March Madness

Since we got back home at the very end of February and then spent weeks unpacking and reorganizing life, I got a little (okay, a LOT) behind on sharing via blog. (You are so right, Kellie, it's time to rejoin blogland. :)
So here's our month in a few pix and stories...
Donna and DeWayne helped us w suitcases & kids from Chicago to Macomb & then stayed a day or two following. They were super helpful. Below are some pix of us enjoying b'fast at our favorite b'fast place in Macomb, The Old Dairy. Micheal Stipe (of REM) joined us. What's the Frequency, Kenneth?

Side story...One afternoon I took Joanna to lunch at the Dairy. As Z and I were getting seated she asked, "Where Grandad?, " as if to say..."Okay, we're out to eat (which we don't do often) and we're at the Old Dairy (which we do w the grandparents)...so if A, then B. Where's that guy?" :) My kid and her logic.



We made it back in time for Amir's 6th b'day party (which was held a little later than his actual b'day). L. was thrilled, but somehow I didn't manage to get a pic of the b'day boy w L.

We have been really enjoying the real spring weather. This has been our first non-frosty Easter since moving to the mid-west. It's been lovely. Here are the kiddos making bird-feeders...which turned out to be squirrel feeders. :)
Here we are at a neat park about half an hour away from Macomb. We packed a lunch & headed out to a baseball game, where we found out there was a delay since the spring-time field was soggy. Since we've got one napper, we couldn't wait around for the 1pm game time, so we did a park-picnic instead.
Langston helped me make a really yummy roasted veggie pie. It turned out great. His expression is even greater...
Zora making a face beside a pic of her namesake. We were at the university for a pre-school program for L.
L. acting crazy at his program.
Here are the kiddies at our YMCA's Kiddie Karnival (have I ever mentioned that I detest when words are spelled incorrectly for "cuteness"...like in "Karnival"?
Anyway, they had a blast. They planted grass in Wild Thing cups (last year it was beans...which totally took off in our flowerbed later:), played in various booths and Zora walked across the entire gym (where it was held) multiple times w/out me...to exchange her tootsie roll pop for different flavors (hey, can't a lady change her mind a few times?).

Zora's first dental exam! She did grrreat! I really like our dentist and all his staff. I've always been impressed. This time was no exception.
Z was so excited. :)
I'm not sure what's w the crazy grin, but I wanted a pic of us in our jackets & jeans. And that face is one of the many "silly Zora" faces she makes. She's just like L...a little clown.
Jean-clad...only, yes, I'm wearing my awesome slippers.;) And check out our sweet "Welcome Home!" sign (in orange & blue, no less) than my girlfriends made for us. Aw.

This one is PRICELESS! Spiderman is showing off his cool, buff muscles (yes, I let him wear that costume to his hair cut...hey, his stylist needed a laugh!). And beside Spidee is...clown, tutu, French scarf, fairy holding...muscle lady? Z wears the most awesome combos of dress-up clothes. :)

Finally, we are signed up for our first year of tee ball! L. is really excited. B. is a little let down by L's lack of catching skills, but I keep reminding him to be patient...it's his first year. And his batting is pretty good. Games begin in June and B is an assistant coach. :)

Also beginning in June, I get to teach two "kid's Yoga" classes...one ages 3-7 w parents and another ages 8-12 w/out parents. Also, I'll be teaching Latin Dance again. Our harvest season w Barefoot Gardens (our local, organic co-op) begins May 10th and the last piece of news...I have a meeting w my advisor next week to begin going back to school in the fall!
I'll start w undergrad sciences & then by the time Z is in grade K, I'll be ready to apply for the school of nursing & get my RN. I hope to do my Master's in Midwifery after that. It took us a while to decide on when to do all this bc we both still have a desire to adopt, but I wasn't sure I could take on so much. I finally made the decision a few weeks ago to go back to school and lay the adoption dream to rest. We both feel like we want foster parent when the kids are older and I have a job. I admit a little (sometimes a lot) of guilt about the decision. One of the many things that we've always agreed on as a couple (and as Christians) is that there are far too many babies and children (and teens, for that matter) out there who need a home and a chance to be loved by parents. And even as I type this about "decisions," I know that we never know where God, the future and/or life may lead us. So there it is, y'all. Our life of recent. :)

belated Easter post

We began our Easter festivities about a week early at a retirement home in Macomb. Joanna told me about a hunt there, so I dressed the kids up & we went. The kids had fun and I made them talk to and thank many of the residents there, so I hope they had fun, too. :)


