What I've Been Up To......

Lovey says, "Baby Sister."

She opened her eyes, for a minute.

Closed again. But Cute.

Taking baths.

Supervising naps. It's an important job.

Knit Through All Crisis

These words of wisdom come from Elizabeth Zimmermann. What wonderful words they truly are.

Crisis is going on here. But first, a happy thought. Two years ago today was the homebirth of my second son, Lovey. His "name" really fits his personality as he is the most loving, caring, and cuddly baby I have had to date. He still enjoys just cuddle time with me and will gladly go anywhere I go to be alone just to be with me (especially the shower!). Seems my waterbirth baby is really in love with the water and his gentle beginning seems to have made a lasting impression.

I love you! May your 3rd year being in my arms be as wonderful and joy filled as your last two!!

And now, onto crisis......and knitting......

I give you Summer Surprise. It is done. DONE, I tell you. This is a picture of it pre-blocking. It is currently in a nice bath with some Eucalan waiting for me to get off the computer so it can get pinned out and dry.

What a long journey this shawl has been. When I think of how many stitches and hours have been put into this it makes me tired.

Oh, and the crisis? That is what pushed me to knit those last 5 rows when I just couldn't focus on anything else and there was nothing for me to do.


This is my brother. He is 28 years old, just 16 months younger than I am. Last night, he was crossing the street around 10pm and was struck by a car. I got a call from my mom a little while later and then called the ER to talk to one of the nurses.

At that time, he had only been in the ER for about 20 minutes. He didn't have any obvious "life threatening" injuries at that time, but she said he was pretty bloody and they were still doing tests/CAT scans/X-rays to check for fractures/internal bleeding. His teeth were messed up and he had lots of cuts and scrapes everywhere.

Turns out, his jaw is severely fractured and the bones in his face are shattered. His teeth are all, I don't even know what to call them, very much not in the right places. He broke his collar bone (they think) and his ear continues to bleed (from the inside) from an unknown cause.

At 10:30 last night, with kids still awake and me an hour and a half from the hospital, there was really nothing I could do but sit and wait for a phone call. I was seriously torn between wanting to be there for my brother and wanting to take care of my family.

My mother was able to go right away. That is a relief, but also at the same time kind of hard. She has a very dramatic personality. So much so that I though he was dead when I first spoke with her b/c she was freaking out so much. That is just how she is. She stayed with him through the night. I still really wish I could have been there to speak with the doctors/nurses in charge of his care and treatment. Having a medical background (previous nursing, registered EMT, and midwifery training), I am able to ask questions about his care/treatment that I know would not occur to someone else to ask. It makes it very hard to step back.

Today, I was able to go to the hospital for 2 hours. He looks awful. He is unable to speak or eat/drink. I sent my mom off to get some food and maybe a shower.

Seeing him in the bed brought a swell of emotions I was not ready for. Growing up as we did, dealing with abandonment, abuse, and constant changing conditions has lead us both in very different directions in our lives. He never really has been able to get over what happened in our childhoods and has turned to many different addictions to cope. He has never really had a job, a girlfriend, doesn't know God, and usually lacks any real happiness apart from drinking.

My urge to pick him up and comfort him as though he was one of my own children was nearly overwhelming. I am sure he didn't pick up on this, because I am very good at not letting my emotions get the best of me. I simply wanted to tell him that everything would be OK and I would take care of it all and make the pain go away.

Being there with him, I was able to communicate with him fairly well and able to help take care of him for a little while. He asked me to look at his teeth and tell him exactly what I saw. He also asked me to care for some of his wounds, wiping up the secretions oozing from his face and the place on his chin where there were several stitches put in to hold the skin back on. I helped him get comfortable in bed and held an emesis basin while he spit, his secretions thick in his mouth from lack of drinking. Later my mom told me that he had not allowed her to touch him. This made me feel a little better that he knew he could trust me to care for him.

While I was there for 2 hours, 6 different care providers came to see him. Non of these providers where the doctors I really wanted to speak with and ask questions about his future surgeries and treatment plan. In fact, all of them seemed pretty non-essential. Every time my brother would doze off for a minute and have 1 really deep snore/breath, the door would open and someone else would come in to "ask a few questions".

If I may vent: The most annoying was the pharmaceutical guy. He came in to ask about medications. I thought he was there to talk about the medication they were giving him, or to set up a treatment plan to manage his pain (which he was still describing as a 7 on a 0-10 scale....pretty high if you ask me). Nope.

