Sick Babies

I've spent the last three days nursing my little ones back to health. Actually, Frannie got sick first and then Adam so at least they took turns. Little Adam has had a big goopy nose and lots of couging and congestion. He hasn't been able to sleep well at all. I am so glad that I still have my milk because he wants to nurse all of the time and will refuse the bottle. I'm glad because I've been worried about my supply anyways, so it is good that he's had so much nursing time. It seems he is often in too big a hurry to want to wait for my letdown and will arch his back and turn away. But being that he's sick, he'll snuggle in and wait.

Another thing I am extremely grateful for is that I don't have an outside job. I am so glad I do not have to call some boss and explain why I need to take the days off. I don't need to prepare sub plans. I don't have 150 students to worry about. All I have to do is just worry about my baby and that's it. I'm so lucky for that.

I've been spending much of my time either holding Adam as I walk around and do my other chores and take care of Fran, or he's been laying on my chest while I rock him in our recliner. Rock rock rock rock. I don't spend too much time usually just sitting and rocking, so in a way it was nice. I got the chance to read a book and didn't feel guilty about it.

Frannie has pretty much been playing with her toys. I've done some play-doh with her, but for the most part she's just been pretending and stuff. I can hear her chatting to her dolls. I'm glad she's like that. She still has heavy congestion, but she's acting normally, so I know she's ok.

Anyways, today is looking much better. Adam still has a his snotty nose, but he was back to jumpy jump jump jumping on my legs this morning so I know he's feeling much better. He hasn't jumped in the last three days!! That is not like my Adam! So he found his jump, there is a small break in the rain, and I think I'm going to take this opportunity to head over to Trader Joes.

Homeschooling

I've been thinking more and more about homeschooling the kids. I've actually been thinking about it for quite awhile. Maybe it has been on my mind especially recently because a few of my friends have started enrolling their little ones in preschool. I don't have a problem with preschool, it's just the fact that I see others doing it that gets me thinking about school in general.

Apparently the elementary school where we live is very good so I need to investigate it.

Fran is only 3 so I don't have to worry about anything just yet.

I really like all the freedom I have with the kids at this time of life. Sometimes I think about what life will be like when she starts going to school and it just seems unpleasant to me for some reason. Up early, she's gone. Pick her up. Take her to a dance class. Fix dinner. Do worksheets and reading. Bathtime. Bedtime. Since they now have full-day kindergarten she'll be gone for much of the day. I want her to be in some activity, but then when do we just have down-time as a family to do nothing? Does life just become rush-rush-rush once she starts school? When I talk to my friends who have their kids in school, that is what it seems like.

Anyways, I want to do what is best for her and for all my children and family in general. I want her to get a good academic education. Sometimes I am frustrated knowing how much time is wasted in the traditional classroom. But knowing all this, I also know that there are some great teachers out there who have been doing their jobs for many years and who are inspiring and extremely knowledgable. So by pulling her out of regular school, the kids are stuck with me all the time and don't have the benefit from learning from other instructors.

It feels like no matter what decision I make I am giving up something that I view as being pretty important.

Goodnight Stick

Lately Fran has been calling me strange names when she says goodnight. For the past three evenings after I tuck her in and give her a hug she squeezes my neck really hard and says "Goodnight Stick!" I always say "What? Goodnight Stick? You're a stick! Goodnight Stick!" And she laughs her head off and I tickle her. Tonight was a little bit different. Tonight she squeezed my neck and said "Goodnight Tape." What a nut.

Christmas Fun

This year's Christmas was a lot of fun. As usual we had Christmas Eve dinner with Mom's side of the family. It was nice this year because we had more space to spread out. This house is just much more conducive to gatherings. Rhiannon and Francesca enjoyed chasing each other and playing together. Francesca loved the Christmas bear that Gma Lois got her that sang "You better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm tellin' you why..." And that bear turned out to be one of her favorite gifts so we got to hear the song over and over and over again. Un(Fortunately) she left the bear at Grandpa Marr's house, so I haven't heard it since. I'm sure we'll rescue Christmas Bear soon though.

Adam is in his highchair behind me so he was cut from the picture.



Uncle Don has convinced Jason that he should register a web domain name for the family. Jason was intrigued by the idea and has since taken it a step further. Just today he registered http://www.bicyclefriends.com/ so that he can create a website where bike enthusiasts can share information and meet up for rides. What an idea! The website hasn't been created yet, but I'm sure that will be a fun project for Jason to work on this year. Jason has a tendency to find a hobby and then immerse himself in it full-tilt to a point that my ears grow somewhat deaf to listening about the same information over and over and over again. So it is always good when he finds a new direction for his hobbies or expands on an existing one so that I can listen to new information.


On Christmas morning Francesca got to see what Santa Claus brought her. It turned out she enjoyed what Santa brought for Adam (a truck) much more than what Santa brought for her (a princess dress). Who knew? She didn't have many presents to open because a certain 5'5'' elf was too tired to wrap presents so the elf just said "Forget it" and left them in the closet. (Francesca found her other Santa Claus gifts just yesterday.)

Here are some pictures of the kids from Dad's house.

After gift opening we headed over to Dad's house for breakfast and, of course, more gifts. Bryan and Stefanie got to join us which was very nice. I am hoping that next year Dad's house construction will be complete and the front bathroom will be usable and the guest room will be all pretty too. It is an interesting experience to use the back bathroom because football-sized Archie is back there and of course he has no sense to know that sitting down to use the restroom is NOT sitting down to play with Archie. Let's just say that when I went into the restroom I didn't have scraped knees. I'm sure Archie had a great Christmas what with everyone coming in every 20 mins or so to play with him.

