Dan to the rescue

Pregnancy nausea is not at all fun, but I must admit that I am very, very spoiled. I have a husband that is determined to make things better. All I need to do is mention something that sounds remotely good to eat, and he grabs the car keys. "Would you really like quiche? I could go get some right now. I'll be right back!" He goes to the supermarket two or three times each week, returning with bags full of "comfort foods".

"What about pop tarts? Could you eat those? Oh, and look at these crackers. They're oyster crackers...pretty bland. Would those work? Here are some dinner things I thought you could eat. What do you think?"

Today I mentioned feeling dehydrated, because liquids have been very difficult to hold down. Then, Dan remembered making me frozen fruit "smoothies" when I was pregnant with Beth. So, while Beth and I went to evening Mass, Dan took Amy and Erin to the store and bought all the supplies for making smoothies. He also bought flavored water, lemonade, and soups. Our cabinets are overflowing, and for the most part, he is amazingly on target with his choices.

And so, while I struggle with this first trimester stomach trouble, I realize once again how lucky and blessed I am to have this amazing person in my life. Thanks, Dan, for all that you do!!

Pigeons in the rafters

We have some uninvited guests in our garage.

A few days ago, a family of birds decided to move into the rafters of the garage. At first, we felt badly for them, assuming that they were somehow stuck up there, and couldn't figure out how to fly out. We left the garage door open all day in the hopes that they would find their way out into the open again, but instead, a few more feathered friends moved in. And now, they sit up in the highest point of the rafters, peeping and cooing at us. I can see the beginnings of a nest up there. It may sound funny, but I assure you, it is not quite as humorous as it may seem.

When we come out of the kitchen door to head for the car, the birds begin swooping and shrieking. Most likely they are somewhat frightened by the loud noises that three little girls make, but it has become mayhem each time we need to leave the house. Amy, in particular, is absolutely petrified of them. I actually have to drag her by the hand, as she screams and cries "it's coming after me! Here is comes! It's going to eat me up!!!" And, in her defense, they do come very, very close. When she gets into the van, Amy immediately pushes the button to close the door, and then sits in her carseat, frozen and hyperventilating, until I climb in and reassure her that she's okay. Erin is not fond of the situation either, but Beth thinks it's a riot. When I complained about the bird droppings on our car, she had a wonderful idea. "Mommy, let's just go out and find a bird potty! I think I saw those at the store onetime. Then they could just live there forever!"

I don't blame Amy and Erin for feeling nervous. I have to admit to feeling a bit anxious myself. Each time I open the door to the garage, I am expecting a bird to fly into the kitchen. If that happens, I assure you, I will post the whole story right here for your enjoyment. And I also must admit that I have started putting my hood over my head each time I run to the car. Something about seeing a frightened bird sitting directly over the car door makes me a bit wary.

Dan says he'll take care of it this weekend. I have no idea how he will do this, but I have the utmost confidence in his skills for this task. But if anyone has any suggestions, we're very, very open to hearing them. We just won't let Beth know about our plans.

Big sisters already hard at work

Now that we seem to finally be nearing the end of this long-lasting stomach bug, I am able to sit down at the computer and write. Of course, I'm still feeling quite queasy, but that's another story altogether...!

For the past two weeks, I've been feeling quite nauseous and very fatigued. So, when Erin goes down for her nap after lunch, I plop Beth and Amy in front of a movie, and then I curl up on the couch in the family room for a little rest. I spend all morning looking forward to this time of the day. Then, when the movie ends, I hear two little girls creeping into the family room, ever so quietly. They gently climb onto the couch with me, and snuggle under the blanket. Today, Amy said, "Mommy, I'll rub your head so that you feel better". Beth ran to get me some crackers, saying "these will help your tummy, mommy!" And so we cuddled up together for a while, as Beth told us story after story (mostly adaptations of the "Three little pigs").

Today, I realized for the first time that these two girls are not just little babies anymore. They are genuinely caring and loving individuals, and I am so very proud of them. Their love for this new baby is already so real, and I know that the baby is so very, very lucky to have these big sisters waiting for him or her.

Pass the saltines, please.

Annie Rose has been found

I will put your minds at ease and tell you that the library book has been found. It was under the couch in the family room, and I was absolutely thrilled to find it. Mom, maybe you should check under the couches for some of those books from 30 years ago. I'll bet that's where they are...

Thank you!

Thanks to all of you for your emails and comments regarding baby number 4. It's been fun to hear everyone's wonderful comments. As my friend Lisa mentioned in the comment section, we are just as thrilled about baby number 4 as we were with the first pregnancy! It's been so exciting to have Beth and Amy planning and dreaming right alongside us. They talk to the baby, sing to the baby, and have already started collecting old rattles and baby toys for his/her enjoyment. We couldn't be happier with their response to the news.

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but Erin is still quite sick, so we've been focusing on getting her through this long-lasting stomach bug. Hopefully she turns the corner this weekend!

ERIN MARY

is pleased to announce that she will be a big sister in mid-November.

