A birthday party

I'm really glad Mary documented the fun we had at my nephew Caleb's birthday party. I don't usually whip out the camera when it's just me and three kids, so I only have a couple of pictures at the very beginning of the kids playing.

And yes, I'm the mom who wouldn't pick up her super messy crying baby. I had lots of superficial reasons for not doing so, but I'm 8 months pregnant, so I'll just blame it on that.

Popcorn

I am addicted to this recipe for popcorn. It is so yummy I can eat an entire batch by myself.

Our air popper died, but I have since been popping my popcorn in a brown paper bag in the microwave. It's fast and requires no butter or oil, except what you put on after it's popped.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

1/4 cup popcorn

1 brown paper lunch sack

Put popcorn in sack and fold down the top of the bag several times. It's okay if it doesn't stay completely shut. Pop in the microwave using the popcorn setting or for a couple of minutes, listening for the popping to slow down.

Season to taste.

Warning: This is a potty post.

My three-year-old boy came running into my room one morning excited to tell me the following:

"Mom, I pooped and I wiped my bum all by myself with a lot of toilet paper, and when I flushed, it wouldn't go down, so I got the plunger out and plunged, and when I flushed again, it went down!"

(1) Jack rarely speaks in paragraphs.
(2) Jack speaks slowly, although he sped up a little for this dissertation.
(3) I had plenty of time to refrain from laughing, but I was so surprised that all I could respond was:

"Good job! Go wash your hands with soap, please. Okay?"

"Okay."

It's amazing to see what a three-year-old gets excited about.

Scheduled

October 25th
9:30 a.m.
Cesarean
These next four weeks are going to fly by. I don't know if I'm ready to have a baby that soon!

Zoo again

I read a story in school called "The Scarlet Ibis" and never knew what a scarlet ibis was. I don't even remember to this day what the story is about. But now I know what a scarlet ibis is, and they are really, really scarlet. And pretty.

Who goes to a zoo and only takes pictures of their kids?

We do. This red truck is another favorite of the play area. Here the kids are doing their "camera faces." Rose's is really cheesy, with her eyes squeezed shut. Ellen tries to be pleasant, and Jack Jack doesn't really care. He's off in his own world.

This candid shot shows more of my kids' personalities. Ellen is clenching her teeth and brushing her hair out of her face in preparation to give an order. Jack Jack is still out in his own world somewhere, dreaming of driving trucks, monster trucks, dump trucks, school buses, and trains. Rose is at the wheel, and who really knows what's going on behind those eyes of hers? She's probably planning something devious.

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

How about you, you, you?

You can come too, too, too.

Going to the zoo!

-Raffi

The Caldwell Zoo in Tyler is not too far to spend the day, and a membership gets you into zoos across the country offering reciprocal privileges. It's actually a good-sized zoo, too.

A big hit with the kids is the tractor at the play area just past the petting zoo.

Look out! Cheetah crossing!

Oh. That's just Daddy taking our picture.

Ellen loves swimming!

[with floaties]

Ellen thought wearing goggles was a riot, and she liked being able to see under the water.

She loved the diving board.

She loved hanging out in the pool.

She even got some kicking instruction from Jack Jack. She was his star student.

I have a love/hate relationship with floaties. I would rather my kids learn to be comfortable in the water without them, and I would rather they have a good healthy respect of their limitations and abilities, instead of thinking they know how to swim. But since most of our swimming takes place with three children and one adult, I need to have some peace of mind, too, and some time to get to my child if he or she is in distress. So we use floaties, and when swimming lessons become an option, the kids will really learn how to swim. And they won't be that kid in class screaming in fear of the water.

Jack Jack loves swimming!

[with floaties]

Jack Jack went from clinging to me at the beginning of the summer to the kick master. This boy can kick and navigate the pool like no other. He gets around, and he spends the entire time getting around.

He's also a big fan of the diving board.

I'm so glad Daddy was there to document our swimming achievements.

