Christmas Season

So I don't have to post pictures twice...


http://web.mac.com/nicksaemenes/Eliahna/December.html

What I didn't get for Christmas...

As a family, we worked hard this year to keep in mind the spirit of the season. "Gifts" are not my love language, so it is not difficult for me to maintain the real focus of Christmas. Now that Christmas is over however, I am going to take a few minutes to be materialistic and list off what I want. (I feel like I am ok doing this since I fully recognize that none of these things will leave me fulfilled)

• My own house
• A house on lots of land (a backyard!)
• A horse or two
  
• A library
  
• A room devoted entirely to crafts and sewing (I might sew more often if I didn't have to spend the time taking my machine out and putting it away every time)
• A maid whose duties would include folding clothes, cleaning bathrooms and floors, and thinking of something to make for dinner every night (and occasionally cooking them)
• A pool, actually two pools one inside and one outside so I could swim every day and stay in shape during the winter
• An orchard

My birthday is in June if anyone wants to make my dreams come true...

The Written Word

I love books. I have loved books for, well, ever. I remember when I was probably 5 or 6 I told my parents I needed a night light because I was afraid of the dark, and then I would sneak out of my bed and read by the light. I can still remember the adrenaline rush when I would hear their footprints and would run silently (or so I thought) back into my bed with my book under the covers. I would lay in my bed thinking they'd never notice my rapidly beating heart or my fluttering eyelids. As I got older, the worst punishment my parents could inflict on me would be to take my halfway finished book until I had finished whatever task I had ignored up to that point. I was in 5th grade the first time I stayed up all night reading- and had to go to school the next day. I remember I read "Christy." More than once I told my friends I was grounded and couldn't go out just so I could finish a particularly interesting novel. When college came around, becoming an English major was a no-brainer. I loved the literary part of my education. Once, I overheard a girl in one of my classes telling someone that she was grounded from books as a kid- there were more people like me in the world! All that being said, I have read a lot of books in my life. And yet, sometimes I get this feeling of panic for all the books that I haven't read. How did I make it through college as an English Major and never have read Virginia Woolf, Henry James or Ivanhoe? It is an almost hopeless feeling, knowing that I could read every day for the rest of my life and not even come close to making a dent in the great literary works. I would absolutely LOVE to join a book club and have contemplated joining the one at the library many times. I just imagine a room full of old, stuffy, intellectuals who love to hear themselves talk and I would not be willing to fight to get a word in edgewise. (Not a fair supposition considering I want to join and the rest of the people could be just like me) I have made countless lists of books I am want to read and usually end up loosing them or getting distracted with something else. This year, I am going to be more intentional with it. I am going to make a list and follow it. I feel like I am missing out on so much greatness.

guess who?

red heads

I watched Pippi Lomgstocking with Elie this weekend and was reminded how much I wanted to be a red head growing up. My parents always thought it was just because Anne did, but all my childhood heroes had red hair. They were always witty, imaginative, and well-loved. So this goes out to all the red heads that served as my childhood inspiration...
Anne Shirley
Pippi Longstocking
Ariel
Dana Scully
(I purposely left off Annie because my family didn't watch musicals growing up)



Apparently I always wanted to be a red head

my graceful ballerina

So Elie got her first bloody nose today. It was one of those freak, bad timing accidents where she was coming around the corner at full speed the same time someone else was. I am surprised by two things; that it took almost three years for her to get her first bloody nose and that someone else was involved (she didn't get it by running into a stationary object). She has already had a black eye (although that was also an accident by a non stationary entity... i.e. Caelan) multiple fat lips, goose eggs galore and more bruises than I can count. I wonder if she will ever grow out of this clutsiness. I recently realized that most parents don't have to point out walls, furniture and posts to their children. It is kind of embarrassing.




Elie's first fat lip

conversations with...

My daughter does not talk to herself, she talks to all the inanimate objects around her. Not only do they talk back, but they talk to each other as well. This is a conversation I had with her this morning.
"Momma" (said in a melodramatic voice)
what?
no I was talking to the olive in my mouth

Oh. Right.

sleep myths

I read the other day on one of my baby development emails that one of the biggest mistakes parents make when trying to get their babies to sleep is by providing constant motion. According to the article, babies do not enter deep sleep when they are in constant motion so it is better to lay your baby down in a crib or turn off the swing to let them sleep. At first, I thought "wow, I am setting my kid up for disaster" and attempted to put her down today. Then I decided they didn't know what they were talking about. I have NEVER known a baby that didn't sleep better when they were being rocked, or held. That's why rocking chairs exist. That is why babies fall asleep in car seats, strollers and slings. So now I am slightly peeved at this article and am contemplating writing them a strongly worded letter. (I think this will be as far as I get though) I do wish she would sleep in her bed during the day though...

