My sister, a birthing goddess

Every woman has the right to tell her own birthing story, but I have to give some of the details of this amazing birth.  

At 7:15AM, Kissy was joking and laughing, NOT under the influence of pain meds.  

At 7:45AM, she was suffering but was fully dilated.  

At 8:01AM this beautiful little girl was born. And I was thrilled to be there!

Name: debates still under way.  They thought they were having a boy!

7lbs 1 ounce   19.5 inches

Spring has arrived

Kelli came to visit and help with Kissy's baby shower (Kissy is due any day now).  The girls think Kelli is a blast - she's known for tree climbing, moonbounce and trampoline jumping, and now sit and spinning.  How cool for a grown-up!  Really, it wasn't all play. We made lots of food...

including these ducky carrot cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes.  It's all about the dessert!

Can you believe that 3 ladies at the party cut the exact same length of ribbon to guess the girth - and those 3 ladies were exactly correct!

Notice the shoes.  Bridgie got a pair of shoes to go with her Easter dress.  She won't take them off.  She wears them with dresses, she wears them with sweatpants, and she wears them naked. She wears them to go on outings, she wears them to play, and she wears them to bed.  Yes...to bed.  Daddy said no one night.  Donna, her babysitter, said no at naptime.  But Mommy caved on the second night.  Bridgie slept in her shoes, until about 3AM, and then of course she woke Mommy up to take them off.

It's a special day!

H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y,  G A V I N !

Oh, and Happy Anniversary, Jenny and Sam! But you didn't expect to be able to celebrate that once you had kids did you?  That would require a babysitter and getting dressed up.

Routines, routines, routines

The big girls went back to school last Monday.  Winter break went so quickly (those of you in warm, sunny places may not realize that kids in the NE get a week off in Feb - don't envy them - they don't get out of school until the end of June).  It was so nice to have a break from the routines - no school also means no gymnastics, no dance, no cheerleading, no Girl Scouts, and no music lessons.  We had lots of late mornings and family time.

The house was very quiet this week.  Just Mommy and Bridget doing our normal things. Bridget had a great time working on a project for her cousin Gavin.  

Kim got a mom's night out - painting at the girls' school with her friend Sher. We are painting a mural to represent Asia and Europe.  We've been working on it for over a year and still haven't finished Asia.  At this rate, we should be finished by the time Bridget finishes at the school.  Let's see...she's almost three now...so nine or so years from now.  

And the biggest news of the week...

Bridgie is out of her crib and into her big girl bed.  

Our three snow angels

OK, well maybe they weren't being angels when Katie was teaching Bridget how to make snowballs and throw them at Belle, but the girls have come close this weekend.  Playing out in the snow has tired them out so much that they haven't had the energy to be anything other than angels.

We haven't had a lot of snow the last two years, so the snowstorm we got on Friday was a big hit.  The girls have spent hours and hours outside over the last three days.  They've had to fit in all the activities they have missed - making snow angels, eating snow, snowball fights, and sledding.  Today, they went sledding for over three hours!

All the shoveling (which we actually enjoyed) made the perfect basis for a snow cave.  The girls and Daddy even started to get fancy using baking pans to make snow bricks.

The girls never tired of sledding.  After over three hours of sledding today they still came home grumbling that they hadn't had enough.

And of course, we drank lots of hot cocoa and sat by the fire to warm up.

Tomorrow the big girls return to school after a week off for winter break.  Fortunately, they had no trouble falling asleep tonight.

We got a little snow today...

Chris and the girls had a fun day in the snow.

Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Bridgie loves her trips to Starbucks.  She'll take a hot chocolate with whipped cream any day, but she especially loves the ritual of the Starbucks experience with Daddy.  Order the hot chocolate... find a comfy seat... take off the lid... and stir until it's just right.

Another Bridgie story: we were driving around town this evening when she started to get hungry.  She said that she wanted to go to our new church and eat.  We go to coffee hour after church each week and in the last three weeks have gone to church for a pancake dinner, spaghetti dinner, and community breakfast. I guess it's a pretty good thing that she associates church with nourishment.

A trip back to the 70s

It's winter break, so the girls have the week off. 

 

It's so nice to enjoy a relaxing morning.  Bridget loves to play dress up.  The Cinderella costume is one of her favorites, but we are just as likely to see her wearing a ballerina costume or a colorful gypsy like outfit.  The accessory that is a must, however, is the pair of plastic sleeping beauty high heels.

Today we went roller skating.  The rink looks just like the one I used to skate at in 1978... no updates.  We had a good time.  The girls wobbled a lot at first, but it didn't take long before they were away from the rails and gliding more confidently.  And yes, I was right out there with them... also away from the rails and gliding along while repeating in my mind, "I will not fall.  I will not fall."

The Parenting Promised Land

Today in Sunday School I sat in on Belle's class (note to our family: we are no longer practicing Catholics.  We have joined the family friendly Episcopal church in our town).  We learned about God's promise of offspring to the aging Abraham and Sarah and their travels to the Promised Land (you can read the rest on your own).  

Then the kids wrote on their crosses what they would want to see in the Promised Land.  Belle touched my heart with Gigi's name and the names of our pets who have died.  She hopes to see a world without hunger and war and instead filled with Jesus, kindness, and health. What a teary-eyed and proud mom I was.

Then she turned on me. ATTITUDE, about not liking to go church! Can you believe it?  After making that beautiful cross?

We came home and she had an extended time out while I calmed myself by looking at adorable pictures of her throughout the years. All is calm now. We hugged, and all the tears are a distant memory, at least in her mind.

But this evening I am really looking forward to the peace that comes after children's bedtime.

Jenny and NPR made me do it.

So Jenny has her blog "Our very happy family" and has been bugging me to make my own blog. I resisted until I was convinced by some guy on the radio in one of my few moments of quiet time in the car. This NPR guy whose name I can't remember (being an English teacher I should be able to properly cite him, but my brain is too full to remember details like that) talked about transparency and the Internet. Basically he says we shouldn't worry about making our lives too public because by the time our kids are adults everybody will be public - and anyone who isn't will be thought to be hiding something. So quick...we are becoming public.