Too Much

From the time Eamon was little and now with Aine, we have played I love you Soooooooo much. Today it was a bit different.

M: Eamon, how much do I love you?

E: Too much

Perhaps, but I will always love you tons and then some.

Sunday

After our nightly shower tonight, bundled in a towel, Eamon sat down on the floor and peed. This was the discussion we had later about the incident.

Eamon, when do we potty on the floor?

On Sunday

Really, well today is Wednesday, so we don't pee on the floor/ We potty in the toilet.

Granted I asked a bad question, however I was expecting the response "Never. We potty in the toilet." Just goes to show what I know. Oh, and if you come to our house on Sunday, don't pee on the floor.

Cleaning Vegetables

While cleaning vegetables today, Eamon grabbed one of the beets.

"Daddy, look the beet has a tentacle."

"That is the root"

"See. It is moving with it's tentacles."

After a brief explanation about vegetables not having tentacles, Eamon proceeded to move onto the brocoli. Perhaps he is a budding Jacque Cousteau...

Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed

Thank you, Uncle Petey & Auntie Lori

We stayed home today and had a wonderful day. The kiddos played outside for quite a long time. They LOVED riding around in the TONKA truck from Uncle Petey & Auntie Lori. Aine climbed into the truck and Eamon pushed...

The Family Birthday Celebration...

Playroom Pictures

We had lots of fun playing in the playroom the other day. Here are some photos...

House of Vomit and Diarrhea

I awoke last night around 1 am to the sounds of Aine vomiting. She continued vomiting, so I setup camp at the computer. She slept a bit while I held here. Finally around 4:15, I crawled back into bed with her. We started to fall asleep when I heard Eamon puttering down the hall followed by Dave. Apparently Eamon had just vomited. It was now 4:45. After stripping more beds, changing clothes and washing faces, we went back to sleep. Around 6am, Aine vomited again. Hmmmm, back at the computer. Eamon awoke later feeling better. He did vomit one more time after asking Dave to hold him. Luckily Eamon threw up before Dave picked him up.

Tonight everyone seems much better. Aine even had time for some smiles and frolicking in a huge bubble bath.

Bigger Than Big Bird

Eamon and I went to the grocery store tonight to pick up some ginger ale. On the way home, we were discussing the days of the week. I told him that tomorrow is Saturday, and he will have his class at the YMCA (Itty Bitty Sports). He agreed and said that he will get bigger and bigger tomorrow like Big Bird. Apparently he has informed Dave that on his birthday he will he bigger than Big Bird and need a new bed.

This from the no TV kid....

Telephone Call

"Mama, I need to make a call."

"Um, okay."

"Hi, Ashlyn. Whatcha doing? Yea. Yea. Yea. Is your mama there? Hi, Auntie. When are you coming over? Yea. Yea. Should we come over. You sound lonely. 'bye."

A Boy and his....

CAR. Eamon, Aine & I made cars today out of boxes. Aine was covered in marker. It looked like she had a huge bruise on her leg. Eamon drove his car quite a bit. He kept hitting bumps like the car in Malia's Wiggles tape. Here he is in his driving regalia...

Anger Management

We received a package the other day from Auntie Erin. Eamon was very excited. I reminded him that it was a birthday gift for Aine. He agreed, but he told me that she said he could play with it.

Apparently I didn't have to worry. Aine was content just playing with the box while Eamon played with the dollhouse. The only thing that made her REALLY mad was when I took one of the paper advertisements away from her...


Today Eamon and Aine were eating breakfast. Eamon decided breakfast would be more fun if he sat REALLY close to Aine and ate off her tray. Aine wasn't so excited....

Missing Seed

Today the kiddos & I celebrated Auntie Maura's birthday. We headed over to Grandma & Grandad's house for the festivities. Timothy was making dinner, but my mom was out of garlic. I offered to run to the store, because I figured Eamon needed a change of scenery. The two of us went to the store (Aine stayed with her grandma).

While we were standing in the checkout line, I noticed Eamon had his finger in his nose. I asked him what he was doing, he replid, "My seed is in there." I immediately cheked up his nose, but I didn't see said seed. He had been holding two Mesquite seeds in his hand since leaving my parents' house. Now one had been sucked up into his nostril??? The cashier was looking at me like I had lost my mind. She probably regretted giving him a balloon now that she knew he was a nose picker and seed snorted!