This guy just wanted to talk crap. "Are you allergic to anything?" (Sheesh, I hope they had already asked this, since he'd been admitted for over 12 hours by this point.) "Do you take any over the counter medications, supplements, herbs?" It was painful to watch my brother try and answer these. Just for him to say "Tylenol" and "ibuprofen" was very difficult. That was all the guy wanted to know. Oh, that and, "Do you use tabacco?" Yes, my brother shook his head. "Smoke?" Yes, another head shake. "Oh, well, in that case the CDC recommends that you receive a pneumococcal vaccine." Um, excuse me?? Wtf? Really?

At this point, I piped in. I told my brother I recommend he refuse. The "Pharmacy" guy asked why that was. So, I started asking questions of him. Does this have anything to do with his condition? What are the indications for the vaccine? Are they concerned he will be exposed to pneumonia during his stay?

The guy didn't have anything to tell me except "All smokers should receive this vaccine. The CDC recommends it." All smokers? I realize that smoking decreases your lung health and that it may make it harder for you to fight off an infection in your lungs. But seriously. He just got HIT BY A CAR. His face is smashed. He needs to heal. You want to introduce "35 different genetic codes of pneumococcal bacteria" (his words about what the virus contained) into his system when he is already compromised? Are you insane.

My brother declined the vaccine, even with the weird stares the guy was giving me.

He needs surgery to repair his jaw and plastic surgery to repair the bones in his face. They are concerned about his c-spine (cervical spine, neck bones). There is no fracture there, but lots of swelling and ligament tears. They refuse to remove his support collar to take the x-rays necessary to move forward with his jaw surgery. (Although, while I was there he was upgraded to a more comfortable collar and to put it on they had to remove the old one. I don't get it, even as a former EMT.)

It is possible he will have to wait 2 weeks for surgery. In the meantime, a PT (physical therapist) and OT (occupational therapist) have to determine whether or not he is able to go home and care for himself.

It is really very frustrating and I feel very much torn. I really, really want to be there for him. I am positive I could help at least with the understanding of his care for my mother and he. (Did that even make sense?) I feel torn b/c I want to take care of my family, and I want to be the rock for him too. It was humbling and very hard to leave the hospital today. My husband works the next 3 days and I may not be able to go there again, unless I can get someone who is willing to come into town with me and watch my kids. Also, my mom is scheduled to go on vacation next week and I am not sure that she would cancel to take care of him, if he needs it. I am more than willing to help, but I don't know if he will come to stay at my house.

Everything is kind of unknown right now. I thank God that he is alive, and that a bystander called 911 when the car that hit him drove off, leaving him unconscious in the street.

I also pray, reverently, that God will use this event to touch my brother's heart and bring him close to Him. The only love that is going to save my brother from the loneliness and sadness we've experienced is God's. For my brother to know that love, to just recognize that it *is* there, would be a true miracle.

Please, dear bloggy friends, pray for my brother's recovery. Not just from this accident, but from the emptiness, spiritual and emotional, he endures on a daily basis.

I love you, J.T. I know you're not reading this, but I will always be here for you. My heart aches for you to heal and know God's love and mercy.

Normal Guy vs. Edward Cullen

In which I continue my conversation about my love/hate relationship with Twilight. I have more "love" to give, but I thought today we'd touch on the "hate" or more aptly, "these characters aren't real".

"A Normal Guy would wait for you to make him breakfast. Edward Cullen would make you breakfast everyday. " - I found that on another blog. Can't remember where or when, but it got me thinking.

Edward Cullen is a character we can all love. He has some very redeeming qualities. First, he's a gentleman. He was born in 1901 and had that "old school" sense of manners and politeness, especially when it comes to how you treat a woman. He is charming. He opens doors. He's always polite. He offers his coat when you're cold. He has patience.

Most of all, we love Edward Cullen because he loves her. Not in the way most "Normal Guys" love their girlfriend's/wives/fiancees. He LOVES her, with everything that he has, with no chance of failing, no smidge of regret or worry, no sense of what he could find better or easier to love. He unfailingly devotes every second of his being to her happiness and her salvation, even going as far in one of the books to leave her for what he has rationalized is her best interest in staying alive and having a "normal" life. He is ultimately concerned with her soul, and repeatedly refuses to "change her" because he doesn't want her to lose that and be damned (as he believes he is).

