O Holy Night

The Christmas music on the radio begins earlier and earlier each year….this bothers some people. I am NOT one of those people. I swear it was still October this year when I was walking with my boys through WalMart and I spotted the Christmas decorations and lights at the far end of the store. I’m not sure who yelled “yay!”louder…them or me. And the music started even before Thanksgiving this year; much to my husband’s dismay. I have been blaring it in my mini-van ever since.

By far, my FAVORITE Christmas song is “O Holy Night”. It is a beautiful, beautiful reminder of what Christmas truly is: about that night, so long ago, when a little baby was born in a faraway land and the world changed forever. I have always loved this song, but after becoming a mother, I am even more appreciative of this amazing story of this little tiny, yet world-changing, baby.

No matter what your favorite Christmas song is, do me a favor this year: take the time to sit down and actually listen to the words of the song. Sometimes the lyrics are so familiar that we just sing along with them without a thought…this is great, but it might lend to us forgetting what we are even singing. I know I do that! So, when you are sitting at home (not driving your car!), try to take a minute (or three) and relax, close your eyes, and let the words sink in. No matter if it’s the beautiful lyrics of “O Holy Night” or the silly lyrics of “Frosty the Snowman”,just let it sink in. Enjoy the moment.

**My two favorite versions of this song are by Josh Groban (of course!) and *NSync (they do an amazing acapella version)

O holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night
Of the dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine, oh night, oh night divine

Chains shall He break
For the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord, let ever ever praise Thee
Noël, Noël
Oh night, Oh night divine
Noël, Noël
Oh night, Oh night divine
Noël, Noël
Oh, oh night, oh night divine

The Big Day.

Well, tomorrow is it. My first day back to work since giving birth to my precious baby girl, miss Nora Jean. Of course the emotions are running high...but I think I'm doing pretty good.  She is currently laying on my lap as I write this post, snuggling me and saying (with her eyes, of course!) "no, Mommy, don't go back to work!". Or at least that's what I'm telling myself...

As I put my boys to bed tonight, my mind wandered to my other "first day backs".  With Sam, I was finishing my Master's Degree when he arrived.  He was born in August, and he attended my graduation in December, all decked out in his hawkeye gear.  I got a teaching job for the following fall semester, so I ended up having an entire year at home with him; the school year started one week after his first birthday.  What a long day that was, my first day away from my first baby boy.  I missed him so much, I didn't know what to do without him.

With Cooper, I was teaching until about two weeks before he arrived, in May.  Therefore, I had the entire summer with him, and returned to work at the end of August, when he was three months old.  I remember feeling guilty that I had spent an entire year at home with Sam, and Cooper only got three months...

...and now it's Nora's turn. Her due date was the first day of school this year. Literally.  So, of course, I had to make other plans.  I ended up teaching online for the first four weeks of the semester, and tomorrow marks week five of the school year, so it is my first day on campus. Luckily, Nora decided to arrive three weeks early, so I actually got seven weeks at home with her, instead of the four that we were expecting.

Now that the day has arrived, I can not imagine how I would have gone back when she was only four weeks old. No way! It will be hard enough to leave her at seven weeks tomorrow! When I have left her (for a few hours at most), I have felt like a piece is missing. I know it's cliche, but it's true. And with our other babies we lived with my parents part of the time and had a lot more help with them, so this time I've felt even more attached...it's basically just been me, feeding her and putting her to sleep and taking care of her all the time.  She's attached to me, and that will make it even harder for me to leave tomorrow...

...but, as always, I'm going to look for the good in the situation, and I will end this post on a happy note.  Because, in the end, we have so much to be thankful for as young parents.  Not only do we now have three healthy, wonderful children, but we have a boat load of family right here in our own town, and our babies have never in their lives had to go to someone that we don't know and love very much; in fact, they have only stayed with non-family once!  Crazy!  We know how lucky we are in that respect, we really do.  Matt and I frequently talk about how we don't know what we would do if we lived far away from our parents and family members, because we usually don't go a day without seeing at least one of them and our kids are so lucky to see their grandparents so much. 

So now, as I head to bed tonight, I am choosing to be thankful for the life that my husband and I have...one in which I don't have to work full time, and that I can be home with my babies all summer long.  What a blessing!  And most of all, I am thankful for the fact that when I go to work each morning, my children are in the care of people who love them.  However, that doesn't mean that I won't be shedding a few tears as I drive away tomorrow...

Memories...

Today I took a picture of Nora in her carseat, and she made the most hilarious face when I snapped the photo.  All of the sudden, my mind rushed back to a moment four years ago (almost EXACTLY four years ago, actually)...when my oldest son Sam was just two weeks old, and I snapped a similar, funny photo.  In the same carseat, too!  Oh, memories of my babies....

Nora Jean.  September 11, 2012

Samuel Roark.  September 5, 2008

Sam Said What?