Lainey Kate's Birth Story

I was up all night the 6th with non progressive but intense contractions. Elie and I spent a few hours that day at the mall but nothing happened. At about 7 on the 7th my mucous plug came out. He encouraged me to go to bed, which I did. I was exhausted after not sleeping at all the night before. Around 9:30 I started having contractions again. I assumed that I was in for another non-progressive night like the one before and tried not to get too excited about it. We called Missy anyway just to give her a heads up on the situation. I was able to fall asleep for twoish hours. The contractions were intense enough that I still woke up for every one, but was tired enough to fall asleep in between. Around 12 I got up and messed around on the computer some more.
My contractions were getting intense enough that I started feeling the sciatica in my legs start shaking a little, not too painfully but enough that I knew they would be an issue again. I thought I had remembered Lisa (my midwife with Elie) saying that calcium would help that, so I took some Calcifood (HORRIBLE tasting vitamins that I am supposed to chew but are so gross that I break them apart and swallow them). One of the pieces got stuck in my throat and I threw up everything in my stomach in the kitchen sink. All of a sudden at about 1:15 my contractions started at about 5 minutes apart. They still were not unbearable but had been getting slightly more intense. I got Nick up and had him start filling up the tub. I also called my mom and Kari. Kari was in Portland that weekend for a wedding and had asked specifically that I not go into labor that weekend. I still thought I was a long way off from actually having her, but I knew they’d want to be there as soon as possible and they had an hour to drive. Soon after I called them, I started watching Gilmore Girls. My mom and Kari got here around 2:30.


My contractions were still about every 5 mins apart. I called Missy and Courtney at about 3 and they got there about 4:15. All that time in between, we were watching Gilmore Girls and laughing. I was so hungry the whole time. I think I ate yogurt, string cheese (because of the calcium), a granola bar and some peanut butter toast and was still not full. It was around then that my sciatica started really getting bad in my legs. The contractions were getting more intense and with it my legs started hurting. It got to be bad enough that Kari and Nick would apply pressure to each of my thighs during the contraction- it seemed to be the only thing that helped even slightly. Some of the time, my legs were bad enough that I couldn’t even feel the contractions. Soon after Missy got here I was given permission to get in the tub. I wish I had gotten in earlier, but I really didn’t know how far along I was. Missy and Courtney came and checked the heart beat a few times, but mostly they were getting all their supplies ready. At about 5:15 I told someone I felt like I was going to throw up, a bowl was quickly thrust in front of me and I threw up again. After that I think I said something like “I must be in transition now.” Missy and Courtney stayed a little closer after that. My contractions started getting really close and intense. I finally told Nick that he better call his family and let them know we were in labor. We hadn’t called them yet because we were waiting for my water to break. The whole time I was in labor I had this sense of denial. I think the night of nothing happening made me feel like I didn’t want to get my hopes up. (I hadn’t gotten in the tub earlier because I was waiting for my water too. ) So Nick stepped out of the room to call. With the next contraction, I felt my stomach start to shake which I knew from Elie that this meant pushing. I told everyone that I felt like pushing and then started. I was panicked, since I knew your Nick wasn’t there. Someone grabbed him and I pushed again and felt the “pop” of the water breaking. I have no idea how many contractions I had, but I immediately felt the pain of the head. It was one of the most intense 6 minutes of my life. I had to put my hands down to help myself open up for the head because it hurt so bad. With my hands down my face was jammed into the side of the tub and my head was at a really awkward angle. I was panting “slow, slow, slow” because Missy had warned me that I would have to push slow and easy in order not to tear. I know I was a lot louder than I was with Elie. I don’t think I was yelling or screaming but I was pretty loud. And then she was out. Because of the angle I was in on my hands and knees I remember her feet kind of got stuck in side of me and it felt weird as they were pulled out not straight out but at an angle. In the movie you can see my body kind of convulse when that happens. The worst part of the whole birth is that Missy put her on top of my back to check her after you were out. I could hear her screaming and feel her on my back but couldn’t see her. I remember that I was saying “I want to see my baby” over and over (for all 30 seconds of it).
Once Missy made sure she were okay I got turned around and held her. The cord was really thick and short so it was a little awkward. I don't know exactly how many hours i was in labor. The early part was really long, but I went from transition to baby in an hour and 15 minutes. Very different birth then Elie's. I loved being at home and the water was an instant relief. I hope I never have a baby any other way.