Above is Langston's "God picture," as he called it. It's a hill w 3 crosses, one big & two very small & faint. I think this art was a result of a lot of Easter talk...We dyed eggs this year..."like a family." Which meant that Zora "helped" and broke a few shells causing her brother to have a meltdown a few times. ;) She also ate (!) the one he made at school. Overall, I think we had fun w our eggs. It was just really messy.We were invited to worship w the Grahams & Dunlaps, and since we are currently looking for a home church (I feel like we've done this for a million years at this point), we joined them.
The Dunlaps (Hunt, Jill, Laura & Sarah pictured above) also invited us to join their group for lunch & an egg hunt. I brought an award winning broccoli casserole (at least according to my cookbook & mother-in-law :) and we had sweet potato casserole, ham, mashed potatoes and more that I can't remember by now. :) It was all very yummy. We had a great time at the service. There was even a play for the kids (by the kids) before the egg hunt at church. L really enjoyed that. He asked some detailed questions later (he never fails in the details of theology). Zora, Zach & Joanna are among some of the egg hunters in this pic...This was the best we could do for a family photo. :) Yes, those are Gator Easter baskets!A *rare* display of PDA from Ralph & Joanna! :)Sweet kiddies. Langston was so excited...which meant Zora was, too! the Graham boys w the Key kids. Look how tall Andrew is! I couldn't believe how much those boys had grown when we got back from Poland. :)

All the kids after Easter lunch. Jill-n-girls made such a cute bunny cake!

The daddies hid the eggs (including sprinkling some way down low on one side of the house for Zora), and all the kids had a certain number of eggs they could hunt (so the bigger ones didn't take them all). I think they all had a blast...maybe even the daddies. :)




Checking out the "loot." We spent the afternoon w everyone. Zora took a late nap, which I try not to do too often at all, but it was worth it. :) Thanks so much, Jill & Hunt, for hosting!

just the guys

There are only 5-ish boys (of 21-ish kids) at L's pre-school right now. He usually chooses a girl to play w anyway (or maybe my mommy b.f.s usually have daughters...:), but since we've been back from Poland he has been playing w boys...esp. Massimo.
We just went to M's 5th b'day party on Sunday. L had a great time & begged to have M over soon. Happy Birthday, Massimo!

baby go "whaa, whaa..."

I have to blog this so that I won't forget it...
For as long as L. has been verbal, he has made up stories. He's had "Rocky," his imaginary brother & other imaginary friends and siblings for years now.
Zora has just started getting in on the act.
We were doing our usual family dinner and we were all sharing about our day (or at least L was trying to tell B about our day :) Barclay is so good about waiting his turn, but sometimes he has to remind L. that "mommy and daddy want to talk to each other, too.") and Zora has been so good about saying, "Hi daddy! You have good day?"...or just sharing a little bit. Well, this evening she began to tell us a story. It went something like this:
"Baby go 'whaa, whaa'! Dinaso' eat it up. All gone."
We asked, "The baby cried...and the dinosaur ate it up?"
She responded, "Yea...but baby okay. Mommy hold it."
One of us said, "Oh...okay. Thank you for telling us about it."
So, she has repeated this same made-up story w different variations all week. It's so funny! I have no idea how these ideas got into her head or how the baby is "okay" after being eaten by the "dinaso'," but I love that she is already pretending and making up stories. It's her Southern story telling gene coming out. She's really a Southerner after all...:)

Happy Birthday, dear Zora!

My sweet, little gal turned two-years-old today! Two years ago (and thirty minutes...as I type this) I pushed that puffy-cheeked baby out with a wonderful doula (Thank you, Tammy) and supportive team otherwise (Thanks to Sherrie, my midwife, Barclay, who didn't throw up, but did get told to "sit down before you pass out" and my mom, who cried but filmed the birth anyway.) :)
I am thankful that I got to join the throngs of women who birthed babies exactly how I wanted. (Which for me was no drugs, i.v. or intervention of any kind.)
I'm thankful for my experience and for my two little people, who give me daily experiences to be happy about (or wish upon my enemies...code browns, vomit in the face...okay, I'm not really wishing it on anyone...maybe just wishing it away from me!)
I've had a fun day w those two so far & hopefully it'll continue into the evening. Five loads of laundry down as Zora sleeps...and mopping awaits.