In continuing with the post "Cooper said what?", I am sharing with you today another one-liner from my hilarious boys...this time it's Sam, my four-year-old. Although he became a big brother to Cooper at 21 months old, he has recently become a big brother yet again, this time to his baby sister Nora. With Cooper, he was...well, let's say...we had to watch him EVERY minute.  He pushed, hit, bit, kicked...all before Cooper was even six months old!  With Nora, it's a totally different story. He LOVES her.  He brings her toys, sings to her, tells her stories, and protects her from Cooper at all times.  However, I know that he is still dealing with the idea of having another baby in the house, another person to steal Mommy and Daddy's attention.  I can see this in the way that he acts sometimes, even though (thankfully) he is not taking it out on Nora.  One of the things he has been doing is baby-talking, which honestly grates my nerves. We tell him to talk like a big boy, and usually he does it right away, but the other day the baby-talking would NOT stop.  I finally just looked at him and said "Sam, do NOT talk like a baby!". He looked at me, then he got his "I'm thinking of a response" look on his face...finally, he smiles and says "Mommy, babies don't talk."

Surprise Photo Session

Talk about a good surprise! When I was in the hospital after having Nora, my friend Camye, co-founder of the Quad City Moms Blog , called to tell me that there was a photographer interested in doing a newborn photo shoot to advertise on the blog. I was so excited!  With my boys, I had waited until they were at least one month old to get their professional pictures, because when they are first born it's such a hectic time. But Heather from Cherished Keepsakes Photography came to our own home to do the pictures...it was perfect!

As you all know, I love surprises (that's why we dedicate one day each week to talking about them!).  And believe me, these pictures speak for themselves...to see your precious babies (all three of them) in such beautiful pictures is such a wonderful thing.  When you're having a bad day or something is going wrong, looking at photos of happy times and smiling babies will always cheer you up!

my whole world.

daddy Matt with his girl



precious Nora Jean

Surprise in a Blanket: Part 2

As promised, there is a part two to this post! If you didn't read the first part, go to Surprise in a Blanket.  To re-cap the story, I made one baby blanket with our baby girl's name on it, but since her name was a secret until she was born, I had to hide the name on the blanket while my aunt Jeannie sewed it up!
Fast forward about 4 weeks...the blankie was wrapped up tight with ribbon and waiting in my hospital bag.  I had told Jean that she could open it as soon as the baby arrived, and she was so excited to see the name!  Little did she know, she would be even more excited after she opened it and saw the surprise!

It just so happens that baby girl is named after my aunt Jean!  So, when Nora was born and we told my mom her name, she said "we have to get Jean in here now and show her that blanket!".  So that's what we did! Jean came running in the room, grabbed the baby, and unwrapped the blanket.  And Matt caught the perfect moment on camera...Jean was shocked!  She just kept saying, "you named her after me?? After me??"



For someone who loves surprises, this one was one of the best I have experienced.  And the fact that Jean was the one who had sewed the blanket made it even more perfect.  We knew that she would be excited, but I didn't know it would be like this!  While we plan to just call her Nora, I know one person who will always be referring to her as Nora Jean.  And that's alright with me.

Tapas, Batman, and a Milkshake in a Purse

This wasn't exactly a surprise...but this weekend we took a spontaneous trip to Iowa City for a double date night.  On Friday night, Laura and I were talking about how badly we wanted to eat at Devotay (remember the post about Devotay, right? Community Spotlight: Devotay).  When the two of us go there, it's never-ending plates of tapas coming to the table...and now, we are both pregnant.  Yikes!  And since my birthday is coming up next week, Laura said she would take me there to celebrate.  So, when my mom said she could keep both of the boys on Saturday night, the plan was set:  double date in Iowa City.
It was a great night.  I'm sure it will be my last trip more than 10 miles from home, considering my due date is only 4 weeks from today.  And there's nowhere I would rather go on my last trip than Iowa City!  On the drive there, Laura and I joked that we were going to order the entire menu...turns out that wasn't far from the truth.  And everything was delicious.  When I eat there, I literally feel like I'm sitting outside at a bar in Spain eating tapas and people-watching.
After dinner, we headed to Coralville to see the Dark Knight Rises.  Since we dragged our husbands all the way up there for dinner, we decided we should at least go see the new Batman movie.  We filled our purses with snacks (literally...in fact, Laura's purse was holding a milkshake from Whitey's and a cup of iced-tea from Chik-Fil-A...hilarious) and went in to watch the superheroes.  The movie was good, our tummies were full with delicious food, and we had a great time enjoying each other's company.

A good, spontaneous date night in one of my favorite cities.  Good food, good friends, and most likely my last date night with my hubby before we become parents of three.  This is one happy girl.

It's a....

Laura's nickname is "Laura Bee" so I made up this basket for the special day :)

GIRL! Our favorite chef, Miss Laura, AKA my best friend, is having a GIRL! Can you sense the excitement in my typing?!?!

This week was Laura's ultrasound...I have been waiting and waiting to find out if I'm getting a niece or a nephew this December. I have to admit, I've been hoping for a girl (obviously) since I'm having a girl myself this August!

Anyhow, they decided that they were going to use the new "filled cupcakes" way of telling the gender of baby Painter. (Fill the cupcakes with pink or blue frosting, and cut them open to share your news!) Now, Laura may be our go-to cook/chef for the blog, but she will tell you herself that baking is not her thing. No worries...it's my thing! She asked me to make the cupcakes for them to share with the family, and I could not be happier to do it!  After all, that means I would be one of the first to know!!!

So, on Wednesday morning Laura and Tim showed up at my door, with a familiar white bag in hand.  Donuts! "We brought you a donut", she said, with a huge smile on her face.  I knew right away it would be cherry (pink) or blueberry (blue).  "Well, I hope it's a boy then, because I love blueberry donuts and I don't like cherry ones!" As I opened the bag, there it was:  a cherry donut.  A GIRL! (Of course Laura knew my donut preference, so she brought me a chocolate one to devour after finding out the news!)