You are probably thinking, "Sheesh. You said you'd touch on the "hate", sounds like you love this character too." You are right. I do love this character. What's not to love?

And herein lies the problem.

Edward Cullen is inhumanly perfect. He has no human limitations to him that a normal guy has. He doesn't sleep. He doesn't eat. He doesn't get tired. He has an endless supply of money, and doesn't have to work (his sister can see the future and his family plays the stock market, rather well, not to mention his "dad" is a doctor and makes reasonably good money too). He has endless patience, never ending energy. He is inhumanly strong and fast. He is the ultimate protector, provider, and loving husband.

The fact that there are no human limitations to what he can do sets up the "Normal Guy" for failure. A normal guy has to work overtime to make Christmas gifts happen. Edward Cullen is infinitely rich. A normal guy has to sleep and will get tired no matter how much fun he is having. Edward Cullen can keep doing whatever you want - forever. A normal guy has his own needs and wants. Edward Cullen wants whatever will make YOU happy (or in the book's case, Bella....but the books are written in first person from Bella's perspective, so it is easy to think of Bella as yourself). A normal guy may actually have to back down from a fight (not MY normal guy, hee hee). Edward Cullen is impossibly strong and fast. Normal guys fart. Not Edward.

Do you see what I am getting at? This dude is not real. I mean, I *know* he's not real, duh, it's a book. But he leaves the mind up to wander about the "perfect man" that simply does not exist in this world created for us by God. Humans have human limitations.

My husband is going to be too tired to "mow the lawn" (if you know what I mean *wink*) some nights no matter how much I want to or feel that I need him. My husband is occasionally going to want to do some of his own stuff, stuff I may not be interested in like playing video games, yard work, or cutting wood. (Although, I could watch him cut wood ALL DAY LONG.) He might want to go fishing, even when it's hot and muggy out.

He isn't going to think that everything I do is totally awesome. For example, he thinks the knitting is fine, but really, he could care less. He is glad I have something that makes me happy and excited, but he is not going to sit and listen to me talk about stitch counts, fiber make-up, or the benefits of wool vs. fake stuff.

As wonderful as he thinks midwifery is, he doesn't want to hear about the placenta I delivered at the last birth.

He is going to want food. And if I don't feed him, he is going to get cranky.

He has to work. If he doesn't work, we don't have the things we need, like food, clothing, and shelter. This means he is going to have to leave me at some point during the day to earn a paycheck. I am going to have to be alone, without his presence. I am going to have to handle our children by myself and figure out how to manage. He is going to interact with other humans that are not me. And he is probably going to like it *gasp*. (Because who wouldn't like a little break from babytown to have some adult conversations every now and then?)

Bottom line: As much as I like the series, I have to remember it is fiction - created by a human. Not real. Not created by God. Fascinating, yes. Real, no.

As an adult, I think I have an OK time realizing this and keeping the fiction as entertainment. I think entertainment is good and healthy. I like plenty of other fiction stories too, like Harry Potter and Santa Claus, or Barbie Rapunzel (yes, I like that one!), or my kids' books.

What I think bothers me is that I know there are people out there who are going to have a hard time finding a "Normal Guy" to live up to their expectations after reading about Edward Cullen. I especially would worry about preteens and teenagers (and even some adults). These books are very fun to read (and I would recommend them highly!). But if you can't separate fiction from reality, you are in for a sad time.

Real men don't and won't treat you like Edward Cullen. They won't cater to your every whim, every desire. Real men will love you like humans love. They have faults (just like YOU) and their own needs and desires to be met also. You will have to find a balance and wake up everyday and choose to love them. They will be able to make you happy, but not the kind of unconditional, unending happiness that is for fiction novels. The only unconditional, unending happiness you will find in this world will not come from a human man - it will come from the love of God.

Real men are not gods, and they will not treat you like such. (And really, you don't want to be treated like such, trust me.) The "honeymoon" phase will end with every human relationship at some point and you are going to have to make due with what is left. It is enough, and will work. But not like in the fiction stories. It will take work, and sacrifice, and the rewards will be great. But you are going to have to put some effort in too. Edward Cullen would never make you do that.

It's the "Dad Life" - Hee Hee!!

Saw this over at Thy Will Be Done. Awesome! Too Funny!!

Are There Any Other Animals That Wish to Make an Appearance??