Beth and Amy are beyond thrilled. They have names picked out, and are making glorious plans to teach the baby everything they know. Beth, in particular, is just so excited. She told us that it is her "dream come true".

Dan and I are so happy to share our news with all of you!

Stomach bug finally arrives

Well, we knew it had to happen. We've been listening all winter long to everyone's horror stories about violent stomach bugs, while we sit smugly here, with only one very mild queasy episode. But Erin has been sick all evening, and the poor baby is finally asleep in her crib...feverish, but asleep. So now, we prepare the lysol wipes, the clean sheets and pajamas, and wait for the worst. Beth and Amy certainly seemed fine at bedtime, but Dan and I are awaiting the midnight battle cry. So if you don't hear from me for the next couple of days, you can probably make a good guess as to why that may be. Wish us luck.

Library book MIA

We've lost a library book.

I remember so clearly those days long, long ago, when my mother would be tearing apart the house in a desperate search for a lost book. The type-written "overdue" notice would sit glaringly on the kitchen counter, warning us that time was up. No more renewals would be allowed, and unless the book was found and returned, we would simply have to pay the fee. All the kids out of diapers would be running around the house looking under couch cushions, in book shelves, in toy boxes, and any other possible hiding places. Sometimes a bribe would be involved. Of course the book would never be located, Mom would pay the fee, and then the book would magically appear a few weeks or months later.

Now it's my turn. Gone are the days of the type-written overdue notices, but we did get a number of emails warning us about our delinquency. The book is called "Annie Rose is my Little Sister", in case any of you have seen it around. It's clearly not anywhere in our house or car, so it must be wandering around out in the world somewhere. Please, if any of you have any idea where it may be located, send me an email. We've checked all the bookshelves, under the beds and couches, in the car, and in all the toy boxes. I'm tempted to go the library and try the "I know we already returned this book...can you please check the shelves?", but I don't think that would get us anywhere. I'm pretty sure that we did not return it, but I'm at a loss as to where it might be.

And to think they call me a librarian.

Up and Down

Erin is developing stair-climbing skills. It's maddening. She absolutely refuses to be carried up or down stairs anymore, and she insists on tackling every set of steps completely on her own. The problem with this toddler defiance is the fact that, while she can manage to climb upstairs without too much difficulty, she is not even close to mastering the downward descent. I've tried to convince her turn onto her tummy and slide down feet first, but that is completely unacceptable, simply because that is NOT the way that everyone else does it. She wants to walk down by herself, regardless of the fact that with each step she teeters on the brink of disaster. She now even refuses to hold my hand on her way down. "MO!!" she cries, and pushes my hand away. ("Mo" is code for "no", in case you haven't already guessed).

One flight of stairs can take up to 10 minutes. And when it's 8:15am, and school starts in 30 minutes, and no one has had breakfast yet, sometimes it's necessary to scoop her up and carry her, kicking and screaming, down to the breakfast table. There she sits for the next 15 minutes, hollering and crying, suffering the indignity of being forced to do something that she did not want to do.

And so it goes. Until she completely masters this skill, I think we'll be getting up 10 minutes earlier each morning, simply to allow time for Erin to get down to breakfast.

And who's idea was it to put our playroom up in the attic, anyway?

Unexpected reaction

This afternoon Beth and I were chatting about her day at school. She was so excited about this week's theme at school, which is "puppet shows". She made a puppet out of a wooden spoon, and this creation sits proudly on our mantle. On Thursday she and her classmates are going to watch a puppet show.

Then I explained to her that next week is April vacation. "There's no school next week!", I told her. "What should we do instead?"

She stared at me in shock and disbelief. Then I watched as her eyes filled up with tears. "Vacation?!!" she cried. "Who's idea was that?! I don't want a vacation. Why would I want that? A whole week without school? That sounds like a terrible, terrible plan. I hope I never have to have a school vacation ever again. Please, can't we go anyway?"

She then dissolved into tears and wrenching sobs. I can't remember ever reacting quite that way when school vacation week came. Can you?

Easter finery

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)







As promised, here are the girls all dressed up for Easter! We had a wonderful, peaceful day. The girls awoke at 6:45 am and were thrilled to find their small baskets of candy. Beth and Amy ran into Erin's room, and woke her up by shoving the basket into her crib and popping M&M's into her mouth before her eyes had even opened! What a dream come true for a baby...

We headed downstairs for a little Easter Egg hunt, and then had a relaxing family breakfast. The girls were wonderfully behaved at church, and Erin sang along with all the songs. Their matching dresses from Grandma and Pop caused many heads to turn!

Then I headed to work, while Erin napped and the girls had some quiet time. Dan took the group up to Nana and Grampy's for dinner, and I am told that they were very well behaved there as well! Of course, all the sugar from yesterday kept Amy awake most of the night, but that's a small price to pay for such an enjoyable day.

Happy Easter, everyone!

I think I'm back!

Dan managed to get the high-speed connection up and running today, so...I think I'm back! Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow, so between squeezing in some Easter festivities and running off to the nursing home, I won't be able to write, but on Monday I'll try to post some pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses.

Wishing you all a happy and holy Easter.