Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Overheard
Cate and Maggie (singing), "Things are much better when we do them together!"
Chris, quite seriously, "Hey I really like that song. Who sings it?"
"Dora," was the reply.
Chris, quite seriously, "Hey I really like that song. Who sings it?"
"Dora," was the reply.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Cecilia: One Month
Dislikes: Tummy time
Cecilia is actually 6 weeks old today and is a delightful baby. She's had one truly fussy day in her first six weeks of life. If any of my other kids went 6 weeks without a "bad" day, I would be thrilled.
She is a great sleeper. Last night she slept from 8pm to 3am. She woke up, ate and went back to sleep until 7:00am. I would be incredibly well rested if I didn't have other children. Maggie is typically up at 5:45 (or 5:30!) which means Chris and I are up early no matter what.
It's a very different experience being a fourth child (versus a first or second child).
For example, although we have a bookcase full of board books, I don't think we've read one to her yet. However, since she's usually with us when we put Cate and Ben to bed she is well versed in the adventures of Captain Underpants and the Rainbow Magic Fairies. I'm sure the other preschool parents will be thrilled when Cecilia is paving the way with potty humor.
We've played our trusty nursery rhymes CDs once or twice for Cecilia but when her older siblings act as DJ she is treated to "Call Me Maybe" and "Party in the USA," and if Ben has his way a little, "Back in Black."
Cece smiles frequently and is starting to "talk." She is especially vocal when her brother and sisters are close by and paying attention to her.
In fact, Cate was convinced that she heard Cece say her first word the other day.
"Wow," I said. "That's awesome. She really is a baby genius. What did she say?"
"No," Cate said. "She said no."
Hmm...I think I need to soak up every minute of this easy (non-verbal) baby stage...
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Strike!
A week ago we had to make a quick trip to Muscatine to apply for Cecilia's passport.
We leave on May 13 and were waiting on Cecilia's birth certificate and social security number before we could apply for her passport.
We simply could not make it to the Iowa City passport office given its hours and Chris' travel schedule. For minors under 16, both parents have to apply in person with the child (and two forms of identification). Muscatine's post office was the closest passport acceptance location with hours on Saturday morning.
We ended up making a day of it and spent time at the park, Happy Joe's and the bowling alley.
Cecilia did not seem terribly impressed by the bowling alley. She watched intently for about 10 minutes and then slept for the rest of the time.
It worked out well because she only had a onesie to wear. She had a monster blow-out earlier in the day and, of course, I forgot to pack a change of clothes for my poor fourth child. However, no one in the bowling alley seemed to even notice that our newborn was wearing only a onesie on a 43 degree day.
We leave on May 13 and were waiting on Cecilia's birth certificate and social security number before we could apply for her passport.
We simply could not make it to the Iowa City passport office given its hours and Chris' travel schedule. For minors under 16, both parents have to apply in person with the child (and two forms of identification). Muscatine's post office was the closest passport acceptance location with hours on Saturday morning.
We ended up making a day of it and spent time at the park, Happy Joe's and the bowling alley.
Cecilia did not seem terribly impressed by the bowling alley. She watched intently for about 10 minutes and then slept for the rest of the time.
It worked out well because she only had a onesie to wear. She had a monster blow-out earlier in the day and, of course, I forgot to pack a change of clothes for my poor fourth child. However, no one in the bowling alley seemed to even notice that our newborn was wearing only a onesie on a 43 degree day.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Tell Me How You Really Feel
Maggie loves the Disney show "Sophia the First," which is about a little girl who suddenly becomes a princess.
Tonight at bedtime she sang her own, very loud and slightly off-key version of one of the songs from the show.
It went something like this:
"Princesses don't take care of babies.
Princesses don't feed babies.
And they don't change their diapers.
Princesses don't!!"
I'm not sure if this was directed at me or if it was a reminder to herself so I asked her who does take care of babies, if princesses don't?
"Moms," was her reply.
So clearly she is the princess in this scenario.
Tonight at bedtime she sang her own, very loud and slightly off-key version of one of the songs from the show.
It went something like this:
"Princesses don't take care of babies.
Princesses don't feed babies.
And they don't change their diapers.
Princesses don't!!"
I'm not sure if this was directed at me or if it was a reminder to herself so I asked her who does take care of babies, if princesses don't?
"Moms," was her reply.
So clearly she is the princess in this scenario.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Holy S&%t!
When I left the house this morning we had one clogged toilet.
I reminded Maggie and the babysitter to use one of the other bathrooms and didn't think much of it. Chris is out of town for a few days and I figured I would find the plunger and deal with it when I got home in an hour.
I was leaving the gym when my babysitter texted me to say that the toilet in the girl's bathroom overflowed.
Two troublesome toilets? Time to call in an expert.
