Officially Done

We still have some more art to hang on the walls, but the only people responsible for changing the kitchen from here on out are members of our family. The dishwasher is secure and all the drawers match. We are so happy to feel like things are complete.

It was fun to get pictures of our blown up and hung (thanks billy). River loves the kitchen the dishwasher and fridge keep him sleeping and he has even put himself to sleep (unheard with Asher). The skylights are the biggest draw as R seems to be following in his brothers footsteps with a love of trees. I think it has something to do with the contrast.

And as a side, I am so happy with the spring like days we have been having... it has been awesome.

Getting Cuter

Here is that little boy, more alert. He is getting cuter by the day.

We are well and lucky to have another visitor to play with Asher today. Eve is here to help out and it is wonderful. Asher is happy to have someone to give him loads of attention...

More text later, have to run... foodnannyday.

2 YEARS & 2 weeks

We have got some growing boys around these parts! Asher turned two, lookin all cute in a most fabulous hand knit sweater (thanks gwen). He had the most perfect day with great playing outside weather.

And a little River that turned two weeks. Some of his serious side. He is getting cuter by the day!

The Mama

I am not to often in pictures, but I guess when you squeeze an 8 pounder out it is a special occasion. We are settling into day 6 of River. Sun shining, papa and babe asleep and Asher playing on his own, singing "happy birthday" I think he is practicing for something to come next week.
We are anxiously awaiting Bubbie and Zadie's return from St. Louis visiting the triplets. Yesterday afternoon was the first on our own and we welcome having help the rest of the week.

River Penn and his Papa Ben

Some shots courtesy of Daniel of River while we were still in the hospital.

All is well, River had a bit of jaundice, but being the kick ass boy he is gained 4 oz in 24 hours and had levels of billirubin decrease from 12.6 to 10.4. Tomorrow will be our first dr. free day!

He is a snuggler and sleeping great at night. And quite the nurser. His rooting instinct is phenomenal.

More pics to come soon.

River

Rachel Dawsey to the rescue. As I have forgotten my reader to download pictures, you are lucky to have a nice view of River, I was going to do a pictureless blog but there you have it.
River joined us at 9:29 am on Wednesday, February 11. Weighing in at 8lbs 1 oz almost a pound bigger than his brother and in a lot less time. My water broke at 8:30 Tuesday night, we were at the hospital by 11:30, dialated to five by 1 am and 9 by 6 am to find a bit of a complication in my cervix, I believe an interior lip that preventing the last cm of dialation, essentially making for some painfully long finishing labor, which instead of taking part of I opted for the epidural and slept for two hours before only having to push for 40 minutes to get the boy out into the world (Asher was 2hours). All facilitated by wonderful midwives at the hospital. It was amazing to get him out and I am so happy to have him here. No eyes bugging out of my head this time, I was quite impressed with how much I could feel even with the epidural. It felt much better this time around, although I had to hold off pushing and let him crown for a long time so he could be birthed all at once to avoid tearing, and while the contractions prior were coming faster, the one between him crowning and waiting for the final push was delayed, to the laughter and irritation of my nurse, midwife in myself oh and the two students... it hurt like hell, and we were all just perplexed as to what was taking the contraction sooooo long, but it came and one final push was all he needed.
That's all for now, we'll be back soon.

Alive and Well

We are just waiting in these parts. I was right to think that I wouldn't be as patient as I was with Asher. I really want to meet this little bugger kicking all around inside of me. I have been walking tons, trying to get some spicy food in me and have been having contractions of the non braxton hicks variety, but nothing seems to be a go.
It is the 10th which is a good day for the grandma and grandpa as all there grandbabies are born on multiples of five in the month and the next one of those isn't until the 15th when the triplets are set to arrive and I would rather not have all the kids born on the same day and I am not holding out until the 20th- so mom and dad you may be out of luck and have to remember a new number with your aging minds!
I think Asher is ready to meet the baby as well. He was very excited today to find the new baby at the home. He came and got me to show her to me. Then of course he wanted to climb in the crib and wake her up- so we will see how much sleep our baby gets.

I am feeling huge, 40+ weeks. Going in for a stress test on Thursday, although I would rather not. And then there would be another ultrasound on the 16th... starts to make me worried that we are going to have kid birthdays soooo close together. I don't want birthday celebrations to become smooshed together shared affairs. I love birthdays and want to celebrate the kids individuality, so I don't want to feel pressured to do shared birthday parties (sure I will get over this as time runs out). I realized that if I am allowed to go two weeks past the due date according to my last period, opposed to conception, this child could be born a day before Asher.... how am I supposed to have his birthday party playgroup if I am still in the hospital as I now have to stary for 48 hours after delivery? Please assure me this won't happen. But really I need to get off my bootie and walk some more.