The next stop was Doreen's house for Castillo gift festivities. We were joined by all the regulars (Grandpa Tom, Grandma Carol, Ryan, Jenny, Doreen, Angel, Nico, Catie) but we were also accompanied by Alex and her boyfriend Matt. And of course, there were a lot more presents. Everyone got some really nice things.

Unfortunately we didn't even think to take pictures at Doreen's. So in honor of our time there, here is a picture of Ryan we took two days before Christmas (at our house). :)

By this point I was Tired. But that's ok. That's just how Christmas is. It's a great holiday, but is it ever the perfect holiday? Is it ever possible to find that perfect balance between joy and festivities and quiet reflection and relaxation? I'm not so sure. Next year I'm sure we'll do it the same way. The ONLY thing I wish is that we were able to squeeze in church. After all, Jesus' birth IS the point of this holiday! I know that it has grown to be more than that, but the central purpose of the holiday should not be forgotten or ignored. We've got Christ the Savior here people! It's good to acknowledge that and celebrate that. So hopefully we'll be able to work that in. I don't want the kids to grow up not having church be part of their Christmas holiday.

So that was Christmas!! And here we are in 2008. Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions

Well 2008 is on its way, and with it comes a natural desire to reflect on one's life and goals. Now usually I don't make resolutions for the new year. There generally isn't anything on my mind that I feel really compelled to change, so I don't bother "coming up" with something to change. But this year is different. This year I have two goals, and hopefully I can stick to them.

#1. Stop cursing.
I have a tendency to curse when I'm frustrated. Since I am often sleep-deprived anyways, it means I get frustrated more easily. But with all of my cursing, I notice that Jason has started cursing more too, and he never had before. Hearing it from his mouth makes me realize how ugly my mouth can sound. So that's why I am going to stop saying bad words! I reserve the right, however, to say a bad word if I bang my knee really hard against something or nearly miss an accident from some car that has swerved in front of me.

#2 Keep my house clean
I want to have a clean house. Period. I don't want to live in a messy house anymore. Not that our home was really so bad, but enough's enough of the always struggling to keep it clean. Now that we have a nice big space and there are spots to put everything, I want to keep it looking good.

So those are my resolutions!

Babies, Babies, Babies

Just this evening I got the kind of call that really warms my heart. A dad from my class called to let me know that he and his wife had just had their baby girl. He was so excited and delighted on the phone and it just makes me so happy to hear how joyful this new father is about his new baby and his wife's birth. I just love that phone call.

I always love getting the calls of the new babies that are born, and I love getting the picture updates and just sharing their joy. It makes me happy to know that the things they learned in class they feel helped them so that they could make good decisions for themselves.

Not everyone has a natural birth, but it surprises me that many do. But even the ones that don't still feel like they learned a lot and were able to feel confident with their choices. That's what it's all about, and I feel so much joy for all my moms and dads!

I am excited about this coming month because I have been invited to attend two births. This is new for me. I have only attended my own births! One couple from class approached me and asked if I would doula for them. I explained that I'm not really a doula, but to think of me more as a very-educated-about-birth friend. I also explained that I can't be away from my baby for more than 10 hours and they understand and are ok with that. We'll see what happens with this couple. She really isn't comfortable with her doctor or birthing environment at all, and I've explained to her that I can't guarantee anything. I really can't ensure that she won't have a c-section or anything else. I just don't have that power. All I can do for her and her husband is support them and be a sounding board and encourage her as she labors. Maybe do some massage or help in any other way. But I can't make decisions for them. I'm hopeful for this couple though. They are sweet people. I just hope they aren't disappointed in me!

The other gal whose birth I'm supposed to attend will be birthing with Lori at the birth center. She didn't really invite me. I more asked her if I could come! Anyways, she said that would be fine and I'm going to take pictures for her. I talked to Lori about this because I really wanted to be present at a birth in a low-stress situation before I start embarking on these more stressful hospital births. And since I don't have experience helping at births, I was hoping to "get my feet wet" with a birth that I know will go smoothly.

Anyways, I'm excited about this, and hopeful that I can be of some help.

On other birth news: Last month I got to attend a taping of Ricki Lakes' The Business of Being Born. It was an absolutely fantastic film that says all of the things I try and explain to people, but feel so inept when I try. It also made me feel happy because it portrayed a lot of midwife-attended home births. As I saw these ladies birthing it reminded me so much of my births and it filled me with joy to see "my story" on the big screen. The one part where the midwife herself is having a baby and she titles her video "Midwife Begs for Cesarean" really had me cracking up. Because yes, it hurt so bad, but it was and continues to be such a source of joy in my life. The joy WAY outweighs the pain!


I am hopeful that 2008 brings me more opportunities to work with couples and help educate them about the birth process. I love to hear that happy phone call!

Jack Whiner

I think I should rename my son Jack Whiner. Jack for the constant jumping and Whiner for, well, all the whining. This kid complain, complain, complains all of the time whenever I try to set him down. In the car...WHAAAA! WHAAAA! WHAAAA! At home....Eh! Eh! Eh! EHHHH! The only time he's really happy is when I am sitting down and he is standing on my legs jumpy jumpy jump jump jumping. Then he's my happy guy. That's when I call him Jack. The rest of the time he's Whiner.

So what does this mean for me? It means my right arm is getting really strong from carrying him around all the time. And I can do an amazing amount of things with my left hand/arm, including but not limited to, getting Frannie up onto a public restroom potty while holding Adam in one of those dinky stalls.