I told him to keep his finger out of his nose while trying to pay the cashier and leave the store. When we were finished paying, I told him to blow his nose while I plugged the unaffected nostril. Sure enough out blew a seed. Eamon said, "There's my seed!" Yep, kid, there is your seed....

Aine Pics

Looks like a Burney....



Love those crayons...

Genetic Deficiencies

Well, it appears that the kids have a genetic deficiency. Neither one has an innate sense to stay away from cacti. Eamon has had three forays with the prickly pear in the backyard. Now Aine is making her name. Eamon, Aine & I were at my friend Michelle's house. Michelle and I were working on washing some wool I received from Freecycle. I had moved Aine away from the HUGE prickly pear once and steered here to a better spot to explore. Well, she found her way back. I looked up from our work and saw her glancing up at the cactus. Then before I could move, she reached out her hand and rested her palm on the trunk. UGH!!! I swooped over and grabbed her. Her little hand was covered with spines. Oh, she howled while Michelle and I tried to get them out - tape, bath, tweezers. We were able to get the majority out of her hand. Phew!! She regained her smile and went back to playing. Hopefully she learns faster than her big brother. I ca only handle so much of this!!

Haircuts...

Eamon and Dave had their hair cut today. Eamon wasn't too excited about his. He did love trying out the dryer seats. He also ended up shooting himself in the face with water at the shampoo basins when he was exploring. After the haircut, Eamon received a lollipop. On the way to the car, Eamon commented that he received the trashcan flavor. I immediately understood that to mean Rootbeer. Why, you may ask???? The rootbeer dumbells have a barrel on the wrapper. To Eamon it is a trashcan - thus trashcan flavored...

Birthday Girl

Well, Aine is one year old. This year has been a big blur. It seems like she was born yesterday. We spent the day at Railroad Park. The kids road the train and played on the playground. We had fun.


My little birthday girl

After the park, we went to Grandma and Granddad's house. We visited with Grandpa Loudon for a bit before having pizza and cake. Timothy, Maura and Malia also came over.

Grateful Update

I fell a bit behind on my grateful list. I have a good one for yesterday...

I am grateful that Steve and Cathy have a turtle (a tortoise to be specific). Eamon woke up and went to the bathroom (one of our rules for first waking in addition to making the bed). When he was finished, he mentioned that his penis was going in and out like a turtle. I remarked, "Really." He replied, "Yep, just like Steve's." My heart skipped a beat as I scanned my memory trying to determine when Eamon would have been alone with a man named Steve who played with his genitalia like a turtle. After that quick scan I remembered that Aunt Cathy and Uncle Steve has a tortoise which fascinated eAmon this past summer. The turtle's head went in and out :)

Recent Photos

Here are a few from the weekend and birthday outing...


Showing off our "GRRRRrrrrrr" face


Having fun on the train at Railroad Park


Playing on the Slide

Just Dave - My Sweetie

Aine's Birth Story

My baby turned one on Friday. I thought it would be fitting to post her birth story. I am so grateful I have this little pixie in my life.

Aine’s Birth Story

All January I wondered when our new little one would arrive. I figured she would arrive close to the “due date,” but I was sending her vibes to come early. Erin was in town and wanted to be at the birth. It didn’t work. Just like her brother, Aine came 1 week late. Here is the story of her birth.

On Thursday, February 3, 2005, I awoke around 3am to go to the bathroom. This wasn’t odd, since I had to go to the bathroom often toward the end of my pregnancy. After I crawled back into bed and curled up with Eamon, I had a contraction. At first I wasn’t sure, so I just laid there waiting to see if any more would come. I didn’t want to look at the clock, because I figured I would need some additional sleep if today was to be our baby’s birthday. So, I dozed off and on between contractions. They were super mild and I was able to sleep until 7:00am. I decided to get up and test to see if the contractions would end. I checked email, started some laundry, put the special home-made cinnamon rolls in the oven and began making our birthday cake. The contractions continued and were about 10 minutes apart.

Eamon and Dave woke up around 8:15am. I told Dave that today was the day. He asked how far apart they were and if I had called Marinah, our midwife. I told him that it was early and we had a ways to go. We had breakfast and played a bit. The contractions continued, but were mild and continued to be about 8-10 minutes apart. Dave wanted me to call Marinah to give her advance warning, so I called her. We talked a bit, and she told us to call when we wanted her to come. Shell and Mary were in town and all three were ready when we were.