In the rainy afternoon this week, my boy caught a toad.

Which of course had to be brought to the door for pictures.

Kind of cute, in a gross, amphibian kind of way.

Then it was time to wash hands. Ewwww.

Critters Come to Us (In which my readers may immediately close their browser window)

My son, while taking his dog outside for his morning "empty", came inside with this:


A hognose snake. How much excitement this little creature caused my boy!! He thought it was the coolest thing that ever happened. Of course he tried to convince me we should keep it. Ha! Not in this life buddy. We took pictures and released it back into the wild as we had a very busy morning (I believe it was Sunday That Dad Works, so I was trying to get everyone to Mass alone. Fun.)

Later, we looked at the pictures and then looked him up online to see what kind of snake he was. We thought he was 2 other species before we decided on the hognose variety. Wobbers was retelling how the snake kept "playing dead" and we found that amongst the description of this snake, so there it is.

Of course I, being the wonderous homeschooling mom I am, immediately assigned him a report on said hognose snake. Ain't that great?


And a day or two before that.....one of these was "taking a nap" in our gazebo.

I have no idea what kind or type of bat it was/is, but I was pretty darn happy to see it there. Bats eat bugs. And we have a lot of those out here in the boonies.

I Love My Husband

My husband was doing some "leveling" of our yard today with the skidsteer.

The mailman apparently dropped off a package to my husband while he was driving said heavy machinery. (WTF? Is the mailman stupid??)

And I just got a call from my husband telling me there is a package of yarn at the end of our (mud and gravel) driveway.
And it's been raining all morning.

*sigh*

Day After Mother's Day

I woke up this morning to find this awaiting me:


On the inside was this:

My Wobbers wrote me a poem! As in authored a poem just for me. :D It brought a smile to my face that has yet to even think about disappearing. I also really like the picture he drew of me. That's a lot of teeth I have. Hee hee.

Would you like to know what it says? Of course you would:

Would it be cool to have a mom who worked on the moon?

Who woke up at a quarter to noon?

A mom who would spray paint the moon

Then jump down cuz I had to be at school soon?

Oh how nice it would be.

Oops! I forgot! My mom is a midwife, a teacher, and the best part -

A Mom.

No mom is better than you!

Love Wobbers (okay, he put his real name), who will always be your baby.

And then on top of the picture he wrote, "Happy Day after Moms Day".

I especially like that he put in the poem something about going to school - because we homeschool. That's funny. I also love that I have to pull teeth to get him to do assignments, especially writing, and he wrote me a poem, on purpose, because he wanted to!!

Thank you Wobbers!! I can't believe you're 10! You are the bestest little boy a mom could ask for!

Yes, I am still here :)

I had all but given up on poor blog.

I have so many ideas, and so many things I want to tell you about, and write about, that I just couldn't wrap my mind around them all.

Then I got a lovely comment on my last post from Katherine. It was so nice, I decided I just needed to press on. Not only do I love blog, but the writing is sort of therapeutic especially when things get crazy.

So, without further waiting, I must share some simple updates with you. I will make a real effort for regular blogging from now on.

~~~Showers~~~

I am really not getting as many showers as I'd like. In fact, usually I cannot remember the last time I've had one even if I think real hard.

Today I finally took one. Is it bad that I was so exhausted from standing up in the hot water trying to shave my legs that I almost passed out?? It doesn't help that I have forgone any kind of shaving for so long that I had to go over one leg two times and the other three. Don't even get me started on the underarm hair. I should have just taken a chisel in with me to get it off.

Oh, and it's not that I like the unshaven look or that I'm a hippy. I just have small children, and I homeschool, and I'm busy. Events like shaving just seem to fall to the wayside. Um, showers too. If I get in the shower at all I am generally not concerned with the state of my body hair. I know that sounds kind of yucky, but that's the way things are.

~~~Knitting~~~

A whole lot of knitting is going on here. I don't have actual pictures to post on blog, because it takes forever to load them. But I have been loading my projects in Ravelry, with pictures. And guess what? They have a new feature that allows me to post a link to invite you to look at my project page whether you have a Ravelry account or not. :) I am sorry not to give you any eye candy here, but if you click on the links below you can see pictures and notes on the wonderful things I have been knitting. It's lovely. It also means I only have to wait one time to load pictures and then can share them with the ravelry community and you.