Thanks Meagan!

You may now leave comments on my blog... if you so desire. (I think)

Help!

I have been receiving complaints that people can't leave comments on my blog... does anyone know how to fix that? I think it happened after I put the wall paper up the first time. I tried changing the wall paper and it just made my page more wacky.

Back to school

So, I have had an email in my email inbox for literally 2 1/2 years. I have it flagged and everything. I even attempted to read it a few times. The email is explaining (in legalistic jargon) the steps I need to take in order to renew my teaching license. I have been getting more and more stressed about it needs to be done before my birthday in June. I finally sat down and read the thing. I did not like what I read at all so I called TSPC (Teacher Standards and Practices Csomething) and they confirmed what I had hoped was not the case... I have to go back to school. Apparently, once you get your Initial Teaching License you need to take 4.5 semester credits of Graduate level coursework. The idea behind this is that all teachers in OR have 5 years or something to complete a Master's. The two classes in order to get renewed is supposed to help those teachers along. Unfortunately for me, I already have a Master's. My program was just unbelievably stupid and didn't have us apply for our license before we received it. Therefore, since I did not complete two classes AFTER my license was issued, I now have to go back to school. I honestly don't mind doing the coursework. It will be a huge pain, but it is all online. Being a stay-at-home mom now actually makes it easier than when I was working. The part that really makes me mad is that I have to now pay to go to school again. $ 2,500 for TWO classes. I am trying very hard not be totally stressed about that. Originally, I was thinking "this is perfect, Nick works at Corban and I can get my tuition break and no big deal." Wrong. Apparently, Corban doesn't do tuition breaks for graduate level classes. So I am stuck paying 2,500 bucks. Not only that, but I have to apply for the school which means gathering transcripts and letters of recommendation and everything. Urg. No fun. The real kicker- I don't even ever want to teach. I just think it is ridiculous to let something like a teaching license lapse when it could open some doors for me in the future. It definitely broadens the scope of what I can do. At least I don't have to worry about getting my Master's in a few years...

Still Alive

Today was my first solo day of having two kids. It went pretty well. Elie was really happy to have some normalcy again. She also seemed a little sick, so was really low energy (pretty nice) and we spent about 2 hours reading today. Lainey prefers not to be put down, but did manage a short stint in the swing. Thanks to Amy, I didn't have to make dinner. Lainey sleeps pretty well at night which I am unbelievably grateful for. I have only been getting up with her twice in the night and I can usually sleep through the bulk of it. I don't know why I am so exhausted still every morning. I definitely spent more time awake with her while I was preggo.

Just a few pix

Well, I have two kids now. It happened so fast and early that I am still in a bit of shock. (I will get around to posting the story in a bit) My due date is tomorrow, and I could not be happier that I was not made to wait until then. So far it is going well. I have discovered that I forgot the meaning of exhaustion. The saddest part is that I know it will get worse. Nick is here now and I can sleep whenever the fancy strikes me during the day. But Lainey is unbelievably sweet (with a little bit of sass) and Elie adores her. Life could not get much better.

Blessings and Discouragement

wow does my face look unbelievably round in that picture or what?!



Three generations of mothers= 16 births (almost 17!)


I had my blessingway yesterday. I felt very loved. Thank you to the wonderful women and mothers who were there and especially for Kari for making sure that I got one. I thoroughly enjoyed not having the traditional shower where I was expected to be the center of attention.

After everyone left I started having some pretty major contractions. The contractions were coming every 20 minutes so obviously I started getting very excited. After 2 1/2 hours of absolutely no changes I tried to go to sleep to no avail. I ended up sleeping a total of 3 hours last night because my contractions were intense enough that I couldn't sleep through them. I also was very discouraged because I thought I would have a baby today.

Halloween

Despite our last week, Elie and I did make it to the pumpkin patch with my mom. (pictures TBA) It was more like a small fair than a pumpkin patch, but Elie of course had a blast and went on the pony ride twice (one time she chose the full size horse). She picked out her pumpkin and then we brought it back to my parents. She was so thrilled with her pumpkin!

Of course, when Daddy does the carving it turns out fabulous!




