BUSY year. I'm well aware that calmness isn't something usually associated with a household with a newborn, but calmness is still my prayer for the new year... calmness and peace.

Mike's parents were just here for their annual visit, and it was a fun and furiously fast 10 days. Christmas came and went, and I really think it was one of the best the boys ever had. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were both a blur of presents, playing, and fun. We had a full house on Christmas Day, and it was the kind of Christmas I remember having as a kid... kind of chaotic, noisy, and filled with happiness. The next week passed by in a blur as well. We went hiking, visited Sedona, went to the zoo and the Science Center, went shopping, and went out to eat (most of which is well-documented with pictures). New Years Eve was a little strange for me this year, since I spent it alone with the boys. Mike, Skip and Barbara went off-roading, and the boys and I took in a movie, went out for lunch, and stopped at Target to get started on some baby-essential shopping. We brought in the new year with munchies and the movie Stranger Than Fiction. I think I headed to bed at 5 minutes past midnight. Everett was sick on New Years Day, so we barely left the couch. In between doting on our boy and administering doses of cold medicine and ibuprofen, Mike played Sims, and I worked on my baby registry. He was feeling well enough to go out yesterday, so we spent the last day of the visit at the Science Center, where the boys spent a long time in construction room, and enjoyed the new Strange Matter exhibit.

I'm exceedingly thankful that my energy held up, and even more thankful that I had no major problems with my gall bladder (more or less anyway, on both counts) Today, we rest. Rest, and start the baby countdown in earnest.

Here's the first of several slideshows. As always, the rest of the pictures can be found on Photobucket Password: fulton.

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

It's a Holly Jolly Christmas

It's nearly Christmas, and it's been another interesting month to be sure. This past week especially - a week that's usually reserved for Christmas planning and merriment - has been particularly... well, difficult. In the end though, in between hospital visits and gall bladder attacks, we pulled it off. We wrapped presents. We sent Christmas cards. I managed to make cookies with the boys. Out with the peanut butter kisses and black and whites (too depressing to make fat-free versions) and in with the fat free chewy chocolate mints, and fat free sugar cookies. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that my oreo balls were very nearly as good with reduced fat cookies and fat free cream cheese. Last night we snuggled up and watched Dumb and Dumber. While not your typical holiday fare, it was fun nonetheless, especially for my little (and big) Jim Carrey fans.

We bought a family Christmas present this week too - a 2004 Toyota Sequoia, with lots of space for us, the boys, and new little McGrail whose arrival is fast approaching. We loved it as-is, right off the lot, except for the tires and wheels. Mike desperately wanted to change them, and I asked him to wait to awhile, just because we didn't need the project or the expense at the moment. He waited 3 whole days before he bought new ones. :)

Another early Christmas present? Lindsay, a beautiful blue dumbo rat. We first saw that the store had blues on a Sunday. Paxton and I had fallen in love with them months ago, the first time we saw them. Mike wasn't keen on the idea of adding another rat at the moment, so we went home without one. On Wednesday, I went back with the boys and bought her. :) I think I'm sensing a pattern here? She is sweet and friendy, and the perfect addition to the crew.



We have a busy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, so Santa is coming a day early. The boys are wildly excited that they get to get ready for Santa tonight, on the 23rd. Right now they are happily rolling another batch of Oreo balls, and later we'll relax with The Santa Clause, Elf and our traditional Christmas Eve reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas and the nativity story. Tonight they'll put out their milk and cookies for Santa. After a crazy month and an even crazier week... at the moment, everything is just as it should be.

Turkey Bowling

Friday night was the monthly Cub Scout pack meeting. Pack meetings are generally quite long and quite loud (says the overly sensitive pregnant woman) and this one was no exception. The boys were psyched about it though, because this month they were turkey bowling! I don't know what they did with all the turkeys when they were done - I didn't ask - but everyone sure enjoyed it. My camera's battery had died before I got over to Spencer's den during the bowling part of the evening, but I did snap him after receiving his Bobcat badge, one of several things he earned that night:


And for my random picture of the day....

The boys lost a ball on top of the roof. Being the industrious people that we are, we decided to knock it off with another ball. Now the boys had lost TWO balls on the roof. One did come down on its own, but the other decided to stay put. We don't own a ladder tall enough for Mike to climb up to get it, which left us with a couple options: Wait to see if it eventually blew down (which would be unlikely since it was on a portion of the roof that had a small retaining wall around it) or hoist one of the boys up. We were pretty much resigned to option A since neither Paxton nor Spencer were interested. A half hour later though, Paxton had changed his mind and wanted to give it a try. He was victorious, and incredibly proud of conquering his fear.

Projects and telling time

Spencer needed a project. It wasn't a specific project at first, it just had to be a project, and he wanted it to involve screws. I suggested he and Mike build me a new DVD case since I'd outgrown my current one. He was very excited about that, but it required more planning, materials and tools than we could acquire in one weekend. Then he decided it could be a little project, so we looked at Walmart, and he was very happy to find a model truck that was put together with... screws! Here he is working on it, and the finished product:





Since we were going to Walmart, Paxton decided to bring some money because he's been wanting to buy a watch. They didn't have a huge selection of kids' watches, but he did find one that caught his eye. It was black, and covered in flames. He's been big into flames lately. It was a regular watch though, not a digital one like he'd planned. He worried out loud that he didn't know how to tell time yet, and I assured him that it was something he could learn easily if that was the watch he wanted. He decided to get it, and we headed home. We piled into the car and pulled out of the parking lot... only to return to return 30 seconds later to retrieve the brand-new watch from the floor beside the ice machine, where he'd set it down to put his change into his wallet. With the watch finally safely in hand once again, I explained what was on the face and what it all meant. By the time we got home - maybe an 8 minute drive - he had time-telling down cold, and gave us frequent updates the rest of the night.

Scout-O-Rama and caramel apples

It was hot. Really hot. Even for Arizona, especially for November. But the Scout-O-Rama (a huge, state-wide Scout fair where each pack sets up and runs a different, hands-on booth) was a lot of fun. Our pack did a booth about mining, complete with mining info, a "mine" for kids to go through - after Spencer outfitted them with their headlights - and a chance to pan for gold. After they were done with their shifts, we walked around and experienced a lot of the other packs' offerings.

The kids made caramel apples that same weekend, something I'd promised them we'd do as a family since they'd missed it at the Harvest party. It was a success, and the end result was of course, delicious.