Sweater for Flower
New Baby Sweater
New Baby Hat
Cute Turtle Toy
Baby Diaper Soaker
Flower's Fingerless Gloves
Nighttime Diaper Soaker

As for the Sweater that will never die.....it's getting frogged back partly and reknit. You can read about details here and see some new pictures. I should have listened to my instincts on that one.

If you really want to see all my projects, and anything else interesting on ravelry, just join. It's free and really worth it.

I also have acquired quite a bit more yarn. It's a sickness I tell you. My project list has grown also since I am trying to only get yarn for projects I actually intend to make. Right now, the list looks like this:

Finish Wonderful Wallaby for Flower (almost done)
Frog and fix Husband Sweater
Wonderful Wallaby for Lovely
Longies for Baby in Malabrigo "Oceanos"
Longies for Baby in Malabrigo "Sealing Wax"
Sweater for Baby in Madelintosh Merino "Nutmeg" and "Scarlet"
Finish Nighttime Soaker
More size small soakers for Baby in random assorted wool
Baby hats
Wonderful Wallaby for Wobbers in Wool-Ease "Pines Print"
February Lady Sweater for me in Malabrigo "Verde Esperanza"
Rivendel Socks in some local Wool/Cashmere/Nylon blend in "Plum"
Baby blanket (maybe)
Something pretty out of Malabrigo Silky Merino
Finish Mitts Pattern and publish
Reknit that second mitt
Traveling Woman Shawl out of Mountain Colors Twizzle (which is what the mitts are made out of)

Ya know, just a small list. Should be able to get that all done before the baby comes in September. Right? Uh-huh. Suuuuuuure.

~~~Baby Weight~~~

I am 20 weeks along. And ya know what? I have yet to gain a single pound with this pregnancy!! I am very excited about this and not for reasons of vanity. I know I will have a much easier time with this pregnancy if I do not pack on the pounds. I will be more comfortable, healthier, and have an easier time feeling normal again after delivery.

I have in fact lost weight during this pregnancy. Lost weight. And it's staying off. I have done nothing to accomplish this. I am not on purpose doing anything different. I am not exercising. Not trying to eat less. Not eating more healthy than I have been. I will say I do not feel as ravenously hungry this time around. I am not making a cake every other day, like I did when I was pregnant with Lovey, and consuming the whole thing myself. And I am knitting a lot. That must be keeping me too busy to gorge. I feel like it's great because I am just eating a normal portion of food when I sit down, instead of enough to feed 2-3 adults. (Seriously, I have been eating like that for the last couple of years, enough to feed 2-3 adults per sitting....it's kind of gross when I think about it.)

So, because I am not shy about my numbers.....I am going to share some with you. I wouldn't want you to think that I am some thin or skinny mama happy to not be gaining weight. I've got some to lose.

Pregnancy #1: 18 years old, 125 lb. I lost about 10 lb in the first few months, then went on to gain it back plus 65 lbs. (One month, in just 4 weeks, I gained 35 lbs. Seriously.) Delivered a healthy 8 lb 4 oz boy and I weighed 190 lbs at delivery.

In the next 2 years, I lost most of the pregnancy weight and was a reasonably healthy 140-150 lb. woman. Then I met my husband. We were very happy and both put on about 20 lbs over the next 2-3 years. Uh-huh.

Pregnancy #2: 25 years old, 170 lb. I also lost about 10-15 pounds at the beginning of this pregnancy. I delivered at 198 lbs, a 7 lb. 10 oz. baby girl.

Pregnancy #3: 27 years old, 190 lb. I lost 15 pounds at the beginning of this pregnancy. I delivered at 214 lbs, a 7 lb 4 oz baby boy.

I had been hovering around 220 lbs. for the last year.

Pregnancy #4: 29 years old, 216 lbs. I weighed myself as soon as I got the positive pregnancy test at 12 days post-conception. I dropped down to 205 lbs by 10 weeks and have remained there since.

I am very excited to not be packing on pounds and I hope I can keep it up. By this point in my other 3 pregnancies, I had already recovered from the lost weight and then some. So this is new to me and wonderful. At least I think it's wonderful. ;)

~~~~~~~

That's all I have today. I hope you enjoy those links. Oh! I almost forgot! Those teeth finally came in and Lovey is back in all his wonderfulness. The Brute seems to have disappeared for now.

Some Pictures

Oh! I forgot that blogger uploads photos in the opposite order that you load them. So......this is a really crappy picture of me. But Flower took it. She really loves to use the camera and always has to take picutres of me. I thought I'd show off her skills.