I love how his floaties match his shark swimming trunks.

And I love that my kids love the water.

Rose loves swimming!

[with floaties]

As soon as she realized that Jack Jack and Ellen didn't have to hold on to Mommy, and as soon as she figured out how to keep her balance and stay upright,

she didn't want to be holding on to Mommy either.

She's pretty good at keeping her mouth closed so she doesn't drink a gallon of pool water.

And when she saw Ellen and Jack Jack jumping off the diving board, she wanted in on that action, too.

She wouldn't actually jump, though. I had to throw her in. Every time.

As soon as she surfaced, she frantically signed and said "More, more, more!"

Rose couldn't get enough of "jumping" off the board.

Because just watching people's reactions makes me laugh.

New recruits

Richard had some helpers while he was packing up to go back to Marine training.

These are the actual marines: Uncle Richard and Uncle William.

Happy Birthday, Kason!

Ellen, Jack, and Rose's cousin Kason turned two and had a birthday party at the Jalapeño Tree (Mexican restaurant) in Gun Barrel City.

Kason's daddy was kind enough to help Kason get a mouthful of cake and frosting.

Kason's Daddy's sister was kind enough to repeat the favor. Yummy blue frosting.

Ellen loved helping Kason figure out how to open and organize his gifts.

Jack Jack and Rose just wanted to play the deer hunting arcade game in the restaurant entry. Jack Jack's five trips to the restroom gave him plenty of time to scope it out before making a break while everyone was preoccupied with singing, cake, and ice cream.

High risk

It's still hard to believe that my pregnancy falls into the "high risk" category, since everything about being pregnant this time around has been and will continue to be pretty normal, except the frequent doctor visits, and the number of doctors who have a say in how and when I deliver.

Yesterday I hit the 32-week mark and took a trip to Medical City in Dallas, where I visited several doctors. This will be a recurring event every two weeks until I hit 36 weeks. Then I'll start going every week. That's still normal, except for the fact that I have to travel over 100 miles to get there.

We had an early morning because I was taking Ellen, Jack Jack, and Rose to play with cousins at my sister's house in Greenville while I was at my appointments.

So for those of you who have been waiting for more information about our baby boy, here it is.

Dr Laird (9:30)
At the end of my first appointment of the day with my pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Tracy Laird, she wrote this note to the pediatric cardio-thoracic surgeon who will be operating on our baby soon after birth:

"Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
-restrictive PFO
-possible cor triatriatum"

The good news is that she sees good blood flow from the baby's heart and umbilical cord, and she wants to make sure the blood continues to flow and doesn't start to back up where it doesn't belong.

That, and the note above, means that I will have appointments every two weeks to monitor the condition, and that I will probably be scheduled for a C-section at 39 weeks (around November 4th) if all things stay the same.

We want all things to stay the same, or get better.

Dr. Weiss (10:30)

My perinatologist or maternal-fetal medicine specialist does an ultrasound every time to measure growth, movement, amniotic fluid, and also wants to see me every two weeks. The baby has been growing normally and moving a lot, just like he's supposed to.

When I asked him if I could just assume the contractions I was having were Braxton-Hicks, he laughed and said it was better not to assume anything, and that he'd have the OB check out the situation. We don't want any surprise deliveries with this baby.

Incidentally, the perinatologist in Lubbock (who we were going to see for a "routine" ultrasound to find out we were having a boy) is the doctor who first discovered the heart problem and referred us to a pediatric cardiologist.

Dr. Seddi (11:30)

Next I went to the Specialty Obstetrics Referral Center a few floors down to see my OBs, who only see high-risk cases. My blood pressure was a record 80/60, probably due to the fact that I had eaten nothing but a granola bar that morning and was super hungry. Dallas traffic did not leave me time to stop for a McMuffin.

They weighed and measured me; I'm growing as expected. They hooked me up to a monitor for baby's heartbeat and contractions; the baby looks and sounds good; I am not in labor. They did a protein test and checked my cervix; they are more than 90% sure I am not going into labor anytime in the next 14 days. That's a relief.