Please think laboring thoughts.

Time's Flying

I am busy busy and oh so tired, and did I mention soar and uncomfortable. And this is how the days go, so much to do, but only so much energy to accomplish those things. My hips are killing me, I have a done of downward pressure and feel like this baby is trying to claw it's way out and sleep deprivation practice has kicked into gear. Asher on the other hand has gone the opposite way, he has been sleeping less and found new pockets of energy... luckily Ben is here so I am not soloing it these days, but still there are not enough hours in the day. Are there ever?
In addition to preparing for our new one, I am sewing quilts for my triplet nephew/niece combo set to arrive after ours. My sister in law is on bedrest and 8 weeks behind me and we all hope that they stay in longer. I thought procrastinating on the quilts would help. When V was overdue with Henry and I hadn't started his quilt I thought it was a sign that I needed to get my ass in gear. Things are progressing in the sewing world, I have had a few nap time sewing afternoons and a couple late nights while the boys sleep and cuddle. I have some pictures to post but that will be a later post as I am at a different computer.
Asher has been a pain to get down for a nap lately, we have been doing a lot of errand running around nap time, all three of us, so that if he does fall asleep the other can actually do what we set out for. This is definitely not the way I want to have to get him to go to sleep especially if I have to get two kids in the car. I am hoping that a stroller may be the replacement or we may go back to the nursing nap routine. He is still very dedicated to nursing, and while he doesn't nurse everyday, we are not done.

Setting Foot in the New Year

It has been awhile. Mostly because I have hit the stage of pregnancy where I need to nap when A naps, also due to the writer's block and the fact that there is just so much stuff to get done, that most of my down time is occupied with something that takes priority over blogger. You know dusting window sills, replacing pictures in the frames that have hung for years, organizing closets, cleaning up all construction dust (still working on the basement stairs), simplifying the household so it is easier to keep tidy, trying to find an ounce of creativity (also left me when pregnant with A), ordering seeds, waking up early to bake and cook for foodnanny...... I think I could go on forever with what I have been up to which is nice because when I look back at my day I rarely remember that I have accomplished anything (pregnancy fog is dense these days).
The new year started with us ditching Asher with my parents. OH MY GOD, it was absolutely amazing. We had the house to ourselves nothing romantic, but the chunks of time, if you don't have kids and perhaps if your kids are old and you have forgotten, almost two year olds don't give you much time to do something. Having a block of time 2 hours with them while they nap is amazing, doesn't typically work out as you have to put them to sleep, may fall asleep yourself and then waste time trying to figure out how to best use your time (the biggest killer of time). Ben and I had uninterrupted cleaning time and we really did kick ass. We had a huge list made on the drive back from Wisconsin and I think that we have made it through most of it. The basement was the killer. It was more than a mess. Everything has a quarter inch of drywall and other kitchen construction dust on it, and as caterers with equipment we have a lot of stuff stashed down there. I packed up my stained glass studio, it was taking up a lot of space, we got more storage boxes- did you know that they don't even need to be filled to the top and you may actually find things with more ease? The difference is amazing, I was so sick of breathing in all that crap and now despite things being cold the basement isn't a bad place to hang out--well i wouldnt exactly hang out, but you know laundry isn't as bad as it once was... during those eight weeks of construction.

In the evenings I completed the work that my mom started in our craft room/office/Asher sleeping nook. I got rid of 4 garbage bags worth of yarn, fabric and other odds and ends, finished the remaining dusting and made the space a place worthy of my time and creativity. Things aren't perfect (are they ever) but we are getting there. I really need some new lighting, so hopefully before baby that will be sorted out as I have lots of things to make.

Asher's lovely bed underneath the wall of fabric.

The other half, lots of cubes removed, dust free, I think I will mosaic where the hobit door was, I am not up for the room being painted again!

Our living room got a bit of a facelift, has changed since the photo even, the butcher block table is upstairs and the empty space is refreshing. I think that everyone needs a bit of extra empty space in their life. I have new curtains arriving any day and then I will feel happy for this babe to enter our house. Although if it is like it's brother and 10+ days late, I will have to dust again!

My beloved coffee table is back in the center of things. We have been having our morning tea and first meal of the day there, cozied up by the fire... oh so lovely.