But this! This is a really cute picture of my Flower. She is getting so big!

And this is a sweet black and white that I snapped of her sleeping a few months ago. Everyone say it with me......"Awwwwww."

This is Lovey, who will now be known as "The Brute" (until he cuts his molars) escaping from his towel after a bath. Oh, and that ugly, burnt pumpkin red-orange-y color on the wall over there?? We painted that white this week. It's like a new house.

Awww. There he is again. :)

Just Because

We need some Joy around here:

What an awesome big brother she has. I am so proud of the man my little boy is growing into.



Lovey says, "Spaghetti is good. But not as good as the mookies!!"



Sheesh. My Flower is SO CUTE!! I can't even stand it! She's started wearing my old ballet costumes around. So precious.

Proud papa and his other baby girl. She still needs prayers folks. Keep 'em coming.

And yes! One good picture of my boys together! I love you guys!

(I hope you enjoyed that, Aunt San.)

I Have A Blog??

Surely you jest.

This cannot be my blog. Surely not - for there is emphasis on the my. We all know I cannot do that.

Oh, but wait. I am on actual internet. Internet that does not require me to *star* and CAPITALIZE things I want to accentuate.

I thank my dear friend, laurazim, for the use of her PC.

Now......for the important stuff.

I am hopefully going to update my sidebar as soon as I am done with this post. There are many a wonderful, entertaining, informative blog I have added to my bookmarks on the crackberry that I would like to add here.

An update was requested, I believe by fellow blogger linked above in a comment on my last post.

~~Rural living is very special.

• My gas and electric bill are now separate
• In fact, I have to order the gas, AND it's propane
• The people who work at the propane place are rather dense
• I have a septic system requiring me to call and have our waste pumped away
• Weird
• Garbage must be driven in to "town" on Saturdays, they do not pick it up
• $2 per bag! But "recycle" is free
• We are now recycling for the first time ever
• When the wind blows and you live in the middle of nowhere.....will anyone hear you scream?
• It's nice when you have a cop on hand to escort you into the house in the middle of the night with his 9mm when there are rabid horses stalking you from the neighboring field
• Wind storms can knock the electricity out for hours at a time in the middle of the night
• Not so great when your husband needs electricity to run his CPAP machine so he can rest

Other than that all is well.

Ok, maybe not.

~~A devastating tragedy has afflicted our family over the last few months. One of my step-daughters has been the victim of a sexual assault. It has waged a spiritual battle in our family. Not only has it caused much stress for her, but my husband is beside himself with grief, guilt, and sadness.

Trying to deal with the consequences of the circumstances has caused even more hardship in our family. We are fighting tooth and nail to gain primary physical placement of our daughter. Her mother obviously opposes this. We have shared placement of both the girls equally for 7 years. However, with the assault having taken place in the township (less than 3000 people) where her mother lives, and under her mother's care, we have decided she would be physically and emotionally safer under or care and OUT of that school district.

The hardship of having to travel back and forth to the courthouse and lawyer's office with my babies in the car has begun to drive me to the brink of insanity. Not to mention the constant vigil answering the phone calls between the police, lawyer, social workers, counselor, school officials, and her mother. I can't even stand it.

Unfortunately for our daughter, her mother doesn't really see the "problem". Some comments we have gotten from her (and I am not exaggerating or joking here):

"We should just put her on birth control."

"I don't know why you feel so sorry for [her], she wanted this to happen."

"No one will talk about it. They'll be over it soon."

"If you tell the cops it will just cause everyone a lot more trauma."

"Kids will be kids."

Seriously. She's 13. The "offender", as the District Attorney is calling him, is 18. Yep. And her mother sees no problem. Didn't want us to go to the police. Obviously, getting a predator off the streets would be the last thing on our mind. Yeah, especially since my husband, her father, is a COP. That is the last thing we'd do. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Oh, and the fact that we weren't told about it as soon as she (the mother) found out - that doesn't bother us at all. No really, it's totally fine for you to wait 10 days to tell us. And then only tell us because our daughter was "supposed to tell" us, but didn't. Of course you should leave it up to a 13 year old victim of a crime to inform her father of the crime. You shouldn't bother picking up the phone, being the adult, and telling him yourself. Nope. You acted like a completely competent, normal, sane parent.

