Of Mice and Moles

Last year sometime, our girls were REALLY wanting a dog.  Okay, let me rephrase that.  For a few years now, our girls have REALLY been wanting a dog.  My biggest counter to that, has been they shed and they chew.  Our girls leave toys, shoes, and small things around the house daily.  'Nuff said. 

Well, about a month before Alivia was due, Louis came to me in a whisper and told me to "Come here".  We live in a house that's surrounded by woods on two sides, and a horse pasture on the other side.  He's said those exact words when showing me creatures that have made their way to our yard (or deck).  Ya know: opossums, deer, turkeys, raccoons, foxes, and snakes.  So my heart always starts racing a bit when I wonder what it could be.  I followed him out the back door to our deck and he brings me this black kitten.

You can imagine my response.  Well, maybe you can't if you're an avid animal lover.  We are very busy between church and homeschooling activities/field trips.    There's not a lot of time or energy I have to care for a pet right now.  Maybe in the future, I will be convinced, but not at that moment.   (8 months pregnant, slap worn out, and could hardly bend, let alone to clean a litter box- which I shouldn't be doing anyway.)  Why would Louis be approaching me with such a daunting proposal? Plus- I thought he was a dog lover!

His confession:
A man met Louis at the end of our driveway with this little black kitten.  His case was legitimate, it really was.  The ole' tail (yes, that's a pun) of "We have a litter of kittens and need to get rid of them because we can't feed them anymore" got Louis' emotions stirred up a little. 

My confession:
Don't ever get a bowl of milk for a starving kitty.  It thinks it belongs.

We spent the next two days under the impression it was a he.  Then I looked at his belly and saw little nipples, so thought our "he" was a "she".  SO, the girls changed his name.  (I can't remember to what).  Then we had friends come over, and the girls introduced them to _____, and said it was a "she".  After affectionate observation on their part, our friends told us, it's a HE....so then her name reverted back to his name of "Rascal".  It's still Rascal to this day, thankfully.  I had a hard enough time remembering to do simple things like unload the van of groceries and remember what I went in a room to do, let alone trying to keep up with the current name change of the new outdoor kitten. 

The poor cat should have left the moment he arrived but I guess he didn't know what was good for him.  When Adalyn met Rascal, there became a relentless attachment that couldn't be reckoned with. Afterall, she is two.  And terrible is an understatement.  I do love her though! 

She has choked him, dragged him out from under the van by his tail, and has thrown him from higher places.  I wish I could have kept count of the times we said "Easy, Adalyn".  That month with that kitten before Alivia arrived, kept me more stressed out than you could imagine.  Everytime we went outside to load up in the van, the girls went looking for Rascal.  And a holler from the driveway can't be heard if you're in the backyard.  Or at least that's their defense.  So pregnant Momma Hen would have to traipse all over the yard collecting little chicks.  And you KNOW how clumsy you become when you're THAT pregnant.  Twigs, leaves, hillside.  'Nuff said. 

Of course, when we were indoors, you'd think there'd be no problems.  But Adalyn loved sneaking out of the house to play with Rascal.  Well, they all did at first.  I'd be downstairs doing laundry or schooling one of them, then return upstairs to find a missing child. The adrenaline rush of having a missing child is pretty intense and you would think it was enough to send me into labor at any moment.  But it didn't; I went a week overdue.

The good that came from Rascal's arrival:
Adalyn got a crash course in learning how to handle something delicate.  By the time Alivia was born, she knew what "Easy, Adalyn" meant.  Knock on wood- she has not choked Alivia, carried her upside down, pulled her off of something by a leg, or pulled her ear.  Now, if we can just keep her from trying to put food in Alivia's mouth, we'll be doing good. 

It's also been fun watching Rascal earn his keep.  He catches critters!!!!  Hallelujah!!  We are surrounded by woods on two sides, and a horse pasture on one side.  'Nuff said.  It's been fun watching Rascal play with a mole he's caught, or throw a mouse up in the air by its tail.  Even lizards are eliminated!

Yesterday, we needed to be at CBS (Community Bible Study) earlier than normal, because I was helping in the Children's Department.  We NEEDED to be there NO LATER than 9:15.  Getting 5 girls ready to go someplace is no easy task, but it might go smoother because one was staying home.  While our older girls help out a ton, which I am very thankful for, there's still the occasional drama between them.  Anyway, we were doing super well with time yesterday.  Everyone rose on time, got dressed on time.  No catastrophe with outfit selections.  No spilled milk at breakfast.  No poopy blowouts with Alivia.  Backpacks were ready.  The girls were politely quizzing each other on their bible verses. Smooth sailing. 

Our older girls will often go ahead and open the front door to take things out to the van for me while I finish getting ready.

The discovery:
A dead bird on our front step. 

The sound:
Shrilling squeals.

