By the numbers

HOW MANY?

Of your children were in the portable crib this morning?
3. Hopefully not all at once, but it would not be too surprising.

Packages of newborn diapers has your baby used?
5-6. Nothing is precise anymore, my brain is fuzzy. I'm opening the last one today, he needs to go up a size. A further complication to getting a complete count is the half package we brought home from the hospital and the half package given to us by a friend that had not been used up. Do those two "halves" make a whole?

Calories can your two year old consume while you take a nap?
Not sure I want the answer to this one. At least 400. I found 5 candy wrappers, a cereal box on the couch, cookies on the kitchen floor, a half eaten candy cane in her sticky mouth and hands, and a report of missing strawberries from the fridge.

Hours of TV will your five yr. old watch while you take a nap?
Unlimited, as in she's never gotten up from the couch and said, "I've had enough.". This morning it was 2. No I didn't sleep that long, during part of it I was nursing and showering. I did get a lovely 40 minute nap out of it.

Children are invited to "Pizza with the Principal"?
A & B are eating lunch in the principal's office today because they achieved a certain number of points in the Accelerated Reader program. Way to go! Can't wait to find out how many others were there.

Loaves of bread baked this week?
3

Recipes in my file of "Recipes to Try"?
Don't want to know. It's two inches thick. Must stop collecting more! Please don't send me any. That doesn't even touch the cookbooks. Time to purge. I would happily give away "Crock Pot Cooking" to anyone interested. It was an impulse purchase, on the $5 table at the bookstore. Must stop reading blogs with recipes.

Times have you ordered fabric online?
Once, and it's on it's way. Can't wait to open that package.
Pieces of fabric are in it? 3

Times has Ed gone to take children to school this week?
Two.

Minutes have you used your exercise bike this week? 27

More times will you have to buy laundry soap in TX?
NONE! I have 6 containers now and think it is enough to get me to June.

I love numbers. A lady I know in Chicago counts the number of loads of laundry she does. When I found out, it made me laugh--and I thought it was BRILLIANT! I started keeping track of the number of loaves of bread I bake. I listed them in my journal in 2009, but haven't totaled them. Some numbers you don't want to know, others are funnier to find out.What are your numbers?

p.s. Deal of the week: 5 lb bag of TX grapefruit for $1.47.

Scouting Builds Men

My little Ed helped me retire from Cub Scouts, at least for now. It is a bittersweet change.

Scouting includes all the skills I want my sons to have, and is an organized way for them to achieve these skills. I love the memories I created with Andrew and his friends. At one point, half my scouts came from single parent families. These single mothers are great heroes.
I learned to be ready for the meetings 30 minutes before they started, because that is when my first scout(s) would arrive. The activity pictured above was in December, when Nathan spent the first few minutes teaching them how to tie a tie. Some of my favorite activities: kickball in our cul de sac, Day Camp 2009 (I thought I would never live through this in the 100 degree heat with morning sickness), field trip to the fire station, charades, marbles, woodworking, and the opening and closing songs from each meeting.

We sang:
I am a Child of God
Teach Me to Walk in the Light
America
Love at Home
How Firm a Foundation
The Star Spangled Banner
Choose the Right

Boundless energy and potential sitting behind those ties.
Sam, Brenton, Trent, Spencer, Andrew, Dakota, Ricky, Connor, Seth, Mason, and Austin

Big Sister

How I love this face!

For the past few months, I've been napping with her every weekday. 

(I let Nathan take the weekends).

My favorite moment is when she decides it's time to close her eyes.

She fights sleep for a long time, but eventually has to give in.

If I am still awake when she stops moving, I say,

"I love you Diana,"

to see if she's awake.

It's great when she is, because then she answers,

"I love you, too!"

I will miss her nap time when it is gone.

My big sister gave me this dress when her girls were done with it. It is one of my favorites.

Sunday Best

My talented friend Katie made Edwin this cute outfit.
Today he wore his first tie.

He's doing really well.

Shyster

Shyster--a slang word for someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics (Wikipedia)

[First time I didn't know the meaning of one of Bryn's spelling words,
surely not the last].

Meet Edwin

The most thoughtful gesture during my delivery was when my OB told everyone in the room, "Since they don't know the baby's gender, let's have Dad tell mom what it is."
That detail meant so much to us--and she let us share it. Thanks, Dr. P!

Nathan and I both preferred a boy this time, but didn't realize just how much until he was born.
(We are both pleased Andrew has a brother).

When we called my mom to tell her the baby had arrived, we didn't tell her the gender until she got to the hospital. She picked up Andrew and Bryn from school, and had been home with Caitlin and Diana.

When they walked in, I said, "Andrew, do you want to be the first to hold your new BROTHER?"

I love the moment when siblings meet. It is quiet, loving, and feels like sacred ground.

 

Edwin means "wealthy friend." I call him Ed.

"True wealth is really the love of our families, the confidence of friends and neighbors, and faith in God.
The poorest Saint in the Church who possesses loved ones and is following the Savior's path is incomparably more wealthy than the one who has untold wealth."            Joseph F. Smith

babE Hunt

We are home!
We will be adding more blues and greens to our laundry loads.

Born TH, 8:38 a.m., 8 pounds, 4 oz, 20.5 inches
Both mom and baby are healthy and tired. More photos to come and more info, later!