Lee's Online (for my Logan friends)

Here is where I become a Lee's online salesperson (because I love Lee's and this is just so great and I want to share :)

There are often times in my life when grocery shopping is fun. With two little shopping buddies by my side, I'm at my best.  We take our time. We look at the signs. Sometimes the boys get their own little carts. I use my best Mom voice.
"Let's get 10 apples, one...two...three...
"Who will get the bread for us?"
 "Should we go grab a cookie?"
"What else do we need?"

With five little children surrounding me, I'm at my worst.
"Don't touch the cart"
"Please don't talk to Mom right now"
"There will be no cookies unless..."
"The next person who..."

I've been trying out the Lee's delivery a bit since Isaac was born and it's awesome.

Top 5 things:
1. They shop for my groceries and bring them to my house!
2. It means I have to plan ahead a bit more than I might otherwise (which is great but also something I need to work on)
3. So super great for stocking up/case lot sale time
4. When I need more random items, I don't have to try to search for them or ask where to find something, I just type it in the search bar. :)
5. When I've used this, my fridge has been much less full because I just buy what we actually need.

You can try it out for free this month with DELIVERAUGUST (Tell me how it goes -- You're welcome!)

Sunshine, lollipops & rainbows

And then there are also those moments like yesterday

when I dropped a bottle of shampoo in the shower and woke Isaac up from his magic nap (not too happily). And by the time I hopped out and got dried off, he was pretty inconsolable. And by the time I did get him calmed down a bit, it was time to leave for swim lessons and I still had no clothes + dripping wet hair + an Isaac in my arms just so, and Porter's swimsuit had mysteriously disappeared...

or this morning at swim lessons

when Porter needed to go potty at the end of swim lessons right now at the same time Isaac was getting a bit worn out and I had one arm holding a crying Isaac while I tried with the other arm to get a toddler back into a wet swimsuit  in a small public bathroom as quick as possible since I knew the older kids were finishing lessons and swimming without any supervision outside...  and hearing Isaac's cries and my attempted persuasion for Porter, a lady in the locker room came to knock on our stall "do you need some help?"

or a the quick stop at grocery store on the way home from swim lessons today

where we made it through the store (just barely) but then went to check out and I had a sad Isaac in my arms and 4 children + 2 carts (one for the car seat, one for the bags of groceries) who all ended up between me and the credit card reader, so I asked Landon to sign for me while I rocked little Isaac, and the lady behind laughed to herself and said (in a loving, happy way) "This is what I used to look like!" 

And that keeps making me smile, because I could see she knew about how hard and crazy those moments could be, but I could also see that maybe she missed these sweet, crazy days just a little bit.

On first/last babies

Me and new baby Landon

Jordan snapped a picture of Isaac and me just after Isaac was born, and gave me a quick preview before sending it on to let family know our little one had arrived. And the first thing I noticed was that I'm getting older!  Maybe the wrinkles around my eyes were exaggerated with a bit of exhaustion, but even so, I'm not that same 22-year-old anymore and I don't look quite the same either.

And that is as it should be. I love this picture with Landon - it is taped up on my dresser across from my bed so I see it every day. And I can remember that wonderful feeling captured of "oh! I get to be a mother to this little one!"

And I loved that newest picture with Isaac because I'm feeling now that feeling of "oh, how lucky I am to have been a mother for the last ten years and to get to be the mother to this one more little one."

Knowing that Isaac is likely our last baby,  pregnancy, birth, and these newborn days have been different. The biggest thing has been that the hard things aren't as hard. There is no longer the question of "can I do this again?" So when things are hard, it's not "Is this too hard to go through again?" It just is what it is and things are just as hard as they are. And then they pass. 

Also the sweet moments are of course even sweeter because this is it. I'm cuddling and holding this little Isaac just as much as I can and loving these tender days. 

new baby summer snapshot

In the morning, we wake up about 6:30. I'll nurse Isaac and the kids will start coming in and climbing into bed with me as they wake up about 6:45 (or for Landon, as he finishes scripture study with Jordan - who has already been up and working for a couple of hours by that point.)

Breakfast time, and the kids all make their own breakfast (making breakfast for the kids was a sacrifice I haven't been willing to make in the past. But during Jordan's paternity he helped train them and I've been so grateful for the way it helps our mornings go so much more smoothly right now. Someday they'll have mom-made breakfasts again, but for now they're doing just fine making their own :)

The kids are eager to have their turns holding Isaac during breakfast time so I get to have my hands free for my own bowl of oatmeal. Depending on how Isaac is doing sometimes I'll even do a bit of tidying up.

Then the kids all start morning jobs, I'll wrap up little Isaac, hold him for a minute then set him in his bouncer in my bathroom while I take a shower. And (here comes the magic part) he falls asleep! While I shower! No cries or complaints, just calmly looking around till his eyes get heavy and then he sweetly sleeps while I quickly get ready and sometimes even make my bed/start some laundry/help the kids with morning jobs.

After morning jobs, we head outside to play or to swim lessons or some other thing.

Then some play time, every once in a while 'school time' or friend time, then lunch (and more nursing + holding Isaac in between/during all that.)

Kids quiet time (+ nap time for Porter) and I'll usually hold Isaac while he sleeps and the kids all play together in the basement. (Games or legos or pretend - I love this.)  By the time quiet time is over, Jordan is done working for the day and then we'll work or play for the afternoon.

We've had family dinner making time the last few weeks (which means we start about 3 or 4 to be ready at 5 or 6) And the kids have all done a super job of helping or leading the process.  And so far, with all of Jordan's help and the kids' help and dinners from friends, I've not made dinner once since Isaac was born! I had a bit of guilt when I first realized that -- but then just gratitude that I can still feel like (and be) a good mom even without being in charge of making dinner.