Around 11:15am I was hoping Eamon would take a nap, so Dave & I laid down with him for an hour. He must have known something was up, because he only got more excited. We abandoned the nap idea after that.

Around noon I signed onto the computer to check email and then Marinah called to check on us. I told her the contractions were around 4-5 minutes apart and 30-40 seconds, but that I wasn’t timing them. She said that she and her assistants (Shell & Mary) were going to lunch, but to call when we wanted them here. I told Dave, but I could tell he was really nervous about this. He wanted a definite time to call (e.g 2 minutes apart).

After talking with Marinah, I decided to get into the birth tub. Once in the tub, I decided to time the contractions. They were closer to 45 seconds and 4 minutes apart. I heard Dave with Eamon in the other room and could tell that Dave needed Eamon to leave. He was getting frustrated with him due to his concern over labor. I suggested that Dave call Karen. He did and said she was on her way. She was coming from the zoo. He kept asking about the call with Marinah. I know he wanted definites, so I told him to call her directly. He got off the phone with her and said she was on her way. He still was a bit tense with eamon, and I knew he wanted to help support me, so I also suggested he call Rachel to come get Eamon now. He went to call her, and I yelled at him to bring me a pan. He asked if I was getting sick. Sure enough I vomited – at least I waited for him to bring me the bowl (YUCK).

Rachel came and took Eamon to her house to play around 2pm, so Dave was able to come support me. He was so good. He kept telling me to breathe and relax. The contractions were getting stronger and closer. Marinah arrived and needed to check my stats (pulse, BP, urine, fetal HR, etc). I stood in the tub during most of the exam leaning heavily on Dave. I went to the bathroom and stayed there for a few contractions. Once I stood up I had to vomit again…luckily the toilet was right there.

I crawled back into the tub and started moaning with the contractions. They were just so powerful. My support team encouraged the low moans and helped me stay focused. It was so hard. It felt like I couldn’t possibly do it any more. I remember hearing something in the other room. We all kid of looked at each other. Dave & I thought it was either the icemaker or cat. Nope, it was Karen. I told them to let her into the room. I didn’t talk to her – too busy, but I flashed her a weak smile.

I started to stand a bit more on my knees with the surges. Then all of a sudden I had an uncontrollable urge to push. I yelled this out as my body went ahead. I had no control over the pushing. My body was working on its own. The women told me to listen to my body. I did!! I felt my water break with that push. It was the weirdest thing – it felt like how a pop sounds. Marinah checked me and cautioned me to go slowly and protect my tissue, since I had torn with Eamon. I pushed with the next contraction and felt lots of pressure in my vagina. It felt like a softball was stuck!! I just kept pushing. I was getting a bit antsy and I asked if she was at least close. I was so afraid that she was high and I would have to push forever. Marinah told me to feel. Holy cow!!! Her head was right there!!! Marinah asked Dave if he wanted to catch the baby. He said he would wait and see. Marinah said there isn’t time to wait she is coming now. I pushed again mindful of my perineum with my mouth open and relaxed. Her head moved out. Marinah said to wait, but I could only for a second. It was like my body had a will of its own. One more push and Aine Catherine was born. It was 3:46pm. It was unreal feeling her body move from inside me to the world outside. It had pushed for less than 15 minutes, and transition was about 30 minutes.

Since I was on my knees bent forward, she was born behind me. It was kind of weird, because I had to move my leg over the cord to sit back with her and Dave. She let out a little cry immediately. She was so beautiful. I looked at her and said, “We did it baby”. Then I just looked at Dave and smiled…We all had done it. We stayed in the tub for a few more minutes before relocating to the bed to birth the placenta. I wanted to bring Aine to my breast to start nursing, but the cord was a bit short, Dave cut the cord after about 15 minutes and I started nursing her. I started having some cramps and delivered the placenta. My birth team left us to have some family time. Dave said it was so much better than in the hospital. He kept telling me how amazing I was J I felt so powerful and strong.

Dave called to have Eamon brought back. He was so impressed by all the people and his new sister. He just wanted to touch her. They continued the checks on me & baby. They did her assessment. Just like we thought…perfect!!! 10lbs 6 ozs 21.5 inches

It was the most amazing, empowering experience I have ever had. Eamon’s birth was incredible, but having Aine at home without drugs on our own terms was something that words cannot describe.