Oh wait. There's more. When he confessed, which he did do after we took our daughter to the police to tell her story, he also confessed to doing this to no less than 3 other girls. Three. Other. Girls. Age of consent in the state I reside in is 16. This miscreant, this fiend, wasn't in a relationship with any of these girls. Not that status would make the act of his addiction OK - but it would explain more. This creep was preying on young girls that were friends of his little sister. Genius. Or scary. Take your pick.

There are more details than I care to recall. And anyway, this is not the appropriate medium for those details. If you know me, ask me sometime about how eye opening it was to read the police report. I still have not shared it with my husband. He knows we have it, but feels it prudent not to lay his eyes upon it.

This is the real reason I haven't blogged much. Well, that and the stubbornness on my part to take the time to blog from my blackberry.

Anything else (other than my very long rant)?

~~Oh yes. I have been knitting - a sweater and a pair of socks. The former for my husband. The latter for the Boy. Did you know that when you are knitting a circumference of 59" a skein of yarn only makes 4" of height? So even though I've been knitting my butt off, the sweater remains a mere 7" in depth. It will be at least 20" to the armpits, then there are two sleeves, and the yoke/shoulders. I only have 7 skeins of yarn. I'm going to need more yarn. That translates to, "I get to visit the knitting store again soon!" Woot-woot for me!

The socks will probably be done first. :P

~~Flower is the cutest 3 year old ever. She says super cute things and does super cute things.

She is constantly putting all her "babies" to sleep all over the house. She covers them with whatever is handy: a washcloth, a baby wipe, a clean pair of underwear from the laundry basket. You know, whatever looks like a blanket. Her "babies" can also be whatever's handy: a remote, a hairbrush, her "duke", a shoe.

When she wants to be picked up she says, "I want to pick YOU uppie." I ask, "You want to pick ME uppie?" "Yesh," is her answer. Really.

~~Lovey can walk. And run. He has an opinion. He is sick of his sister beating him up. He has a love for steps and a fear for NOTHING. He has a set of curls across the nape of his neck that I could just eat up.

~~If you do not care to hear of fertility issues GO TO THE NEXT SECTION.

I am fertile again. How do I know this? I got my period. For. Ten. Days. 10. T-E-N. It was looooong.

It wasn't that unpleasant, just never ending.

I had to wash pads 4 times.

Yes, I use cloth menstrual pads. No, it's not gross. Yes, I wash them in my washing machine where all my other laundry is done. No, it doesn't bother me. I've used cloth diapers extensively. They feel better against my skin. They are pretty and soft. They make me feel happy and lovely at a time when most likely I would be feeling icky and run down. Organic bamboo velour - look it up.

~~I have been asked (and I may have said something about this already, so forgive me) to be the Confirmation Sponsor for a dear friend's daughter! It was the daughter's Guardian Angel (she tells me) that thought of me. I guess I never expected that I would ever be considered for such an honor as a Sponsor or a Godparent, etc., being that I am myself a new convert.

It's very cool. I am a little nervous as to my exact role and what things I should be doing for her. For now, I pray. I know I can do that. My sponsor was really awesome about answering questions about the Faith, bringing me little presents at important ceremonies throughout the year leading up to my confirmation, sending me cards here and there in the mail with inspirational messages, etc. I hope I can live up to the call.

~~Lawyers are EXPENSIVE. Really. I wish I could charge $200/hour on the phone and $300/hour in person. Although he is very good. But it would be awful expensive for my children to have a mother if I charged those kind of rates. Can you imagine - "Mom, can I ask you a question?" "I don't know, you got 10 bucks?"

~~Cops don't make a lot of money. It's been a year at this cop's salary and we have finally exhausted our savings. It's down to $5. We are praying for a miracle.

~~I am very much looking forward to Mass tomorrow. All Saint's Day beats out Halloween any day in my book.

Hiding

I was making dinner and decided to search the house for dirty dishes to wash while the food cooked (a woman's gotta multi-task). I heard my little baby playing in the living room, or so I thought.

But when I craned my neck around the chimney to look for him, I saw nothing.

I listened closer, and looked in the direction of his coos.

And found him. Here.










Um, excuse me? How did you get there?

Pretty proud of yourself, huh?















How are you going to get out? Oh, you want me to get you out?


Ok, but only because you're My Lovey. And I can't resist.