I called Troy the Plumber, who assured me that he was working close by and would stop by as soon as possible.
I was almost home when my phone rang. Cate had thrown up at school.
We arrived home and Cate instantly started crying. She didn't feel well. Her stomach hurt. I told her to use my bathroom as the other two were out of commission until Troy arrived.
She went upstairs and immediately started calling for me.
I ran up the stairs to find all three of the toilets upstairs clogged and sewer water filling two bathtubs and two showers. And there is currently have no usable bathroom on the main level since we just started a 3-month remodeling project.
Clearly this is a problem under normal circumstances.
It is a crisis when you have a vomiting child in the house.
I called Troy again.
(While I waited for him to arrive, our babysitter took Maggie to play at Tot Lot and out for lunch. Thankfully Ben was on a playdate as I don't think I could have maintained my sanity with sewer water, one sick child, one newborn and two curious, interested-in-everything-especially-anything-poop-related children).
Troy arrived, took one look at the mess and said, "We need to call City Sewer to take care of this. I'll call them and ask them to send someone right away."
So I waited for Denny from City Sewer to arrive.
And waited some more.
An hour and a half later(!) I explained the problem to Denny and he was able to see it himself.
He looked at all three bathrooms in succession and said, "In 32 years, I've never seen anything like this."
This is the last thing you want to hear the sewer guy say when your bathtub is covered in sewer water.
I said, "You're joking, right?'
"No," he said. "People call me all the time and tell me all their toilets are clogged and there's water in the tubs. People exaggerate. I've never really seen EVERYTHING clogged."
He paused.
"Until today."
"You can fix it, right?" I said.
Denny assured me he could so I headed down to the couch with my non-napping newborn. We settled down next to my napping first grader and waited.
Denny came downstairs and told me he had to call in another guy to help.
This is the second to last thing you want to hear the sewer guy say when your bathtub is covered in sewer water.
Denny's co-worker arrived and they headed up the stairs together.
They came down 20 minutes later and Denny looked at me.
"It's bad, right?" I said.
"Well," said Denny. "We've pulled out a big wad of baby wipes and some unidentifiable string. But it's still clogged."
"Now what?" I ask, seriously hoping there is an answer to this question that will not cost me a small fortune.
"We've got to go to the shop and get a two-story ladder so we can auger through the roof vent," Denny replied, opening up the door to leave.
And this my friends is the third to the last thing you want to hear the sewer guy say when your bathtub is covered in sewer water.
"You're coming back, right?" I asked.
He assured me he had to come back. After all, his equipment was upstairs.
And he did come back 20 minutes later, two-story ladder in tow, and climbed up onto the roof.
"That's a steep roof," was his only comment when he came back inside.
It took Denny and his sidekick a total of three hours and a lot of augering to unclog everything and for the water to recede. I was scared to look at the invoice, fearing that I would have to homeschool Cecilia.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and neither was the clean-up. After dinner the kids and I had a long talk about what should go in the toilet and what should not. And we also had a long talk about how much toilet paper is appropriate to use.
Which led to a long discussion about poop...at which point I was pooped and ready to put everyone to bed and call it a day.
You can't make this s&%t up.
I reminded Maggie and the babysitter to use one of the other bathrooms and didn't think much of it. Chris is out of town for a few days and I figured I would find the plunger and deal with it when I got home in an hour.
I was leaving the gym when my babysitter texted me to say that the toilet in the girl's bathroom overflowed.
Two troublesome toilets? Time to call in an expert.
I called Troy the Plumber, who assured me that he was working close by and would stop by as soon as possible.
I was almost home when my phone rang. Cate had thrown up at school.
We arrived home and Cate instantly started crying. She didn't feel well. Her stomach hurt. I told her to use my bathroom as the other two were out of commission until Troy arrived.
She went upstairs and immediately started calling for me.
I ran up the stairs to find all three of the toilets upstairs clogged and sewer water filling two bathtubs and two showers. And there is currently have no usable bathroom on the main level since we just started a 3-month remodeling project.
Clearly this is a problem under normal circumstances.
It is a crisis when you have a vomiting child in the house.
I called Troy again.
(While I waited for him to arrive, our babysitter took Maggie to play at Tot Lot and out for lunch. Thankfully Ben was on a playdate as I don't think I could have maintained my sanity with sewer water, one sick child, one newborn and two curious, interested-in-everything-especially-anything-poop-related children).
Troy arrived, took one look at the mess and said, "We need to call City Sewer to take care of this. I'll call them and ask them to send someone right away."
So I waited for Denny from City Sewer to arrive.
And waited some more.
An hour and a half later(!) I explained the problem to Denny and he was able to see it himself.
He looked at all three bathrooms in succession and said, "In 32 years, I've never seen anything like this."
This is the last thing you want to hear the sewer guy say when your bathtub is covered in sewer water.
