and now he is 8

Our dearest Kyle is turning 8 today!  In honor of the event (though actually he's felt even older than 8 for awhile now...), I thought I'd post his birth story here on the blog.  I promise that I won't do it for every child's birthday, every year, but sometimes it's a sweet way to mark the occasion.

We love you, Kyle!  You are a wonderful kid, smart, loyal, honest, and an amazing big brother.  Have a brilliant birthday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyle Warren
September 26, 2005
5:15 A.M.

On Sunday, my contractions began to feel more like powerful menstrual
cramps than the tightening sensations they had been before By 10 P.M. my husband
and I were pretty certain that this was It. We called our midwife and the
birth team headed right over. We also called our parents. By 11 P.M. or so
the team was assembled, and at around 11:45 my in-laws arrived.

Around 12:15 or so I requested a vaginal exam. The suspense was killing
me! I was 5 cm and 100% effaced, and my midwife said I was far enough along
that I could get into the tub whenever I wanted. (My husband had started filling
it after we made our phone calls at 10.) I relaxed through a few more
contractions, then decided to get in. My husband joined me after a few minutes,
and we labored together through most of the night. We were doing so well
as a unit that the birth team mostly hung out in the other room. Every
30 minutes someone came to check baby's heart tones, both during
contractions and not. During contractions I let my whole body float on
top of the water. It really helped, especially with the imagery of
"floating over a contraction."

I think it was maybe around 3:45 or 4:00 A.M. that the contractions started
to feel pretty overwhelming. Between that and my oh-so-lovely vomiting
episode (thank goodness we were prepared for that, having remembered
what happened in my last labor), my husband & I were pretty sure were hitting
transition. When I would be working through a contraction, I would think
"This is so hard, I don't know if I can do this," but after the
contractions would end, I would remember that was classic transition.

A little while later, I could literally feel myself opening up, and soon
I said "I feel like pushing." My husband was surprised (I never felt the urge my
my last labor) but kept his cool and called the birth team. I decided to
try getting on my knees and leaning my arms and forehead on the edge of
the tub. The pushing stage seemed like an eternity-- so I was shocked later,
when I found out that I only pushed about 25 minutes. Quite a change
from my last labor, where the pushing stage lasted almost 2 hours!!

The time came. We could feel the baby's head. Even though I nearly
panicked a few times, I remembered to use low tones pretty consistently.
Soon the baby's head was born, and then the rest of him came slipping
out too.

We had someone wake our 2 1/2-year-old son, so he could come and meet his
baby brother. He was pretty sleepy, but I'm glad we included him in the
moment.

Kyle began nursing like it's what he was born to do with his life(a huge
relief considering the bumpy start I got off to with our first baby) and was ruddy and healthy. He weighed 8 lb 2 oz, and was 21 inches long. He is
such a joy to our family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

we did it!

This morning, we did it.  We kicked off our first day of the homeschool year.

"To the new school year!"

There were candles and smiles...

There were homemade cinnamon donuts.

There was apple cider.

And, of course, there were children.  What would homeschool be without children, after all?

Gabriel, tot school

Elise, preschool

Owen, kindergarten

Kyle, 3rd grade

Ben, 5th grade

Of course, there were other things.  Not-quite-so happy things...there was poop on the floor and there was interrupting.  There was an assignment that needed to be re-done, and there was (just a little) whining.

And of course, there was a toddler.  'Nough said about that.

But those are not the memories I want to carry away from this day.  So here is my back-to-school post, with the happy photos (you wouldn't want a picture of poop on the floor anyway, wouldya?), along with hopes for a happy, healthy, richly fulfilling school year.

Cheers!

for the love of a story

So you guys know about my fascination with "Les Miserables."  During the time that it came into full bloom (late December and January), my older boys became interested in the story, too.  We listened to the music a lot on Pandora radio, and the lads asked many questions about what this or that song was about.  In fact, my 7-year-old asked to read my copy of the adapted novel; he made it through the entire volume in a handful of days... and spent the next few weeks talking about it.  

The fervor waned a bit as the months went on, but we'd still listen to the music on Pandora, and later on the soundtrack CD I purchased (we always skipped "Lovely Ladies," though!).  The boys can sing pretty much all of the songs from the score.  My husband and I eventually viewed the film with them, from the security of our living room couch - where we could leave out the less savory parts.  They loved it.   

When I learned of a stage production of the glorious musical in the city in early August, I gave it a lot of thought.  Jeff and I talked it over and decided not to jump at it - tickets were not cheap, and there were no discounted child rates.    We didn't tell the boys about it...why get them excited if we didn't go, right?

But then one of them built this.

The barricade from "Les Miserables"

A few days later, his younger brother made this.

Bridge, site of Javert's suicide

How can a mama resist this kind of passion?  Jeff and I talked it over again and decided to make it work.  In the interest of the budget, it would be a mama date with my two biggest boys.  They were extremely excited when we told them!

And so, at last the day arrived.