Here are some pictures of Kari and Jenn's Halloween Party. Nick and I had been planning for months to make Elie be Einstein for Halloween, but when it came down to it I couldn't make it to Goodwill for the sweater vest. Instead, she chose to be an "eclectic ballerina" notice the striped tights, tutu and patchwork skirt. Needless to say, she dressed herself. Nick was a serious cowboy and after hours of trying to figure out what I should dress up as I decided to just to dress up. I actually felt good about myself in the first time in a while. Maybe I should wear make up and do my hair more often...

Elie, Grace and Betsy had a wonderful time at the party switching costumes and playing dress up. I don't think they actually ever joined the party. Although they were having an underwear dance party, so I don't think they suffered from a lack of fun.

If you do not want to hear whinning and complaining, Stop Reading NOW.

We got home on Wednesday after being gone for an emotional, long week away. When I came home all I could think about was how much stuff I needed to do before the baby came and even prayed that God would give us a few days to readjust to life at home. Well, 7 loads of laundry, two clean bathrooms and a few trips to the store later and I am ready. Two more weeks. I should be thrilled that I am so close. I have made it through the last 38 weeks. I should be more optimistic, but all I can think is ug two more weeks. My whole body hurts. Poor Elie is definitely getting the short end of the stick. Today I fell asleep in her closet while she was playing with her dolls (not a good idea for a pregnant woman to fall asleep on the floor) and then 15 minutes later I was snoring away in her bed. (That was one was mostly her fault since she is the one who put me in there.) I am just lucky I have an amazing kid who can entertain herself for 15 minutes at a time and stay out of trouble for those brief intervals that I am unconscious. I am just so anxious to meet this little one. I want to know how much our lives will change and is this baby a boy or a girl? And what were we thinking not finding out the gender?!!? We were totally selfish and didn't even consider Elie. She is the most rock brained, single minded two year old I have ever met. She refuses to even consider the fact that this child could possibly be a boy. "I want it to be a girl, Momma" that is all I hear all day. If she even hears someone using the pronoun "he" she is quick to correct them. I only pray that if this child is a boy, Elie will fall so madly in love with him that she won't even care.

Children's Museum

While we were mourning the loss of daddy/husband this weekend to the hunt for deer, Elie and I decided not to feel sorry for ourselves and sit at home. Beth and Jack met us at the Children's Museum and Elie had a blast! Here are some of the highlights.


Little corporate woman in the making...



Or possibly cook?


This is her "I'll say cheese to placate you, but I am really not feeling it" face



Does the "x" on the ticket mean anything particular about the show I wonder?



Practicing her real life concert on a real life stage



Face Painting. This and the water were the two things she wanted to do before we go there. The painting didn't add up to her expectations and she barely was there long enough to make up her face.



Once again proving to women everywhere that sometimes the outfit is more important than the task.



Classic Beth, never too young to dive right in and play.



By far Elie's favorite place at the museum. She LOVED the grocery store. She is ringing up Jack's Challah bread (for the 15th time)

Here you go Meagan...

35 weeks with Elie (notice the beautiful stretch mark free belly)


I have 5 stretch marks on the side of my tummy which my beautiful daughter lovingly refers to as my "hands"



So, I am pretty much a horrible mother. With Elie, we took regular pictures of my growing belly. With this one, well this is the only one I have so far and we took it last week. I have thought about it a few times, but never got around to actually taking any pictures. So sad.

35 weeks

Evening of Pampering

Last night after Elie went to bed I was looking for something in one of our boxes still unpacked. It was a box full of bathroom supplies that we really hardly ever use, and while I was looking for my hydrogen peroxide I found my Satin Hands and my face mask and thought to myself "why not." So I filled the tub up steaming hot, put mud on my face, grabbed a candle and a book and treated myself to an evening of relaxation. It was very nice and well deserved (if I do say so myself). I am getting so anxious and impatient to meet my new little one. It occurred to me while I was in the bath that more than likely the next time I will be sitting in a hot bath I will be mere breaths away from holding this baby in my arms. That was both comforting and frustrating. Hopefully that day is sooner rather than later.

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I just suddenly became overwhelmingly excited for Christmas! I have a lot of my shopping done already (so proud of myself). If only this baby would come and then it will be Thanksgiving and then trees and carols and cookies and then CHRISTMAS!!!! And I'll have TWO kids this Christmas. Amazing. My parent's grandkids doubled this year!

