20 things that have made me Happy this week

1) Sending off a deposit to a local CSA for the coming season's bounty
2) Meeting and purchasing chicken from another local CSA farmer
3) A moon so full it made our yard look as if there was a blue neon light over the house
4) Jack hearing Josh Groban on the cd player this morning and saying, "That's daddy!"
5) Fitting into my non-maternity jeans for the first time in 4 months
6) Corresponding with my cousin-in-law, mommy-to-be, about the wonders of babywearing and breastfeeding
7) Doubling the running page count on my last dissertation chapter
8) Enjoying a hot cup of coffee and some homemade peppermint meltaways on my "Free Day"
9) Having friends over for dinner two nights in a row, and enjoying much needed and missed adult conversation
10) Reading the CaringBridge updates from my sister-in-law, who is undergoing cancer treatment for the second time
11) A mother-in-law who agrees to rearrange her work schedule whenever needed to help take care of the boys when we have problems finding a sitter
12) Eating Little Ceasar's pizza for the first time in over a decade
13) Feeling so thankful for a husband that will use a week of his meager vacation time to stay home with 3 kids while I wile away in the basement with the computer and a few books
14) Knowing spring is just 2 months away...
15) Gavin's 4-month "birthday", Holden's 1-month "birthday", and Sarah's actual birthday
16) Seeing calve muscles while shaving in the shower
17) Hearing my boys have an "I love you" screaming contest
18) Waking up next to the most beautiful, peaceful sleeping baby in the universe
19) Taking Benjamin to a music class for some special mommy&middle child time
20) Feeling balanced for the first time in a long time

this kind of stuff makes my blood boil

from an OB nurse at a typical U.S. hospital, on a typical U.S. maternity ward:
http://omgdgms.com/2009/11/10/chop-shop/

Slow Parenting

I'm loving this article:

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting (Time Magazine)

I'd LOVE to have a discussion on this with fellow mommies. I constantly find I'm trying to walk a thin line between attachment parenting and free range parenting (to choose some named styles), AKA, how to be an involved parent...but not too involved. On one hand, I'm all for stepping back and trusting my kids, and letting the village help raise them. On the other, I hate it when I go to the playground and see parents engrossed in a magazine, while their kid runs a muck, creating trouble with other playmates. Where is the line between letting a kid figure things out on their own and work out their own struggles, and providing a secure amount of guidance and monitoring that they feel that they can venture out into the world with a good attachment to fall back on? Is this age-specific? Personality-specific? Context specific?

Boxing champs

The boys are really enjoying my boxing gloves:



I'm not sure how I feel about them doning them and saying, "Fight! Fight!" (though admittedly, that is from Wii boxing, not my gloves.) Yet they do it in the name of fun, so I guess I'll take it as is for now.

a day brightener

little gav man is always full of smiles. he can wake up from a deep sleep and the minute he opens his eyes and sees me, he bursts into smiles. it's always the silver lining on an otherwise grey (icy, snowy, cold...) day.



(dang, they do look alike, don't they?)

Iced In

Will spring EVER come? Is it only January? I can't stand this much longer! We're running out of indoor things to do--especially those activities that work the major motor muscles for the boys. They are, quite literally, jumping out of their skins. In a cute moment, I found the older two upstairs in Benj's room after changing Gavin. They had made a bed on the floor and were reading together:



As with everything else, it quickly turned into this:





And then, somehow, back to this (briefly), again.


No other news here. Mike is taking off all of next week so I can work on my dissertation, which is starting to feel irrelevant. I just paid yet another $985 to the University of Iowa to be enrolled this semester. I'm now kicking myself for not requesting a "leave" last fall after Gavin was born, as a sort of maternity leave, and saved that money. Now I'll have to pay for summer term as well, since I won't graduate at least till then. Farrell's is going well--I really like it. If my scale is calibrated correctly, I've lost 7 lbs in 9 days. Crazy stuff. I'm determined to get out of these maternity jeans!!!

Farrells

In response to Samantha's comment on my last post, I figured I'd be less vague about my new fitness adventure. Here's the link, Samantha (and anyone else interested): Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping.

First day of (pre)school!

Jack went to his first day of preschool today, and it went super well. I was nervous about the separation into a new place, but he did great. No tears. And when I went to pick him up, he was happy and telling me about how he got to play on the slide in the snow. He pooped in his pull-up when he got home, but at least it wasn't at preschool. I'm hoping the positive peer pressure of being at preschool will encourage him that bowel movements on a potty are A-ok, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Benjamin has done it many times now and Jack says, "Good job, Benjamin!" but doesn't seem the least bit interested in following suit. Strange. Here's the big boy with his school backpack:


Here's how the older boys find ways to play with Gavin:


I've been taking some photos of Gavin-daddy bonding time lately. I'm the photographer in this family, so there are always about 75% more photos of Mike and the boys than I. Until I complete Farrell's 10 weeks from now, though, I think I'm okay with that ;)

When snowed in with negative temps out....

What else to do but don footie pajamas and take advantage of the built-in playmate advantage siblings offer?







who needs a farm to play with farm animals? the diaper boxes work just as well.


orange bowl fever

holidays etc.

here's a little catch-up on the happenings in our home in the past few weeks:

shenanigans with chocolate chips, cats, and snow






a nearly 3-month-old baby giggling about his first christmas



holiday fun with uncle adam and some new toys



recovering from holiday fun


and just general hanging out, as families do, this time of the year








there was also a fair amount of bulk cooking for the next meal swap (ham and swiss bread braids)




though no real holiday baking was done, no holiday cards were sent, and very few gifts were given. we played it low key this year and appreciated it that way. the family time was the best part, as it always is, anyway. i took so few photos that i have little to show, but the down time was really nice. we feel blessed, as always, this year and have great hopes for 2010.