More Pictures

Just 'cause I know there is at least one person reading this blog who hasn't seen us in over a year. :)



I will assume my husband and not some random stranger snapped this pick of us sleeping.


And here's My Lovey sleeping on My Love.

And this is my princess. She's too precious for words.

We Like Strawberries

Yes, we played with them for a while. But then, we started to chow.


"I'll get you my pretty, and your little seeds too!"












Or maybe your sourness will get me. Soooooo good.

Stop taking my picture, Mom.

Fine. Here's a cute face for you!

So, uh, lady? You gonna give me a bath or what?

"The Worst Week Ever!"

For the Wobbers, that is. Poor kid is having a rough time.

Within this week he has broken his elbow and managed to come in contact with what we thought was poison ivy. Baseball practice started this week too, so he is only able to sit and watch.

Lucky for him (Ha!) the poison ivy turned out to be stinging nettles, which only hurt and sting for a day and leave a little itchy rash instead of giving you a rash with blisters and sores for weeks.

Another happy boy note....the cast on his arm is "glow in the dark". If you gotta have a cast, at least it's a cool one.

Gotta run. My Lovey is very upset with a fever right now. Rats.

~H

Picture Thoughts to Share

I promise.....even though he's giving that look, he LOVES the bath. He splashes, and splashes, and splashes. Hee hee.

And this is me with my babies. One slung on front, one on the back. And my "baby" there in the back who is starting to look more and more like a man than a boy.

Flower has hair. And she's sooooo cute. :) I love her to pieces.

And my little man helping out and holding My Lovey so I could do some much needed cleaning. Thanks bud.

And my yarn. I over-dyed it again with more red, blue, and a purple-y blue. It's gorgeous!! I love it and can't wait to knit Flower's mittens.

You can find me on Ravelry as MamaMidwife if you want to see what else I've been up to knitting. I finished Lovey's sweater and a pair of shorties.

~H

Is it just Boys?

While eating dinner tonight, my 8 year old son asked me if I'd like to hear his "Top 5" Favorite Drinks? Ah-hem:

5. Kool-Aid

4. Grape Soda

3. Beef Gravy (!!!???)

2. A-1 Steak Sauce (!!!!!???!!!!)

1. Mountain Dew

Let me assure you folks out there that he is NOT allowed to drink these items very often. In fact, I don't know that I've ever let him "drink" #3 or 2. It was surprising for me to hear those on the list. But I do know that he has asked to drink the A-1 on a number of occasions. Apparently condiments count as drinks in the boy world.

And, just for fun, my Top 5 - most of which I NEVER get to have because I cannot process caffeine when pregnant or nursing.

5. Skim Milk / Water (tie)

4. Grape Soda (about 2wice a year, as I really don't like bubbles)

3. Orange Juice, preferably reconstituted Cascadia Farms Frozen Organic Concentrate (with non-organic the "not from concentrate" are much better, with the frozen tasting kind of burnt....but with organic, it's the opposite) (also don't have this anymore b/c we cannot afford organic anymore)

2. Hot Lady Grey Tea (like Earl Grey, but better) with cream and sugar (no fake crap)

1. Cold, Strong Brewed, Iced Tea, Full Caffeine, Full Flavor, sweetened with REAL Sugar, a ton of it

And yours?

~H

Apparently the Hairy-Legged Monster Works for Blogger

So, I just spent 10 minutes uploading my knitting "in the works" onto blogger. Guess what I got? Not pictures of my knitting. I got pictures of some bras I sold online. Argh. I also got this really cute picture of my now 6 month old Lovey.

Isn't he beautiful. So all is not lost. I am just a little irriated that my pictures didn't load up. In fact, I can't even find them AT ALL on the ScanDisk.

But that little face just melts my world.

Baptism

Isn't it beautiful? This is truly my first experience with a "regular" baptism happening in my (yes, my) family. My other two children were baptized at the Easter Vigil in 2008, during the Liturgy.

My Lovey's baptism was a little more personal and quite lovely. Not that I minded the baptism of my other children in front of the whole parish (and then some). It was just really nice to be able to celebrate and rejoice with a small group.

Lovey's Godparents are wonderful! Won. Der. Ful. I love them. He is quite a lucky fellow. I know that he will be receiving prayers and spiritual guidance for years to come.

We had a cozy get-together at their house afterward (I may have already mentioned this, forgive me).....which we stayed at until the wee hours of morning.

Enjoy the pictures!

~H