I run quietly from our bathroom (Louis is laying in bed with Aliza, who we don't want to wake because she's sick and won't be gong to CBS) to find out what's going on. 

The prediction:
"He must have flown into the door and died".

It's never enough to discover something on your own.  You MUST go tell ALL your sisters in a beaming voice.  Even the sick and sleeping one has to know.  It's also never enough to just observe something from behind a window.  You MUST step over the thing, freak yourself out because it moves, then repeatedly scream, "It's STILL ALIVE" and wake up the neighbors while you're at it.  Then the toddler sister HAS to be out there too, because she feels left out.   

So I'm yelling through the storm door window, "Don't touch it, come inside", while keeping a screaming toddler at bay and from escaping.  So, the older two finally burst in and run to tell their daddy...who already is well aware of the situation because he can hear the chaos.  And guess who is woken up also?  And guess who wants to go to CBS?  And guess what she does when she finds out she can't go?  And guess who was doing good on time, but now is not?

It wasn't a huge setback, yet.  With everyone back inside again and Abigail guarding the front door,  I ran back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.  Aliza is crying heavily at this point and Louis is trying to calm her down.  Tick-tock, tick-tock...I hear the clock in my head because I know that minutes count.  After I bust up my gums from the fastest teethbrushing ever, I stop by our bed to calm down Aliza and love on her for a quick sec.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooo", I hear.  It's Anna now who's screaming and crying uncontrollably.  I run back out to the foyer to investigate.  Alivia is now crying because she got scared.  Adalyn is crying because Abigail is holding her away from the front door because she keeps trying to run out. 

Anna is crying because the cat ran off with the half-dead bird. 

Trying to stay calm, rather unsuccessfully I might add, I'm scooping up Alivia who's thankfully already in her carseat, grabbing my keys and suggesting we leave.  Abigail never wants to be late (and neither do I) so she's getting upset because she senses we are running late AND SHE'S RIGHT!  I get Alivia loaded and the pressure builds.  I realize I left my phone in the house!!!  So, I dart passed Anna and Adalyn on the porch to go track down my phone.  I shouldn't look at the clock, but I do.

Fretting more, I find my phone.  I run through the house slamming down light switches on my way to the door.  I jump up into my seat in the van, and do a roll call, "Everyone buckled?"  Abigail says no. "Get buckled".  She says she is.  "Okay?"  I turn around to discover two kiddos are missing in action.  "WHERE ARE YOUR SISTERS?"  Abigail, just as frustrated as I am, replies that they are out in the yard looking for Rascal.  Seriously?

It's 9 a.m.  It takes me 25-30 minutes to get from our driveway to the perfect spot at Community Bible Study.  The spot I always choose is just a little wider than the rest of the parking spots.  It accommodates our big van very nicely without having to do a million reparks.  Then it takes me a couple minutes for us to unload and get everyone to their classes.  I'm not forgetting that I have to be in the library at 9:15 to be assigned to a children's class in which to help. 

It's 9 a.m.
And two kiddos are in the yard. 
Somewhere. 
Looking for a cat. 
Who got the bird.
That nearly killed himself while flying into our storm door glass.
Who caused so much commotion at our house.
Which caused us to be late. 
All because of a cat named Rascal.  WHO IS INDEED A RASCAL.
Who was delivered to us 2 months ago.
Who was kept because Of Mice and Moles.

Toddler Talk with Adalyn

"wee wee"- movie
"Pee pets"- Wonder Pets
"A-we-wu"- Alivia
"No jokin' guys"
"You trouble?"- Do you want to be in trouble?
"A off, Mom?"-Turn it on, Mom.
"Peace?"- Please
"Gank You"- Thank you
"Wuv you"- Love you.
"A more"- Love you more.
"I baked it"- I broke it
"Oh, Sigh. Sigh"- Oh sorry. Sorry.

Bedrest & Worship

The day of my due date: Thursday, September 6, 2012
Louis and I agreed that if Alivia wasn't born that day, then she needed to wait until after September 9 (which was our church's annual Lakeside Service)...also the day 4 baptisms were scheduled, including Abigail's.

Thursday came and went and Friday morning I was still pregnant.  So Louis put me on complete bedrest Friday and Saturday. I often thought that bedrest would be awesome...just to be able to rest all the time. The first day was! How often does a mom of 4 get to just lay in bed all day and not be sick? Being sick ruins the privilege!!

The next day, Saturday, Louis took all four with him to get groceries. He's such a great dad! This day was a long day and I started realizing bedrest longer than a couple of days would really be difficult. Just hearing voices throughout the house and not tending to needs, helping Louis out, and doing my routine of 1-2 loads of laundry daily was making me anxious to get up and do something. The contractions I had been having the week before came to a hault.  I had 2 contractions total on Friday and 3 total on Saturday. "Good", Louis said. 