The stage before Act 1

Kyle, myself, and Ben

Please forgive the poor quality of these photos; cell phones and theater lighting are not friends.  

The performance was wonderful!   Afterward, I wondered if they might be "Les Miz"ed-out, but when we got back into the car, I had a request to play the soundtrack...and after we got home, someone put the CD in our stereo to listen to it yet again.  I think it's safe to say it was an experience they will remember fondly for many years to come.

And I just may have loved it, too...

re-post: family folklore

My toddler-baby is 17 months this week.  Bearing that in mind, and considering how busy/lazy/blocked I've been lately about writing here, I thought I'd reach into the archives of my email to share an "old" story with you. This incident happened on March 13, 2007. Owen and Elise had not been born yet, Benjamin was at preschool, and our little Kyle was about 17 months old.

I've told this tale before, but this week seemed an apt time to share it again.  

Though it's a story on him, Kyle loves to hear about this day. And as for me, it taught me a big lesson about preparedness as a mama. Here is the story as I wrote it out that very day, in order to share with friends and family:

....and here's what happened today. Kyle's big thing lately is to go around and close doors. Bathroom doors, bedroom doors, you name it. This morning I learned that he can lock them, too! I went out to our garage (which is attached) to get some shopping bags out of van, leaving the door into the house open. I was in the garage maybe 30 seconds, and in the meantime I heard my 17-month-old close the door. When I got to it and turned the handle, it was locked! It wasn't even one of those push-button ones, it's a flat lock that you turn!

We have a cat door in that doorway, so I was able to see & talk to him. I tried to get him to unlock it, but he just grinned at me. Tried reaching my arm up through the cat door toward the doorknob-- but there was no way I could reach. Then I had the bright idea of having him bring me my purse. He would get up, walk off purposefully, and come back with no purse! I don't even know if he knows what my purse is, but regardless, he would not or could not bring it to me. At this point I'm starting to get a little panicked. My husband works way across the city, we don't have a key hidden anywhere, and I am supposed to go pick up my older son from preschool in about an hour. I have no keys, no phone, no coat. I did have garage door opener in the van, so I finally decided to take it with me, close the garage, and use a neighbor's phone. At that point Kyle was getting upset. Mama, why are you leaving? Why are you closing the garage door when I'm here by myself? He was distraught...it was so hard to leave him like that!

Thankfully I found a neighbor who was home, and let me make few phone calls. Even after the locksmith got there, it was another 20 minutes before they could get either of our doors open. Thankfully Kyle was happy enough at that point. Bewildered, yes, but just glad I was back. I had found a bag of Cheerios the van, so I passed it through the cat door for him to munch on (this was all during lunchtime, but we hadn't eaten yet).

So...I guess from now on I need to take my keys with me when I go bring groceries, etc. in from the van! Or go out to get a soda, or give the cat food, or anything. Ugh. Either that, or keep a key in the van... Hide-a-keys make me nervous, so I don't think we'll do anything like that...

The funny thing in all of this is that right before I got locked out, my darling son had pooped in his diaper! So he spent the better part of an hour sitting on that poop, squishing it flatter than a pancake. Not to mention being really smelly! What a stinker!

Love from a very exhausted
Mindy

So, what's the moral of this story?  Never, ever let your toddler have the upper hand.  Especially if there are no older kids around to step in!

 

the question of the year

"Where Kyle?  Where Kyle?  Where Kyle?  Where Kyle?  Where Kyle?"  ~Gabriel, age 16 months



The boy loves him some Kyle.

who's who? tigger edition *ANSWERS*

Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for!  The answers to Wednesday's Who's Who? Tigger Edition are as follows:

Top left: Ben
Top right: Kyle
Bottom left: Owen
Bottom right: Gabriel

I think everyone who guessed (both on Facebook and in the comments) got one or two right, but the only one to  correctly identify each of my boys?  Grandma L.  Way to go, Mama!  I'm so proud.

they said it couldn't be done

 Caramel apples.  Can the nearly-toothless boy handle one?  Against all odds...

 ...he could!

all he wants

 All he wants for Christmas are his two front teeth.

Or if they were in by his birthday in a few weeks - even better!

Good grief, it looks like there'll be no more corn on the cob for the boy this year...  This makes three teeth lost in six days.  They're dropping like flies!

family folklore

Considering how quiet the blog has been lately, I thought I'd reach into the archives of my email to share an "old" story with you. This incident happened on March 13, 2007. Owen and Elise had not been born yet, Benjamin was at preschool, and our little Kyle was about 17 months old.

Though it's a story on him, Kyle loves to hear about this day. And as for me, it taught me a big lesson about preparedness as a mama. Here is the story as I wrote it out that very day, in order to share with friends and family:

....and here's what happened today. Kyle's big thing lately is to go around and close doors. Bathroom doors, bedroom doors, you name it. This morning I learned that he can lock them, too! I went out to our garage (which is attached) to get some shopping bags out of van, leaving the door into the house open. I was in the garage maybe 30 seconds, and in the meantime I heard my 17-month-old close the door. When I got to it and turned the handle, it was locked! It wasn't even one of those push-button ones, it's a flat lock that you turn!