It was such a great moment to share with them.  I immediately ran to get my pink-themed gifts (yes, I had both ready.  I've been waiting for this moment for a long time!) and watched the parents-to-be open their goodies for their sweet baby girl.  What a good way to start a Wednesday!

...and then I got to work on the cupcakes.  Funny part...I had to make both pink and blue frosting, because my older son Sam already knows the filled-cupcake process, and I couldn't have him spilling the beans before Laura's family knew!  So, I filled them all up with bright pink frosting, a smile on my face the entire time.  After work, Laura took them to her parents house and her family members came to share in the surprise.  So fun!  At the same time, I took two lonely cupcakes over to my family (who was also very excited to find out!) and we bit into ours, too!

Hooray for pink-filled cupcakes.  As a non-pink lover, I never thought I would say that.  But the thought of Laura and I pushing our strollers around with our two baby girls, only a few months from now, just makes me giddy inside!  And, like every Sunday, hooray for surprises!  What would life be without them? :)

The finished product:  surprise-filled cupcakes for Laura's family! So cute!

Surprises: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This past week, and this upcoming week, are full of surprises in our family.  Some have been good, some have been not-so-great...

On Tuesday, my grandma and my mom's birthday, the plan was to surprise my grandma for her 80th birthday...the surprise was two-fold.  Not only were we having a "surprise party" (she knew we were having dinner, but not that we had invited some of her oldest, dearest friends), but her youngest daughter and grandson were flying in that day to surprise her as well.  They were going to hide out at my house until dinnertime, and surprise her at the party. Well...that didn't exactly happen. My uncle, who didn't come with them this time, called to tell my grandma happy birthday, and told her to enjoy her time with Kathy and Bruno and he's sorry he couldn't make it this time.  Yup, he ruined the surprise.  Turns out we had made sure to tell everyone not to tell about Kathy's arrival, but we had failed to tell her own husband that it was a surprise!

My grandma and her friends

On the bright side, everyone was very happy to see Kathy and Bruno, and the surprise party went by without a hitch.  My grandma was so surprised and she thoroughly enjoyed the evening with some of her best friends.  It was so fun to watch her enjoy her special day!

Now, the ugly...in the past 10 days or so, both of my kids have been sick.  Two of their cousins have been sick.  My mom has been in bed for 4 days now.  And, as of today, another of their cousins, as well as my husband, are dealing with a high fever and just plain yuckiness. Now that is a surprise that no one wants to see coming their way!  Unfortunately it came my way as well...but it was accompanied by more contractions and severe leg pain, which altogether led to my doctor sending me to the hospital to get checked out.  BOO to those surprises. BOO.

Boy or Girl???

But let's end on a good note...and this one is a great one!  Only 3 days from now, my best friend (chef Laura) will be finding out the gender of her baby.  The suspense is literally killing me.  I cannot wait to find out if I'm getting a niece or a nephew in December!!!  I'm sure she will think of a super-cute way to tell us, too.  Yet another surprise to be excited about!  Hooray!

This week I am wishing all of you some happy, surprise-filled moments.  None of the bad and ugly stuff...and if you come anywhere near my family members, make sure to wash your hands! :)

Surprise in a Blanket.

All tied-up and ready for baby girl to arrive :)

As many of you know, my aunt Jeannie and I have a baby blanket business called “Just Duckie” (www.justduckieblankies.blogspot.com) (If you missed Friday’s post about the blankies, go back and look at it!)  We have been making blankies together for about 3 years now. When we started, I had just become a mommy to my son, Sam.  Three years later, I’m almost due with my third baby!  Throughout our time working on the blankies, I think that our products have gotten cuter and cuter each time.  My main job is design—I pick out the fabrics, I match up the blankies with the burp cloths, I find the embroidery and applique images online, and I put the final baskets/bags together.  But Jean is the key…she’s the one who can actually sew!  And she has an amazing embroidery machine (our second one since we started Just Duckie) that makes the most adorable things for our babies!

Anyhow, long story short…I’ve obviously been busy making blankies lately, since my baby girl is due in August and all I had were blue and green boy blankies in my closet.  But, the best thing about our blankies is that they are personalized (with names, birthdates, etc.).  And since I’m not skilled at the embroidery machine, I have to rely on Jean for that part.  But here’s the catch…my husband and I are keeping the baby’s name a secret!  So we hatched a plan…

Jean taught me the basics of the new machine, and then left me in the room with the door shut while I typed in the baby’s name and let the machine do the work.  We crossed our fingers that the thread wouldn’t break while the machine was working, because threading is my downfall, and then she would see the name!  Luckily, no thread breakage.  I was so happy that it worked!  And, although we have known our baby girl’s name for about 8 years now (no joke!), we just recently decided on her middle name, so as I looked at the blanket, it was like her name was now officially her name.  And since I’m now 7 months pregnant and very emotional, I almost cried when I saw it!

Fabric hiding the name! No peeking!

Then it was time to sew the embroidered piece to the other side of the blanket.  Now, this is something I am capable of, but it turns out much better when Jean does it.  So, I grabbed a scrap of fabric from the drawer and pinned it all around where her name is on the blanket, and got it all ready for Jean to sew.  She came in, sewed it up (without peeking!), and gave it to me.  Hence the name of today’s post:  “surprise in a blanket”.  Needless to say, this blanket now has to be hidden extremely well.  The entire family was searching for it in my things last night, and they are dying to know her name!