Sweet Phil

For anyone who follows golf a little bit or just likes a sweet story...click on this link for a Phil story.
Thanks to my honey for sending it. We've liked Phil for years. We both cried like (silly) babies the first time he won a Master's (and we were late for life group...do you remember than, hon?) And we're having all kinds of emotions over the whole Tiger situation. My boy still needs lots of help. And I hope he gets it.
To the husband who apparently has been a great one (and son and dad), congrats, Phil.

carpal tunnel from breastfeeding?

Yes, you did read the title correctly. My dr. in Springfield suggested that my carpal tunnel might be related to my pregnancy-breastfeeding for the past six-ish years (I've been either pregnant or bf since March 2oo4). I also have a ganglion cyst on my wrist, which makes some yoga, pilates & working out things uncomfortable, but also might or might not be pressing on that painful carpal tunnel.
So, I have some thoughts on the way dr. and I discussed this issue yesterday...
Him: "Well, you know that he (bf baby) is almost two. It might be time to wean."
Me: "Well, SHE is almost two. And HE was a little over two and a half when we weaned, so the time will come, probably sooner rather than later."
Him: "Don't tell me you're one of those folks who is going to bf 'til the kid is 5-6 years old." [insert high eyebrows & generally "the look"]
Me: "Well, I don't plan to. I am hoping to go back to school soon, so I was thinking we'd wean this fall or winter. But, I enjoy extended bf and I know it's the best thing for us. In fact, I think that eventually the recommendation will be to bf as long as possible into toddler-hood, maybe two or three instead of just one. It seems like the more we know about it, the better we know it is."
Him: "Oh, well, I agree. I applaud you for doing it for so long. We...er, my wife...I have man-boobs now, but they didn't help us then!...struggled to make it to a year. My sister struggled to six months. Yes, it is best."
We continued to talk about bracing my arms/wrists, esp. at night & which meds I could take for pain (he recommended Aleeve, which I know isn't the safest for bf, but I told him what the half-life of the drug was & when I could take it so that it did the least harm to Zora, but we both agreed that Tylenol was a safer...although less effective...choice).
Now, I am posting about this bc although I really liked my dr. (who actually doesn't want to cut on me & was all for natural healing), I thought it was strange that he pointed to bf as a possible sign of the ct. Does anyone know of a study that shows these results? He couldn't site any. I asked.
Also, and most irking to me...the response to my extended bf. First, it seemed he wanted to joke about it while pushing me to wean, which is the first stance that MOST medical professionals that I have run across take. "Ha, ha. You crunchy, hippie. Still nursing your kid. She's (He's) two or three! We Americans don't do that. I bet you do cloth diapers & practice Yoga, too." [You're friggin' right I do!] Then, I remind him or her that "breast is best...no timeline as to when to stop," they say, "Oh, yea, well, it is healthy. Great job."
If I weren't as stubborn and didn't believe in my choices as much as I do, I think it might shake me up or make me want to put Z (or L) on the road to wean as we drove home from the dr.'s office. But I know what I am doing what's right for us. And shame on dr.s for not patting a mom on the back who chooses to bf for longer than a year! BF can be tough stuff for us in the beginning (and all the way through for some), but it turns into such a blessing to be able to nurse that small one through sickness, huge life changes and into toddler-hood. I hope more moms feel strongly about their instincts. I never thought "I plan to nurse Langston 'til he's two and eight months." I just knew that I wanted to nurse him & gave it all I had. Then we both enjoyed that special time and bond and all the great things that go along with it...for as long as it felt right for me to do it. And we ended when we wanted to. Not when some dr or family member or friend tried to shame me into stopping (and I had all three at some point). But having been there & done that, I say...shame on you--whoever you are--for not supporting more breastfeeding moms. And rock on, nursing moms, go w what your mom-instincts are telling you.