Death by Target

Now that we live in Albany, Elie and I have been frequenting Target. It is a nice outing for us and it is good timing (or bad depending on how you look at it) since it is the changing of seasons and new clothes are needed. Target clothes are so cheap that is difficult not to buy more than she needs. Especially since she has become quite the shopper. She loves clothes. Yesterday, Elie grabbed a pink sparkly belt and gushed "oh momma it is SO beautiful and bright. Please may I have it?" (yes, she actually said may) It is so hard not to buy her everything she wants when she talks like that. When I actually break down and buy her something (i.e. the cute $10 dollar dress in the pic) she can't wait to wear it and is so excited about it. When she put this one on this morning she said to me "thank you momma, I love it so much. It is so cute." This next kid had better be a boy.


spinning in her new dress

Shhh... don't tell Nick

So, I was brushing my fingers through Elie's hair the other day and couldn't get through the end of it. I decided to cut her hair. I gave Nick fair warning, but he was pretty set on her not getting her hair cut until she was at least 11. I tried to tell him that in the end it would be better for her hair... Anyway here are some before and after pictures. I cut maybe 3 cm off of the ends. Here is to hoping he doesn't even notice.


before (above) all straightened out



after

Happy Tuesday

above is the creepy face Elie made when I told her to be frustrated




This is Angry (i wish she looked like that when she was angry, it would be a LOT easier to keep my cool)



This I think was mad. I don't know the difference between mad and angry besides the scary factor.

So Nick and I got a fabulous weekend minus Elie thanks to the Kikers last weekend. Larissa watched Elie and Nick and I spent the day downtown Portland and saw Ragtime. We had a great time and I desperately needed the weekend away. Lucky for me, Elie more than made up for my break and has been the quintessential two year old. Almost constant screaming and defiance. Hopefully it doesn't last. Here were a few bright points in our last two days though...

Ballerina Cowgirl. She has not been wanting to pose for pictures lately.


I caught Elie in the bathroom doing her and Tallullah's hair. In this picture, Elie has 9 barettes in her hair. So pretty.

weekend away!

Nick and I got back from two nights away from Elie! It has been over a year since we have been able to get away for a few days and I needed it. Especially with the baby coming and this whole month being "hunting widow" month. I don't know when we will have a relaxing, family weekend before the baby. We had our lodgings for free (thanks to the Kikers) so we spent all our money on food! It was wonderful. We had Melting Pot fondue for dinner and then had a "chocolate bag" (exactly what it sounds like- a bag made of chocolate filled with white chocolate mousse and berries) afterwards. We hit Ikea, drove all over downtown Portland and ended Saturday night with Ragtime at Portland Center Stage. All in all it was relaxing (although my feet were KILLING me by Saturday night) and Elie and Larissa both made it through the weekend. I just hope that the month of October can go by quickly, but that we can all appreciate every minute of it.

amusing anecdote

I really don't know how to work the blog page yet. It is a little pathetic.

So, last night at dinner, Elie got up from the table with a bowl full of spaghetti on the table. Nick asked her if her bowl was empty- to which she promptly replied "yes." Nick, knowing the bowl was not empty told her to go look at her bowl again and tell him if there were noodles in it. She looked in the bowl, came and whispered "I love you" in my ear and then told Nick "nope, no noodles." Fully aware that we were being manipulated, Nick said "Elie this is your last chance, go look in your bowl and tell me if you see any noodles. I want you to tell me the truth this time." He then asked, "Do you know what the truth is?" To that she responded "yep it is right here in my bowl with the noodles." We have no hope for ourselves.

What would Jesus do?

We have a rule at the dinner table that Elie needs to sit on her bottom or her knees while she is eating. Today, she stood up on her chair. I reminded her of the rule. She looked at me and said "But Jesus stood up."

How do you respond to that?

Up to the Atmosphere up where the air is clear....

this is a conversation i had with my wonderful daughter today-

(keep in mind that we are both wearing hats and scarves)

"come on mom lets go to the emfophere (atmostphere)" (so she grabs the stroller with Tallullah and I grab the crib full of the stuff we "packed")
"It isn't Mary Poppin's emfophere it is our own. We borrowed it from Mary Poppins it was on a shelf, but the shelf was too high so I had to get a big stool to reach it. So come over here so we can unlock the emfophere and step in. (she then pulls out my trivet which apparently is a really big key to open up the atmosphere we borrowed from Mary Poppins.)
So then we jumped in and entered into the emfophere and had a grand old time.

That is what I do all day. Hard to keep up sometimes.



This is what happens when you leave a two year old with an imagination to wash her hands by herself. "but momma the soap and towel needed a bath!"