My due date is 7 weeks away, and the excitement is building all around. I am so glad to have a blanket with her name on it, all ready to go to the hospital with me when the time comes.  And I’m even more excited for everyone to finally see the blanket and what name appears on it!  I plan to let aunt Jeannie do the honors and open the blanket on the day that baby girl decides to arrive.  After all, she is my partner in “Just Duckie” crime, and she chose not to peek when she easily could have!

So…this post will actually have two parts.  We don’t know when the second part will be, but when baby girl comes and aunt Jeannie opens the blankie, I will be there with my camera in hand…and then I will share the happy moment with you on the blog!  Hooray for secrets, I love them!

Steal my thunder, please!

As you all know, “chef Laura” and I have been best friends since high school. During that time, we have obviously been through a lot of ups and downs—with our families, with our group of friends, with our jobs, school, etc.  Of course when something big happens, you want your best friend to be one of the first to know.  Well, those “big moments” are kind of an inside joke with Laura and I. Here’s why…

…when I got engaged, it was right around Thanksgiving and I figured we could tell all of our friends and family in person, since they would be coming home for the holidays. Laura was living in Milwaukee at the time, and I wanted to tell her on the phone so badly, but since I love surprises so much I decided to wait until she came home.  Well, it turned out that all of our other friends came home before her, and so did my family, and in the end she was actually one of the last to know.  I felt terrible, and I know it hurt her feelings.

…and then began a series of what we call “steal my thunder” moments.  Just three short months after we got married, I found out I was pregnant.  It was around Christmas time, and we only told a few family members.  Yet again, I decided to wait until the “right moment” to tell Laura my big news.  We always do a little mini-Christmas, just the two of us, so I decided that would be the time.  She arrived at my house, her arms full of presents, and a HUGE smile on her face.  Next thing I know, she’s holding out her hand---to show me her engagement ring!  I was so happy for her, and I knew that I couldn’t just go and steal her thunder.  “Oh, you’re engaged? Well I’m pregnant!”.  So, we opened our gifts, and I kept my secret a little longer.  However, that meant that a lot more people were finding out before her…just like when I got engaged. When she told me they were planning to get married within the year, I panicked—what if she picked a date close to my due-date?  I just had to tell her!  So, Matt and I tell her we are coming over to hang out.  When we show up, she has a stack of bridal magazines and her laptop is open with pictures of potential bridesmaid dresses…she’s all ready for a best-friend wedding-planning evening!  There I go, stealing some more thunder!  I looked at some of her stuff, and then we started talking about our new house.  We had picked up some paint samples for all the rooms, so I showed her all the colors…the last one I showed her was a light yellow color, for the nursery.  There, the news was out---we were having a baby!  Of course Laura was beyond excited for us, and it turns out she was kind enough to get married in October, after my son was born in August.  So, I didn’t have to be huge pregnant at the ceremony, and better yet I didn’t have to miss it entirely due to giving birth!

…just after my son turned a year old, we found out I was pregnant again.  Same old story…some friends were going to be in from out of town, so we decided we would tell the whole group—friends and family—at the same time.  It was October 3^rd.  Laura’s first wedding anniversary was the next day (crazy, I know!), and it just so happens that she and her husband were in Lake Tahoe for an anniversary trip…so another dilemma had arrived.  Do I call and tell her on the phone (which I didn’t want to do) and “steal her thunder” while she’s on her special trip?  Or do I wait until she gets home to tell her in person, which would make her find out last yet again? I couldn’t let that happen again, so as soon as we shared our news, I got on the phone to tell her.  “Sorry to bother you on your trip, but…” All we could do was laugh.  How many more of these moments would we have??

…fast forward to this January.  Laura’s brother is in Afghanistan, two of her family members have passed away, and she’s just feeling kind of bummed.  Matt and the boys and I are getting ready to leave on vacation to Texas, and I ask her to come over to hang out for a while the day before we leave.  As a best friend, I know my part---to commiserate with her, to find all the things going wrong in my own life and sit with her eating junk food while we talk about our troubles.  See, I really do know what I’m supposed to do! However, one of our plans for our trip was to tell the Texas family that we are expecting our third baby!  So, as Laura drove up to my house that day, I could have cried.  I knew that things just weren’t going her way lately, and it’s so hard to see your friend like that…especially when you yourself are so happy and excited about good news.  To make matters worse, she walks up to my door with a huge pack of Cherry Pepsi, my favorite drink.  “For your trip!” she says and puts on a smile.  (You may be wondering why the Cherry Pepsi matters…it’s just that I don’t drink caffeine when I’m pregnant, so I had just quit drinking my favorite drink only a few weeks before this, and it was killing me!)…Yet another of the uncomfortable, thunder-stealing, ridiculous moments in our friendship!!!