I said, "You're joking, right?'
"No," he said. "People call me all the time and tell me all their toilets are clogged and there's water in the tubs. People exaggerate. I've never really seen EVERYTHING clogged."
He paused.
"Until today."
"You can fix it, right?" I said.
Denny assured me he could so I headed down to the couch with my non-napping newborn. We settled down next to my napping first grader and waited.
Denny came downstairs and told me he had to call in another guy to help.
This is the second to last thing you want to hear the sewer guy say when your bathtub is covered in sewer water.
Denny's co-worker arrived and they headed up the stairs together.
They came down 20 minutes later and Denny looked at me.
"It's bad, right?" I said.
"Well," said Denny. "We've pulled out a big wad of baby wipes and some unidentifiable string. But it's still clogged."
"Now what?" I ask, seriously hoping there is an answer to this question that will not cost me a small fortune.
"We've got to go to the shop and get a two-story ladder so we can auger through the roof vent," Denny replied, opening up the door to leave.
And this my friends is the third to the last thing you want to hear the sewer guy say when your bathtub is covered in sewer water.
"You're coming back, right?" I asked.
He assured me he had to come back. After all, his equipment was upstairs.
And he did come back 20 minutes later, two-story ladder in tow, and climbed up onto the roof.
"That's a steep roof," was his only comment when he came back inside.
It took Denny and his sidekick a total of three hours and a lot of augering to unclog everything and for the water to recede. I was scared to look at the invoice, fearing that I would have to homeschool Cecilia.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and neither was the clean-up. After dinner the kids and I had a long talk about what should go in the toilet and what should not. And we also had a long talk about how much toilet paper is appropriate to use.
Which led to a long discussion about poop...at which point I was pooped and ready to put everyone to bed and call it a day.
You can't make this s&%t up.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
On Becoming A Family of Six
Cecilia is 4 weeks old today.
And I can honestly say that, so far, being a family of six doesn't feel all that different from being a family of five.
Granted, my house is a disaster and my laundry is never ending but I think that is true anytime you have a new baby, regardless of whether it is your first baby or your fourth.
We are fortunate that Cecilia is a very easy baby. She nurses well. She's content when she's awake. She sleeps 5-6 hours at a stretch each night. And she can sleep through anything, including being endlessly poked, prodded, and petted, which is a useful skill in this house.
Clearly she is much loved by Cate, Ben and Maggie. I have very few pictures of her by herself since every time her eyes are open one of her siblings is begging to hold her.
Cate and Ben haven't missed a beat, perhaps because they spend much of their day away from home at school and preschool and their daily routines haven't changed with Cecilia's arrival.
Maggie, on the other hand, is having a harder time with the transition.
She adores the baby and wants to help, soothe, and hold her. However she was initially not too happy with me. The first few weeks of Cecilia's life I couldn't do anything right for Maggie. I picked the wrong socks. I didn't completely cut the crust off of her toast. I bought her regular applesauce instead of cinnamon. And on and on.
We've had more than our usual number of unkind words ("You are the meanest mommy ever!"), tears, and tantrums.
And then, tonight, the temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums.
It wasn't pretty.
Picture an hour and a half of screaming and yelling that made it completely impossible for Cate and Ben to sleep. (Did I mention how fortunate we are that Cecilia can sleep through anything???)
Maggie was clearly exhausted. During her 90 minute tirade she cried about everything from her curly hair ("And my hair is ugly and stupid") to me ("You are MEAN!") to the iPad ("It not fair to me that Cate got to play games first!") to the temperature of her milk ("It warm and it taste YUCKY!") to Cate reading a look that she liked ("But I want to read 'Wemberly Worried!').
Although I was both exhausted and frustrated by this display of...well, whatever it was, I was also enormously sympathetic for my poor baby who is no longer the baby.
She wants so badly to be big, and do everything that Cate and Ben do and yet it's hard work being big. You have to help. You can't count on being carried. You have to be patient and wait your turn. You have to share your mom's attention with the new baby.
When it was clear that her tantrum was winding down, I lay down beside her in bed.
Her breathing slowed and her crying stopped. She rolled toward me, pressed her forehead against mine and flung her soft little arm around my neck.
Then my baby who is no longer the baby whispered, "You the best mommy I ever had."
"And you," I replied. "Are the best Maggie I ever had."
Friday, April 5, 2013
Art Show
Cate was excited to show us her latest creation at the school art show last night.
And she was excited to show off her new baby sister to all of her teachers and friends.
And she was excited to show off her new baby sister to all of her teachers and friends.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Cecila - 3 Weeks
It's hard to believe that Cecilia is already 3 weeks old!
We have very few pictures of Cecilia by herself and this is largely because the minute her eyes open there is always a brother or sister begging to hold her.
She is a very, very well-loved baby.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
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