August 28, 2007

Dear Mother Nature,

I'm writing to you from one mother to another. As you know, when you have a newborn, your sleep is disrupted throughout the night. Your hands are busy during the day with your older children, so those few minutes at night when your baby is actually sleeping, the pillow is heaven. Almost every night for the past couple weeks, you have been sending horrific storms to my house. That is just not nice. Because with the house shaking from 70 mph winds, the electricity out (which means no a/c), and thunder cracks that jolt my 2-year-old to a tremble and panic, this mama has been gettin' no sleep. I've been sick for going on three weeks, and I can't overcome it with a 2-year-old's nails clutched into my neck all night or having to move the entire family to the basement at 3 a.m. due to tornado warnings. Please, oh please, mother nature, could for just once, the weather in Minnesota be just a little more average.

Sincerely,

A sleep-deprived mother

P.S. I've included a couple pictures of your handiwork last night. Our beautiful sunflowers were downed, our glass picnic table and umbrella were thrown and twisted. Our Adirondack chairs that were stacked against the house, were blown across the yard. Thank you for not causing any major damage or harm to my children.

A night on the town

We ventured to downtown Minneapolis with some good friends this week to listen and dance to some Salsa music.

The concert was held in the courtyard of the Mill City Museum. The courtyard was preserved so that you can see what the old Mill looked like.

The girls danced and danced and had a great time!

Right outside of the museum is this view of the Bridge Collapse. (You'll be able to see better if you click on the pic to make it bigger). In the center of the pic, you can see some green twisted metal, and that's what's left of the bridge, the rest is in the water or has since been removed. You can see the large flood lights that the workers have been using so they can work around the clock still trying to find victims.

And, on a happier note, I thought I'd throw this cute pic in of a worn-out baby. Daddy was putting his basketball shoes away when he realized they are about the same size as Teyah!

The big 2-month-old

Teyah had her two-month check-up today, and she was 11 lbs 1 oz and 23 inches! That means in two months she's gained 3 lbs and almost 3 inches!! How do you grow 3 inches in two months! That's crazy! She was also quite proportionate being in the 50-75 percentile for weight, 75th for length, and 50-75th for head. Surprisingly, this is our first child without a 95 percentile head! Teyah is the sweetest, easiest baby. She already likes to stand (as you can see from the pic). How are we so lucky to have a beautiful, healthy, happy baby!?

Thanks for your helpful words

While walking out of Target today, I was pushing the cart with the baby in her carseat and trying to hold Ellie's hand so she wouldn't get hit by the cars. Aubrie was trying to hold Ellie's hand but she was refusing and causing a scene. We made it across the street and the lady who was stopped at the stopsign rolled down her window and yelled "You are SO busy!" I turned around with a fake half smile and somehow made it to my car without further issues.

I've been thinking about this statement all day. What exactly did she mean by that? Was she patronizing me because I had spent an hour at Target doing nothing more than shopping the red sticker sales? Was she trying to be sympathetic? I've received a billion and a quarter "you have your hands full!" Was it her way of saying the same? Perhaps she was meaning I've been busy in the bedroom?

Whatever she was trying to say, her comment truly was icing on the cake for a moment when I was feeling overwhelmed with my children. Why would she make the effort to shout out her window something that really didn't make me feel better?

Have any of you received 'helpful' comments in your adventures with your kids?

Last week on our flight home, Dave was helping our niece get on her flight so I had to go through security and board our three kids on the plane by myself. Now that was an adventure! I was juggling 3 kids (one, who of course can't walk), 2 carseats, 2 bags and a stroller! Then, to make matters worse, the gate agent handed me four tickets that were totally scattered across the plane and said "the flight's completely booked, I guess you'll have to figure it out when you board."

I decided to just sit down in a seat on the plane and ask people to take one of my random seats that I had been assigned. One of them was a first class ticket. The first lady to come saw me sitting in her seat and said "what seat are you supposed to be in?" I explained and offered her the first class ticket. (Audible sigh), "Now I have to walk all the way back to the front of the plane."

I wish I could have replied, "that's OK, I'll walk up there and sit, and you stay in this middle seat and take care of my three kids!"

2 blessings, 1 wedding, and the beach

Boy, do we know how to pack it in! We traveled (by plane, thank goodness) to Utah for my brother Spencer's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and perfect. We love our new sister Julia! Check out their wedding video here. (Also, if you click on the "Event" tab you can see excerpts of Lauren's Junior Miss Pageant). Ellie attached herself to Julia while we were there. The day of the wedding, she didn't want to leave her side. She cried when she couldn't be in every picture with Julia. She wanted to hold her train on her dress everywhere she went. Later, to keep her occupied during the reception, she was coloring and after every picture she'd run over to Julia and show her. Thanks for being a good sport Julia!

While in Utah, we blessed Teyah. My sister's baby Spencer, who's just 9 days older than Teyah, was blessed too. How cool to have so many special events all at once! Teyah's blessing was beautiful.

Then we flew to California, rented a minivan and camped at Carpinteria beach for Dave's family reunion. Well, we didn't really camp. I opted for Motel 6. I figured I earned the right since we have a nursing baby. The girls had a week of heaven in the dirt and sand. Now, I'm so grateful to be home with clean kids!

The plane ride to Utah was a nightmare, which makes me realize we did the right thing by flying instead of driving. Dave got a severe headache and threw up three times. It was a late flight and the girls didn't sleep. It was very turbulent. Ellie cried and cried because her leg hurt. They both cried because their ears hurt. (Ellie actually held her ears and said she couldn't hear out of her ears. I thought that was impressive articulation for being just 2 and 4 months). I was struggling to keep everyone functioning. Oh, the joys! We survived though.