…but let’s save the best for last.  This last story happened just two weeks ago, and I still have goosebumps.  It was the day of my baby shower, and Laura was coming over to help get things ready.  As I looked around the room that day, I realized she was the only girl there who hadn’t had a baby yet.  Not a big deal, people have babies at different times.  But as women, we are so silly and tend to feel left out of the group if we are the only one who doesn’t have something in common with everyone else.  I don’t know if Laura was even thinking about it, but I was, and I hoped that she was still having a good time.  We had a really nice day, and at the end of it, Matt and I were sitting in the living room with the boys, looking at all of our wonderful gifts and talking about how excited we were for our little girl to arrive.  Laura texted me to say that she had forgotten something at my house, so I told her to come on over.  Mind you, even though it was my baby shower that day, I was on bed-rest, and couldn’t do much more than sit in the chair and admire my gifts!  So, Laura and Tim come in the back porch and walk into our living room.  She looks at Tim, takes his phone from him, and brings it over to me.  “Just wanted to show you this picture” she says.  I look at it, then look at it again.  I know exactly what it is, but I just can’t even believe it!  An ultrasound picture! My best friend is having a baby! And I can’t even get up off the couch to jump up and down! She comes to hug me, and I immediately start crying.  Happy tears, because every time I was pregnant I wanted her to be pregnant, too.  But sad tears too, because I couldn’t get up and do a happy dance with her!  And then I realize the funny part…this is my baby shower day!  We all start laughing and she says “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to steal your thunder!”  Oh Laura…you should have told me!  You should have stolen my thunder!  It would have made a great day even better!

…So what have we learned from this?  For Laura and I, we have learned that we both have bad timing for good news.  We are both destined to steal each other’s thunder.  But in the end, a little bit of stolen thunder is no big deal between best friends.  I am happy to share in both good and bad times in Laura’s life, and I know she feels the same.  Besides…it makes for a funny story later!  I love you so much Laura, and there really isn’t anyone more excited than me about your baby! (well, I suppose the grandparents would rank above me, but this is my blog, not theirs, so ha!)

Surprise? Not Yet!

Today I woke up in pain.  Sharp, sharp pain in the pelvic area.  I finally forced myself to get out of bed and get Cooper ready for church, because they were going to celebrate his birthday in their Sabbath School class.  We picked up Sam and my dad, went to church, and I got more and more uncomfortable.  Sitting is nearly impossible these days…our baby girl is very low, and I’ve had lots and lots of pressure.

I made it through church, but during the family lunch at my grandma’s house I ended up laying down in the living room—having all of those Braxton Hicks contractions I’ve now, unfortunately, become accustomed to.  However, today they were accompanied by lower back pain, as well as some other (better left un-mentioned) symptoms.  My Aunt Becky was convinced I was in labor, so she had me get outside and walk down the block, to see if the symptoms either subsided or got worse.  Unfortunately, neither happened.  I felt exactly the same, and I still do now, at 11:00 pm.

My cousin Elyse tells me I should never google medical symptoms, but of course I did, and as I read the list for “preterm labor symptoms”, I have not one, not two, but all of them.  YIKES! 

For that reason, my post today will be short…and yet, it’s still fitting for “Sunday Surprises”.  You never know what you’re going to get!  Last night I went to bed feeling normal, and today was totally off…who knows what tomorrow holds.  Maybe I’ll wake up feeling normal again.  Or maybe I’ll be making a trip to the hospital!

Keep us in your thoughts…I have a feeling that my little girl is definitely going to surprise us and come early…but 9 weeks early is a little too early for our liking.  Just wait a little longer, baby girl! J

My Dad.

Normally, my Sunday posts are about surprises, but today is Father’s Day and, to no one’s surprise, I’m going to tell you about my dad.

Smiling at my dad before walking down the aisle

As my mom would tell you, I have always been a Daddy’s Girl.  And if you had my dad, you would be too!  I have the best dad in the whole world.  By far.  He has loved me, taken care of me, played with me, and basically lived his life to make me happy every day of my life.  I have enough happy childhood memories to fill a blog every day of the year…and that’s something to be truly grateful for.

If you know my dad, you know that he truly is a kid at heart.  Well, not just at heart…he can usually be found playing with the kids and acting like a crazy person!  When I was little, he would literally drag the hose inside and we would have water-fights in the house.  One time he filled our entire living room with bubbles.  He used to let my cousin and I fix his hair, put make-up on him, basically whatever we wanted!  He was always ready to play, and he was always there for me.  He never missed a single school event, and I swear he was the proudest daddy in the room.

SO happy.

As I grew up, he continued to be by my side.  I’ll never forget the night I was laying in my room crying because we had to climb the rope the next day in gym class, and I knew that I couldn’t do it.  I was afraid of being embarrassed in front of my class, and I didn’t want to go to school.  The next thing I know, my dad is up in the attic, tying a rope to the rafters and letting it hang down into our hallway.  He was ready to teach me, right then and right there.  What a lucky girl I am.

I think it was around high school that I started to realize just how lucky I truly was…I started to learn more about the world around me, and I started to see that a lot of my friends were not as lucky in the dad-area.  I know that many of my guy friends came to look up to my dad, to see him as the type of dad that they didn’t have in their lives, but that maybe they could be for their own kids.  When I started dating my future-husband, I saw right away that my dad would love him as his own son.  And even though my husband has a good dad of his own, I know that he and my dad have formed a very strong bond, and that is another thing that I hope I never take for granted.

I don’t know who dreaded my first day of college more—me or my dad.  Even though I was only an hour away, it’s more of a symbolic “leaving home”.  He and my mom came to the over-night orientation with me, and in the morning just the two of us walked downtown Iowa City for my Spanish placement exam.  We got breakfast at Bruegger’s Bagels, and he told me about how that very building was where he lived when he went to school there.  Then we sat on a bench together outside…it wasn’t a momentous occasion, but it is one I will never forget. And throughout my five years at Iowa, when I missed my dad I would just walk over to Bruegger’s and think about him living there, going to college there like I did.