We made it to Sunday, and the service was awesome!!!  It was so worth resting over the weekend to make it to that day!  I was so thankful to Louis for commanding giving me time to rest. 

Here's Louis playing his guitar for Worship the first time.  he did SO well, as did Pam, our pianist.  The duo was uplifting!

Such a precious, precious moment.

 

 

The Worship Service and time of fellowship was so special.  The Lord takes care of everything for us.  He had something big planned and he cared for me in seeing that HIS plans were carried out.  We serve a mighty God who always looks out for us and ALWAYS plans BIGGER and BETTER than we ever could. 

Monday, Louis was back to himself, eager to hear about contractions and wanting things to progress!!

The delegates

2 weeks before my due date:

• Louis programmed his cell phone number into the cordless phone at home.
•  He delegated responsibilities to Abigail, Anna, and Aliza for the time I either went into labor or my water broke. 
• Abigail was in charge of calling Daddy to tell him to get home.
• Anna was in charge of getting me to the blue van to wait.
• Aliza was in charge of collecting things from the house I asked for.

For 3 weeks he rehearsed the drill with the girls before he left the house. Part of me is sad that the girls didn't get to fulfill their jobs. They really took pride in having their delegated responsibilities.

Long overdue

You've heard it said, "I'm long overdue for a haircut." Or "The van's long overdue for an oil change". And by the way, both of these statements are true around here most of the time!

Well, I'm long overdue for a baby. Not really long overdue, just overdue.  Doctor had me due on Sept. 6.  So I'm a little past that. 

I've gotten some unique advice to induce labor and thought I'd share:

1. Eat some spicy food. 

With Abigail, this worked. 

We had Mexican food last week and in the pico de gallo on my plate were sliced green chillies (my mouth fired up 3 times).  It didn't induce labor.  It gave me severe heartburn though.

Louis picked me up from CBS and had a special treat waiting for me- fried pickles from Tennessee BBQ.  If I've craved much this pregnancy, it's been for those.  Well, if you've had theirs, you know they can light up your mouth too.  I ate nearly all of them myself. 

Today I saw where you could get a Blooming Onion for free at Outback.  It was tempting to drive there and eat one to see if that would stir things up.  Something about the hour drive didn't appeal to me though!

2. Get down on your hands and knees and scrub your floors.

I got down on my hands and knees in the driveway and scrubbed the brake dust from the van wheels.  I'm glad no one saw me sprawled out in the driveway.

I got down and cleaned behind the toilet today.  It was work that needed to be done and when I went to stand up, I kind of got dizzy and lost my balance.  I don't recommend that when you're 40+ weeks pregnant.

3. Ride the lawnmower around.

Seeing as how this is kind of embarrassing to just ride around on the mower and not be mowing, I grabbed Adalyn to sit with me so it looked like I was giving her a ride.  Ya know, in case the neighbors saw me.  Well, when your belly is big and you have to hold on to a 2-year old with one hand, it's kind of tricky maneuvering curves on a hillside.   

4. Just pig out.

Well, this was fun.  I heaped food on my plate at the lunch we had at church yesterday then got full before I could finish because our 2-year old kept raiding the food table for more food.  She really needs to be in a high chair wherever she goes so she's not constantly on the go, and I can finish a meal. 

5. Do power walks. 

We went last night to local park with this huge track that goes around the whole park (including ball fields and basketball courts.  Abigail and I walked it and by the end, I was pretty worn out. 

Louis has had me walking to the mailbox and back several times.  I actually carried two pieces of mail down and dropped them in the mailbox individually so that if anyone saw me, they'd assume I was taking mail to the mailbox and not think I was walking to induce labor. 

6. Climb stairs.

I probably make 20 trips a day up the steps here at the house because our laundry room, home school room, and family room are downstairs.  I feel the most out of breath when I'm about 5 steps away from the top.  Kind of like you feel when you're in labor.  But then I remind myself, I'm climbing steps.

7.  A good scare

Louis has tried this several times.  The. funny. guy. 

Tonight, as I was typing this, he fell asleep stretched out at the foot of the bed because our night owl FINALLY fell asleep on his side of the bed. Well, I finished my jug of water then put an ice cube in my mouth and chomped.  My recuperating-from-back-surgery-husband yelled out in a fast wakefulness and fell out of bed onto the floor.  I'm totally in huge freak-out mode thinking he has disrupted his whole back in such a terrible way.  So I jerk up out of bed to check on him (even turning on the lamp and risking waking up our night owl who we plan to put to bed in a few minutes).  He rolls over and says, "Did that make you have a contraction?"  That about sent me into outer space...better yet- him to outer space!  It was pretty funny though and we both laughed pretty hard. 