Lunch (12:30)

I ate in the hospital cafeteria and read Art of War by Sun Tzu. Why the interesting choice? After seeing it on our bookshelf for the past six years (Jack had a copy from a college class), I thought it would be interesting to take a look. It was also free to download to my phone, as the actual book is now in storage or a second-hand bookstore somewhere. Also, it is completely unrelated to any topic currently occupying my mind and heart.

I do sometimes feel that I'm going to battle for my kids, especially this little one, and although the book is written literally, I like to read literal things in a figurative way. My degrees ruined me like that, so I can't shut off the wandering thought about what else this could mean.

Pre-admission/Tour (1:00)

Pre-admission: done.

Tour of the Cardiac Surgical Center and Pediatric ICU: lots of machines, several questions about logistics, breastfeeding, and baby care answered. This was probably the hardest part of my day, but I am happy with the nurse's explanation of hospital policies and the level of involvement they want and expect from parents, and the great lengths they go to to support breastfeeding.

Dr. Treen (2:00)

The director of the Pediatric ICU and a neonatologist, Dr. Treen gave me a straight forward and detailed explanation of what to expect from the time I deliver until the baby's first surgery, including what tubes, monitors, medications, and interventions are normally done on a baby with HLHS. It was all very overwhelming, and I don't remember much.

Following my appointment with Dr. Treen, I had to go to the lab for a glucose tolerance test (very late in this pregnancy), get some signatures for paperwork, and then I finally headed back to Greenville at about 4:00. Traffic wasn't bad. I picked up pizzas for dinner on the way to Heather's house, and the kids were ecstatic.

While I was having my fun day, they were playing trains, play-doh, princesses, taking a walk, riding bikes, eating snacks, and witnessing the very exciting losing of a tooth: cousin Eva's third. Ellen assured Eva that she'd be back in two weeks, when they could continue playing the game they had started. And she gave her a hug. It was very cute.

We left Heather's at 7:00 and got back to Nana and Pa's house just before 9:00.

And I have all that to look forward to again in two weeks, plus a visit with the surgeon. If you're in the Dallas area, Medical City is on Forest and 75, a couple of blocks from the temple. I'd love to see friends!

Family Photo

Here's our latest attempt at a decent family photo.

Smiling.

Also smiling.

Funny faces.

Serious faces.

I love how the kids never look at the camera. Their attention is fixed on the dog in the grass just in front of us. At least they smiled, for the most part.

Vote for the photo you like best!

Visitors at Nana's

Since we've been at Nana and Pa's house, lots of family have come to visit.

Uncle Richard came home from his first three months of training in the Marine Corps.


Aunt Jenny came all the way from California for a visit.


Aunt Savannah, Uncle Jeremy, and Kason came to play and eat with us all.


While Jenny was here, she had a baby shower! The kids played and got along great with their cousins. Ellen took 427 photos documenting the entire afternoon. Everyone ate cupcakes, chips and queso, and watermelon. Yum! The air conditioner stopped working.

This is going to be Aunt Jenny's first baby, a boy! We're so excited for her and Uncle Eric!

Grandma's house

While Rose was hanging out in the kitchen waiting for food (see previous post), this is how Ellen and Jack Jack spent time at Grandma's house.

Ellen couldn't get enough of the princess card games with Grandma, and anyone else she could talk into playing with her. Matching and Go Fish! are her favorite versions.

Jack Jack liked hanging out with Matthew. I think they were watching Cars here.

Super picture quality, I know. That's what happens when I never get my camera out, and I just have my phone handy for taking pictures.

What's for dinner?

After helping get dinner ready one evening at my parents' house, I went to collect Ellen and Jack Jack and returned to find Rose just chilling at the table in her assigned seat.

Getting her to repeat the trick for the camera involved some coaxing, as well as a little help from Grandpa. Turns out he's pretty flexible, too.