Our fancy dance moves!

I wish I could have been there when my husband asked my dad if he could propose to me.  Of course that would defeat the purpose!  When I came home with that ring on my finger, I ran down the stairs to greet my dad at the front door, just like I always had when I lived at home, and he gave me the biggest hug, along with the biggest smile on his face.  As we prepared for the wedding, he surprised me by getting us dance lessons for the Father-Daughter dance.  I know a lot of people do that, but coming from my dad, who had never danced that I could remember, it meant so much.  We had so much fun at the classes…neither of us is a good dancer, so we were difficult students!  In the end, it turned out wonderful, just as I had expected.  And I don’t think there is a girl in this world who was happier to walk down the aisle with her dad than I was that day.  As you can tell from the pictures, I just couldn’t stop smiling!

When I found out I was pregnant with my first son, I was most excited to tell my dad. (sorry Mom!) He just loves babies so much, and obviously when it was my baby he would love it even more!  For my first doctor’s appointment to hear the heartbeat, my husband had to work, so my dad went with me.  My doctor said “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a grandpa so excited before!”  Boy, was she right.  We decided to name our son after my dad, but we kept it a secret.  After he was born, when all of the grandparents came in to meet him, the nurse said “Samuel Roark is such a beautiful name”…she didn’t know we hadn’t told him yet!  For a split second I wanted to be mad at her, but then I turned and saw my dad’s face, with a tear in his eye and the biggest smile ever on his face.  And then nothing else mattered.  From that day, my son, and now my other son too, have been the light of my dad’s eyes, just like I was when I was a little girl.  To see him with them is like seeing my own childhood all over again, but even better. 

A good laugh.

My mom says when this little girl arrives in August, we are all doomed—and I’m afraid she’s right.  Judging from how my dad has loved me, and now loves my boys, once he lays eyes on my little girl no one else will ever have a chance in her heart.  And to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  My children are lucky enough to have the best grandpa in the whole wide world.

So here’s to you, Dad.  Thank you for always taking care of me, still to this day, and for loving me in a way that many people are never lucky enough to be loved.  You will never know how much you truly mean to me, but I hope that these words are a start.  And I will always be Daddy’s Girl, no matter what.  I love you.

Full of Surprises

Yesterday marked 9 years since we graduated high school.  Nine years.  In a way, it seems like a lifetime ago…after all, in these 9 years since we walked across the stage in our cap and gowns, I have earned two college degrees, lived abroad, gotten married, and given birth to two (soon three) children.  But on some occasions, like this weekend for example, it really does feel like yesterday that we were sitting there listening to our names being read to come and receive our diplomas---to take the next step in the journey of life.

This weekend I watched my cousin’s daughter, now 14 years old, dance her heart out at her yearly dance recital.  I cannot believe that she is fourteen years old…it’s a strange sensation, thinking about the fact that I was fourteen years old when she was born.  I remember holding her, rocking her, playing with her.  It’s funny how junior-high aged girls become attached to babies—I see it all the time.  And boy, was I attached to her!  I used to call her my little “munchkin”, I carried her picture with me everywhere, and I loved it when I got to “baby-sit” her.  And now here she is, getting ready to start high school.  It’s just impossible!

As if that wasn’t enough, tonight we went to celebrate the wedding of a dear, dear friend.  I feel like an old person when I say “dear, dear friend”, but that’s the only way I can think of to describe James.  We went to school together from Kindergarten to that day in June with our caps and gowns.  He was my “boyfriend” in fifth grade, and he was the cutest little thing ever.  At the end of the year, we always had a chorus concert, and as James was always the entertainer, one year he got up in front of all of those people—by himself—and belted out a Barry Manilow song.  I can remember him standing there, he was so tiny, with his hands in the air, singing his heart out.  And tonight as I watched him dance with his beautiful bride, that’s all I could think of.

Life is full of surprises.  When Tristan started dancing at age 3, I never thought that we would be receiving the call that she made the high school dance team.  But she did.  And she deserves it more than anyone I know.  And back in elementary school at the choir concert, my 9 or 10-year old mind could never have pictured the day that little Barry Manilow would be getting married, and that I would be sitting at his reception with two children of my own, and another in my tummy!

Nothing about these “surprises” is very surprising…people grow up, our little ones eventually go to high school, and in the end our friends will all probably get married (although I am doubting it with a few of our friends…ha!).  But still…it’s such a surprising moment to wake up and realize how much has changed, how we all have changed.  People might look at me and say that my life has not changed too much in these nine years since I graduated…I’m still in love with the same guy, I still live in my home town, and I still see a lot of those same friends on a regular basis.  But I have changed, and I hope it’s for the better.  I feel so much more comfortable in my skin, so much more aware of my surroundings, of how short life can truly be.

Don’t let life creep up on you and surprise you.  If there are things you’ve been wanting to do, or words you’ve been wanting to say, do it.  Or say it.  Or feel it.  And always take the time to remember the past…the friends that grew up with you, that sat next to you in fourth grade.  The moment you first met your husband or wife.  The moment that they placed your baby in your arms.  In a day filled with work, emails, homework, family drama, etc., sometimes we just need a break.  So, surprise yourself.  Take that break…even if it’s only for five minutes.  Let your mind wander to a place that makes you smile.  Call that friend you’ve been meaning to call.  Pull out the photo album, the yearbook, the old diary.  It really can turn a bad day into a good, nostalgic moment.