We have a cat door in that doorway, so I was able to see & talk to him. I tried to get him to unlock it, but he just grinned at me. Tried reaching my arm up through the cat door toward the doorknob-- but there was no way I could reach. Then I had the bright idea of having him bring me my purse. He would get up, walk off purposefully, and come back with no purse! I don't even know if he knows what my purse is, but regardless, he would not or could not bring it to me. At this point I'm starting to get a little panicked. My husband works way across the city, we don't have a key hidden anywhere, and I am supposed to go pick up my older son from preschool in about an hour. I have no keys, no phone, no coat. I did have garage door opener in the van, so I finally decided to take it with me, close the garage, and use a neighbor's phone. At that point Kyle was getting upset. Mama, why are you leaving? Why are you closing the garage door when I'm here by myself? He was distraught...it was so hard to leave him like that!

Thankfully I found a neighbor who was home, and let me make few phone calls. Even after the locksmith got there, it was another 20 minutes before they could get either of our doors open. Thankfully Kyle was happy enough at that point. Bewildered, yes, but just glad I was back. I had found a bag of Cheerios the van, so I passed it through the cat door for him to munch on (this was all during lunchtime, but we hadn't eaten yet).

So...I guess from now on I need to take my keys with me when I go bring groceries, etc. in from the van! Or go out to get a soda, or give the cat food, or anything. Ugh. Either that, or keep a key in the van... Hide-a-keys make me nervous, so I don't think we'll do anything like that...

The funny thing in all of this is that right before I got locked out, my darling son had pooped in his diaper! So he spent the better part of an hour sitting on that poop, squishing it flatter than a pancake. Not to mention being really smelly! What a stinker!

Love from a very exhausted
Mindy

a new school year

Today marked the first day of our homeschooling year.

We welcomed the 2011-12 year with our traditional 1st-day-of-school breakfast, including apple cider and homemade donuts.

I need to practice more often than once a year. Still, they were good.

Ben, 3rd grade

Kyle, 1st grade (halfway through)

Owen, goofball extraordinaire...Pre-school

Elise, pre-preschool.

sprinkler fun?

We've been enjoying our backyard sprinkler system this summer. And on hot days, we put it to really good use.

Kyle & Owen had a blast.


But Elise didn't want to have anything to do with that water.
He loved it. Really.

It's fun to race against the spinklers. And when the slide gets wet, our yard is transformed into a waterpark. Or so I hear.
But as for my little girl, she'd rather practice her driving skills. After all, you can never learn to parallel park too early...can you?

Quotes from Kyle

1) Kyle, at the dinner table: "Mom, who are you pretending to be? Are you pretending to be Queen Amidala?"

Me: "Why...yes. I am pretending to be Queen Amidala. How did you guess?"

Kyle: "It was your hair."


2) Kyle, running into the room where I am sitting, " Mom, I did it! I made the science experiment work! I am a genius!"


3) Kyle, in the public restroom with one of those green, water-saving toilets "Mom, do I flush it up, or down? I peed and pooped..."


4) Kyle: "Mom, I think I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be an Egyp- ... an Egypto-.."

Me: "An Egyptologist?"

Kyle: "Yes! An Egyptologist."


5) Kyle: "I hope I don't fall into a snake pit when I'm an Egyptologist...."

little angels?

Owen: "I an angel!"

Kyle: "No, Owen. You're not an angel. Angels can fly. You can't fly, Owen."

Owen: "Oh."

Kyle: "Angels have wings."

Owen: "Oh."

Kyle: "Angels know the glory of God."

Owen: "Oh."

[Silence.]




Owen is now Luke Skywalker.

cookie time!

Here we were in mid-December...and it was time again. Time for Christmas cookies.

I've gotta tell you (and yes, I know that I've told you before) that it is not always easy or comfortable to have my kids help me in the kitchen. I suppose it's a control thing. It's definitely related to the potential for mess. It's also a quality control issue. But I flatter myself that I'm getting better about this.

A little.

Besides, there are just times when you've got to just do it.



Now, Sally Fallon writes, in Nourishing Traditions, that her one exception to the "no white flour" rule is pie crust.

Personally, I choose sugar cookies.


I apologize for the blurriness!


Yes, all the frosting is yellow. That's the only food coloring I've been able to find locally, that I'm comfortable with using. But! Soon I want to order these food colors. I am so excited about them!

I used Wardeh's Basic Vanilla Frosting recipe, except that I substituted pastured butter for the coconut butter. The original recipe is amazing, but I found butter more convenient.

Color aside, our cookies turned out delish. I'm still using the Sugar-free "Sugar" Cookies recipe from My Year Without. So, so yummy, and no refined sugar at all!

Granted, there's refined flour. But once a year, I think it just may be worth it.