However, about a week back, I was getting the van loaded. I started the van and air conditioning.  Then I asked Anna to track down her sisters in the yard and have them get in the van.  I was about 3 steps behind them, gathering a couple things, the diaper bag, etc. when I had this terrible thought of Adalyn getting in the driver's seat while the van was running and driving through the garage door.  Then I'd run out in front of it to stop it (like some superwoman) and being ran over.  Well, call it intuition, the next thing I hear is the van rev up.  I RUN out of the house to see Adalyn standing in front of the steering wheel and Aliza in the driver's seat.  They said they were trying to get into the van.  For the next 30 minutes following that, I had 3 contractions.  So it's possible scare tactics do induce labor.


8. Eat Eggplant Parmesan

Considering I probably gagged myself into sickness as a child eating eggplant, I think it's possible that the same could be said if I tried that now.  Although I will say that my tastes have changed considerably since I've grown up.  So maybe a trip to Olive Garden is in order. 

9. Get an hour long foot massage

I can totally go for this.  Even if it didn't induce labor, it'd be time well spent! 

The things I haven't tried:
Riding some bumpy hills on a 4-wheeler, going horseback riding, and going tubing out on the lake. All of these suggestions came from church friends who graciously offered the experiences to me.

All of these tips seem WAY better than pitocin.  I'm all for hanging out without the Pitocin stuff and just going in naturally! 

Dream results in some action!

About 3 weeks ago, I had this dream that I went in to labor and we weren't ready. So I made myself a "To-Do" list of about 5 things:

1. Clean out the deep freezer, then stock it with easy meals for when Alivia arrives.
2. Pack the diaper bag and our hospital bag.
3. Have groceries available here for our girls and their caretakers while we are in the hospital.
4. Clean the van.
5. Do some deep cleaning of the house and get all the laundry caught up.

• The first thing we did, was got the diaper bag all packed. There's nothing more fun than washing clothing for the one that's not here yet. It stays clean!!! Then we packed our hospital bag. I originally packed a summer dress to come home in.  then I changed my mind,  have you ever tried to nurse while wearing a dress?  It's been about 7 months since I've had to think about that.   So we bought me a pair of drawstring capris because I couldn't pack up a pair of maternity pants and not have use of them for so long. Both bags, and the car seat have been in Louis' van for 2 weeks.
• We then hit the grocery store. Twice. One night for dry goods as we passed through Albany to Somerset to go to Bob Evans to eat. We always forget they are an hour ahead of us. We pulled in the parking lot 15 minutes before they closed at 9 (their time) and you should have seen the looks I got from the employees when I walked in to ask their closing time. We drove all that way for Bob Evans, and by goodness, we were gonna eat at Bob Evans. Louis' comment made me change my mind, and so we headed to find another place. I was sure Frisch's wouldn't spit in our food because they closed an hour later.
• The next day, I had to pick up donuts, and so I hit Save-A-Lot in Albany again for all the cold stuff. It helped my legs to break up the shopping like that. And pyschologically, it felt like I spent less. My receipt total was $77 for the first night and $140 the next day. Not bad. (I would have felt bad if I saw the total at $217.00). Hehe.
• As we unloaded all the groceries, I had to kind of rearrange cabinets to accomodate everything.  I made special food baskets for the girls that has been off limits until Alivia is born.  For a few days they were saying, "I can't wait til Alivia is born so I can eat that food".  It's fun kid food like ravioli, spaghetti-os, fruit snacks, pudding cups, and pop-tarts.  Not stuff we generally buy, but stuff that would be easy for someone to get out for them.  I have no worries, that Abigail and Anna will go for that as soon as we head to the hospital. 
• Then I had a cook day (that lasted 2 days because I ran out of energy).  Abigail and Anna helped me clean out both freezers.
• After spending two days in the kitchen, I turned around to notice our house was turned upside down.  So when Monday rolled around we spent about 3 hours cleaning.  I made out a game board for them that had tasks written out above circles that led to a Game Over box at the bottom.  Once they completed their tasks, they could color in the circles that were below the written tasks.  They loved that game.  Then when they all got to the Game Over, they got to eat popsicles outside and play for 30 minutes,  Then I painted all their nails after their baths.  At the end of the day, we had our clean house again.
• A few days later, we had a "Sure" Day (where I just said "sure" to the girls' requests.  One of their requests was to wash the van in their bathing suits.  Cool...it'd check off part of my list. 



Below the microwave are the 2 red food baskets.   Our older 3 girls are very proud of them and super protective of them.  Adalyn discovered them Thursday and helped herself to some of the fruit snacks.  You've never seen more upset sisters! 

So it took about a week to check off the 5 things.  But it felt good.  I felt like THEN we could go in to the hospital and have a baby because all of that was done!  The fridge and freezer were stocked, the bags and carseat loaded, the house was clean and the laundry was caught up.  These days, I feel like we're gonna eat through our stock and by the time we finally have this girl, the house will be a wreck and the laundry will be piled high.