Life is full of surprises---both good and bad.  But remember the message behind this blog, and specifically on Sundays:  “Look for the good in surprises”. 

Little Surprises Make A Big Difference

Today was my fourth day of bed-rest.  Let me tell you, four days is enough.  I don’t know how women do this for weeks, even months!  I am bored, I am tired of sitting on the couch and having other people do things for me, and mostly I am sad that I cannot pick up my kids or run around and get them what they need like I always do.

I have a lot of help, and I appreciate each and every one of my family and friends who have been here for me this week.  We are having baby girl’s baby shower at my house, so today everyone was coming to help me get ready.  It was a busy day, lots of things to get done and lots of people running around.  I had a lot of extra hands helping me clean my house, decorate for the party, and take care of my two boys.  But I have to admit, with no offense to everyone else, that my favorite bit of the day came this afternoon…my mom, aunt, and friend came to the door yelling “meals on wheels”, as they brought in a plate of food that my grandma had made for lunch.  Everything looked delicious, but then I saw the foil-covered second plate…

…my favorite thing in the whole wide world, my grandma’s apple pie.  Sometimes little surprises from the ones we love can really make a difference.  That piece of pie just melted in my mouth, and it made me feel so much better.  It really did.

And so today, as you go about your day, try to remember that sometimes the smallest surprises are the best, and sometimes people could really use that surprise, in a small or even a big way in their lives.  And if you are in need of a little pick-me-up, I hope that you get it soon!

PS…the best part is, she sent two pieces of pie, so I am going to sleep with a smile on my face, knowing that the other one is waiting in my kitchen. And yes, I will be eating it for breakfast.

the BEST apple pie on earth. hands down.

What was one of the best “little surprises” that you ever got?  Why was it so important to you?

A Letter to my Second-Born

Today’s grab-bag topic is my second-born son, Cooper Alonzo.  As you read this blog today, we will be celebrating his second birthday with our family and friends.  And even as I write these words, I can not believe that my baby boy will be two years old this Tuesday! I have been keeping journals for the boys since before they were born, so I am always writing to them, but this is my chance to let the world hear! A big thank you to Robin at Pink Dryer Lint (www.pinkdryerlint.com) for the idea to post “letters” on the blog to each of my wonderful children.  And so, this one is for Cooper.

To My Second-born Son:

First breakfast with Mommy

I will never forget the day you joined our family.  You must have been anxious to meet us, because you arrived in record time! Only 67 minutes after I checked into the emergency room, I was holding you in my arms.  You were such a beautiful baby…dark brown (almost black) hair, and such a pretty olive-skin color!  At 6 pounds 13 ounces, you were no smaller than the average baby, but you seemed incredibly tiny to Daddy and I, after your brother had come out at a whopping ten pounds!  I remember sitting in the hospital that night, and instead of holding you, we kept laying you out on the bed with us to talk about how small you were!  The next morning, I propped you up on the pillow next to me while I ate breakfast, and Daddy took our picture. I absolutely love that picture of you…so tiny!

Meeting big brother for the first time!

Your first few weeks of life were very busy…we brought you home to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, where we were living at the time.  Those first days were spent packing up our things, trying to get your big brother used to having another little one in Mommy and Daddy’s life, and adjusting to life in our new home.  You were such a good baby.  You slept a lot, and snuggled with your “bobo” blankie (before you were born, your brother referred to you as “bobo”).  As if you weren’t beautiful enough when you were born, you just kept getting more and more beautiful!  Big eyes like mommy, dark skin like your Grandpa, and the cutest little body!  You loved to be in your big, soft swing (you looked so tiny in there!), and Mommy had to watch you every minute, because your 21-month-old “big brother” was not very good with baby brother!  Don’t worry…he didn’t mean it!

Your first Christmas!

Through these past two years, you have grown into such a handsome boy. Your hair has gotten a little lighter, but your skin is still to-die-for brown. You are still so little, and I cannot believe that it has been two years since that day, when Grandma and I welcomed you into the world and Daddy came running in only two minutes too late!  You have learned to hold your own with your big brother, and these days it’s usually him that comes running and crying for Mommy!

Your FIRST birthday!

Although you may be small in size (you are still only about 25 pounds), you have enough personality for a whole boat-load of kids!  You love anything Toy Story, and you run around the house with your arms outstretched, yelling “Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!”  You love juice (I’ve never seen a kid drink so much of anything…) and now you just walk over to the cupboard, get out your cup and lid, and bring it to me or Daddy to fill up.  You are talking more and more every day, especially these last few weeks.  You call your brother Sam “Sammie”, and you follow him around like he’s the only person in the whole world to you.  I pray that I never, ever forget  these days with my boys, and that I always remember the adorable things you both do every day.  We thought that you would be the quiet one of the bunch, but you are proving to be quite the feisty one!  In fact, you threw yourself quite the fit last night in the frozen aisle at Wal-Mart! But hey, most of the time you are a sweet, sweet boy.  That's all that matters!