Then just a bit of time before jammies, brushing teeth and helping the kids to reading time and bed. Lights out at 8:00 then Jordan and I (and Isaac) have a short time together (We just started reading Okay for Now) then bedtime for us around 9:00.

Isaac wakes around 12 and 3, then we start the day again! :)

grateful

image here

When we chose to have another baby, it was with the reassurance that we would not be alone in this effort. And in these first few weeks, as I've rested and recovered and cared for and gotten to know our new son, we've had such wonderful help.

Visitors who kept our house and family running smoothly, projects and repairs taken care of, dinners delivered and even more filling our freezer for the days to come, play dates for the kids and sweet friends taking care of our children, groceries purchased, little gifts for baby Isaac which meant 'we love you', time off from work for Jordan, notes of congratulations and encouragement. And kindly asked questions of 'any sleep?' from friends who remember how hard this has been for us in the past.

I feel so blessed.

First few weeks

Just resting in the grass while Mom picks raspberries

At just about 3 weeks old now, here are a few things about Isaac so far.


So far...

To show he's a little upset, Isaac is as likely to furrow his brow as he is to really wail (except for diaper change time - then he lets me know he's not so happy). Once when Porter was holding Isaac for a few moments, he said "He's getting fussy!" I reassured Porter that Isaac was fine, since he was just resting quietly on Porter's lap. "He is getting fussy! Porter said, pointing to Isaac's furrowed brow, "See, look at his eyes!"

Isaac does love to be held and cuddled, and much of each day is spent in my arms. But it has been amazing to see as he's had more awake time how content he is to just relax on his own and watch what's happening around him. Having had other babies who were not so happy to just hang out  has made me so very grateful for this!

When Landon was a baby, I remember another mom bringing her baby to ward choir in his car seat, and he just sat there. For thirty minutes! Wide eyed and happy, he just looked around and rested on his own, perfectly content. And it was so strange/amazing to me that a baby could just sit and be happy without being held/talked to/sung to/rocked/walked that I still remember it ten years later! :)

And now, little Isaac is surprising me in that same way! Of course, he is sad sometimes. And cries when he's hungry or tired or sometimes for reasons I don't know. He is a newborn :) but so far, a very happy, calm and content newborn.

 The big kids love little Isaac so much. And I've been amazed to watch them hold him and care for him and not panic when he starts to fuss, but just try something different to help calm him.

Landon is our star Isaac holder and I've made breakfast hands free the last several mornings while Landon has soaked in some Isaac cuddling time. What  a blessing! And Owen and Ellie love to put a blanket down and lay down next to Isaac on the floor. Owen will rest beside him and just say over and over in his sweetest voice things like "your brother is right here, your brother loves you..." Porter asks to hold him, but is quickly ready to move the turn along to someone else after just a few seconds.

In our first few days home, Isaac quickly formed an 'eat/wake/sleep' routine which so far has been really great. And I've felt blessed to be able to tell most of the time which cries mean 'i'm hungry' and which mean 'i'm sleepy' or 'i'm having a hard time waking up' or 'something's wrong and i just need to be held and cuddled'. (Breastfeeding was especially hard the first while, so being able to judge which cries really meant 'i'm hungry'  was really wonderful because otherwise I would have ended up just nursing him constantly and probably couldn't have survived it!)

I've been so grateful for so much help and support from Jordan, and from the kids, and Kathie & Winslow and so many others so that I've been able to spend so much time just holding and loving little Isaac. What a blessing for these first few weeks!

March & April Little Things (which I forgot to post last month! :)

This is a bit late, now that it's June... but here are just a few fun little things from the Springtime. 

We took Landon in to the eye doctor and discovered that he most definitely needed glasses. (Update: we recently saw another doctor who specializes in eye problems like Landon has and he was completely surprised at how well Landon could see and determine depth, etc. We'd gone expecting to start some vision therapy on a regular basis, but the doctor said Landon was already at the level he'd hope to see him progress to after therapy. Good news! This summer Landon is working on patching a few hours a day and hopefully we'll see some great progress.)

We went to the Easter egg dash at Elkridge Park. Really, this is so silly because it lasts about 30 seconds, and then the kids all have a bunch of sticky candy that I don't particularly want them to eat... still it always seems like a fun tradition... This year Landon was too old to participate, so he stood on the sideline and helped give Owen some great big brother tips :)

We had several more Deer Pen meetings, etc. (above Jordan and Landon are out delivering flyers to the neighbors). Overall, I was discouraged with the outcome and the process, but also grateful for it to pretty much be over so I could quit losing sleep over the whole thing! (And also grateful for all the good and kind people I got to know a little better).  Right now, we're in the process of helping to make some plans for the remaining open space and so far it has been a much more pleasant process :)

Landon came home one day and told us the spelling bee was the next day. Jordan wrote up a program to make practicing into a little game and Landon had fun memorizing spelling words for an afternoon and evening.

We had a fun and beautiful campfire evening up at Green Canyon that ended with a bit of a rainstorm/snowstorm.

Our friends invited us to do a cupcake wars activity with them and we had fun making 'great outdoors' cupcakes with orange slice sunshines, milano cookie mountains, and sweet potato campfires.

It is always just so wonderful  when everything starts to come alive again in the Springtime!

We celebrated Owen's birthday with a pirate party for him with his friends from the ward/neighborhood. 

And enjoyed some simple Easter celebrating. 

One day after school, Landon invited these girls to come over and have a water fight (with the promise that he wouldn't shoot them, they could just get him! :)

And then we were off for our adventures in London!