You are so precious, Cooper Alonzo.  You are loved by so many, and at the top of that list is your Mommy, your Daddy, and your big brother Sam.  Our family would not be complete without you, and that day we brought you home in your little blue shirt with the brown squirrel on it was one of the best days of our lives!  You bring so much joy and laughter to our home, and we love you more than you will ever know.

Happy second birthday, my little second-born.  Mommy loves you.

My Two Favorite Surprises

In honor of “Surprise Sundays”, let me share with you the two best surprises that have ever happened to me:

Friday, August 22, 2008.

After nearly five weeks of complete misery, my first baby boy finally decided to make his appearance.  The doctors, and nurses, had been telling me for weeks that he was coming, to stay nearby the hospital, to leave my house at the first hint of labor. Friday morning comes…my husband is at work, so my parents are staying with me.  I feel some contractions, decide to get ready.  Feel a few more, decide to pack the bag.  By the time we get in the car, I feel one big one, and tell my dad to hurry!  We arrive at the hospital around 10:00 AM.  My mom and I wait anxiously to hear if today is the day (after I have had one too many false alarms).  The doctor comes in to check me out, and says “you’re going to have your baby today!”.  My mom cries, we call my husband, and I get myself ready for the unknown.  I no longer have pain—the doctor tells me to walk a few flights of stairs.  I walk 8 flights.  They wonder why he isn’t coming faster, so they do an ultrasound.  Everything looks good, he’s a healthy baby, about 8 pounds they say.  They decide to break my water (not pleasant), and then it hurts.  The first word out of my mouth is “epidural”, and so they get me one.  By now it is around 3:30 PM.  I am ready to push, they say.  As I push, my husband holds my legs so tight that I get bruises.  After about an hour and a half of pushing, my perfect firstborn son comes out and screams his first scream at 5:51 pm.  Here comes the surprise….the nurse takes him over to clean him up, and sets him on the scale.  She picks him up, re-starts the scale, and weighs him again.  She motions to the doctor, who goes over, and they weigh him a third time.  By now, my husband has gone to see what all the fuss is about.  My baby, our baby, weighs 10 pounds 1 ounce and is 22 ¼ inches long.  Now that is a BIG surprise!  (…..for those of you who don’t know me, I am 5’6” and normally weigh around 110 pounds...NO one saw that coming!)

Samuel Roark

Saturday, May 29, 2010.

My now 21-month-old son wakes up unusually early (around 5:00) and wants to read books.  This is very out of the ordinary.  Nevertheless, I get him a few books and we read.  He drifts back to sleep, and I am about to do the same, but then a big sharp pain….my first contraction with baby #2.  I look at my phone to see what time it is: it’s 5:51AM (exactly the time that big brother was born).  About 20 minutes later, another contraction.  I sleep in between them, and get out of bed a couple hours later.  They are coming about every 10 minutes, but not as hard, so I load up my son in the car and we go to the Farmer’s Market with my parents.  I push the stroller, my mom sees me stop and hang on to the handle tightly.  “Are you ok?” she asks.  “Yes, just another contraction” I answer.  We buy some candied popcorn for my boy, and I buy myself a loaf of bread.  The market vendor says “Are you going to have your baby soon?”  and I say “Yes, I think today!”  Everyone laughs, but I’m not kidding.  We leave the market around 9:30AM, and we go home.  I decide to lay down on the couch, my mom runs an errand, and my dad takes my son for a walk.  I’m laying on the couch, sending text messages to my friends and calmly telling them I’m sure that I’m in labor.  When the contractions are 4 minutes apart, I call my doctor, who is out riding his bike.  “Meet me at the hospital,” he says.  So, we load up the car and drive.  I check in the emergency room at 11:07AM.  They offer me a wheelchair, and I say “no, that’s ok, I can walk”.  My mom and I walk to the elevator; my dad takes my son to play at the fountain.  We check in to labor and delivery, and the nurse says “you are almost ready to have the baby!”.  We call my husband, I ask for the epidural, and my nightmare comes true:  it’s too late to have the epidural, I’m too far along.  They offer to bring me some pain meds, and I wait impatiently for them.  The nurse comes to put in the I.V. and says “oh, I forgot something”.  She walks out for a minute, and then I feel it.  I turn to my mom and say, “I think his head is coming out”.  She runs for the nurse, who calmly says “oh, honey, that’s just some pressure. It’s normal”.  She comes over to check and be sure…and then she runs to the hall.  I was right---his head was coming out!  No time for pain meds or IV’s.  The doctor comes running in just as I push.  After a few hard pushes, I feel his head come out.  I look at my mom and say “now I have to prepare for the shoulders, I remember that was hard the first time”.  She looks at me and laughs, tells me to look over at the doctor, who is holding my son.  Surprise….he is here!  The time is now 12:14.  My husband is  driving his semi-truck at ridiculous speeds down residential streets. He walks in just as they take him to the scale.  For nine months I have feared what size baby comes after the 10-pound firstborn, but I can see that he is nowhere near that size.  The scale reads 6 pounds 13 ounces.

Cooper Alonzo

 

I sure do love surprises, but I can’t think of any better surprise in the whole world than these two precious, precious boys that call me Mommy.  One surprised us by coming out the size of a 3-month old, and the other by arriving in just over an hour.  And I wouldn’t trade either experience for the world.  I am anxious (very anxious) to see what surprises their little sister has in store for us when she arrives this summer.  Only 3 more months until her story is told!