And a picture to satisfy those who would like a peak into our kitchen, some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted the final ones with counter tops installed. I was hoping to hold it over some family and friends as incentive to actually come and visit us- we aren't that far away!, oh and a visit not just to see a new baby, ben, kate and asher are important people to you know. But the bigger reason is that things aren't complete. We finally got our dishwasher, but there is no counter top on it and we are still figuring out the best layout and we have nothing on the walls, until yesterday that is when we started making headway there. So, really I don't feel as though I can post final pictures until at least all of the counter top is present. Asher above, enjoying fresh baked bread this morning on our black countertops, which are awesome for rolling out dough, we think the micro dots may actually decrease surface area enough to cause less sticking. And below, clearly demonstrating just how huge the kitchen sink is.

Now to figure out what to do with the rest of nap time...

More Light

I was so happy this week to motivate myself to dust (really a good wash) these stained glass pieces of mine. I never finished the framing, but as a pregnant woman who will be continuing to be a nursing mama for some time to come, I don't know when again I will be dealing with lead solder, so I am proud to display my beautiful pieces without being 100% done and I am loving looking at them at that perfect time of day when the sun shines in. I love stained glass pieces so much and haven't done any of it in over two years. I need to pack up the stained glass studio in the basement and give way to a new planting area. It is on the list of pre second baby projects, anyone looking for a fun an exciting get away to Urbana? Mom? We will play with sharp objects, lots of dust all in the lovely confines of my creepy, damp basement!!

Happy days to you. Enjoy the light as it dwindles! I am looking forward to celebrating and embracing its return. I think this year I haven't cared about the dwindling light so much, mostly I think it is because I don't have to work and be in an office during the suns time and get to enjoy it... oh the difference it makes.

Winter Light

While there isn't much of it. I love what little comes pouring through the windows a bit afternoon. Asher and I chase the sun around the house.

The days here seem long, but the kitchen is done and I am happy to get our family rhythm back, it has been a long time coming, and I don't really see anything really taking shape until after the holidays and then we will have a new addition to account for soon after that. I hope everyone has light brought to their dark days and look forward to the turning of the season and celebrating the solstice this coming Sunday.

What we've been waiting for...

The toe kick went in first, I think on Thursday evening, and Ben and Tim unloaded all of the cabinets then as well. I was definitely anxious for things to get done, but as always this project is trying to help me be a more patient person. Why not stay up until 2 in the morning getting things done, that is totally sane.

Today we cooked in the kitchen and moved things back into their rightful places, and some just moved from where they were sitting for the last 7 weeks into a place they will inhabit for another few days until we figure out what it the right place.

The cabinets extend up really high. I can just get things on and off that second shelf, so we will definitely need step stools. The metal edgebanding looks fabulous and the kitchen looks great. I am sorry that I ever doubted Ben's design and look, it's just that when you don't see it ever, you get a bit nervous. Asher is thrilled to be able to run around in the kitchen again, although it isn't 100% child friendly, but really with open pilots and 6 black knobs to turn will it ever be?
Our centerpiece is the sink and fractured glass red tiles. They look great and we are happy to have a wall mounted faucet, so we don't have to remember to clean all that crud that builds up on the counter level ones. There is a metal edge going along the top there as well as an overhang for the shelves and 3 puck lights.

One more hurdle, the dishwasher that we had isn't going to work in the space, so we need to find a replacement. This makes the counter top cutting a bit more guesswork than typically desired, but we will deal. We hope to have the countertops in on Wednesday or Thursday, please keep your fingers crossed.

North Carolina Vaca

We had some good family time while away. It was the most I have seen of Ben since the kitchen remodel began which was a nice change of pace. We are on the go so much that it was nice to have a bit of still, or as much still as you have with a very active now 21 month old. It did become a little sedatary, the beach was gorgeous, but there is only so much to do in late November. And then there was the pull to home and finishing the kitchen (update later) so we were eager to return home.

Here is the view of the house from our private boardwalk that went over the sand dunes to the ocean. The thing was massive. Seven bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, great porches and good views.

Asher and me building sand castles on the beach.

Our family of four, the belly is starting to get in the way. Lets just say dishes and any counter top work are quite the pain in the neck and none of my shirts stay clean long as there is no clearence from my mouth to the floor.

Enjoying turkey seconds or leftovers, Ben mesmorized by the tv- what happens when you don't watch one often and there are huge screens all over the place.Hope everyone had a great holiday.

Back in the Swing

We are back from our vacation, oh so happy. Don't get me wrong, it was great to be away, but there is so much to do and prepare at home. This baby is due in 9 weeks! That's all the time we have left as a family of three, then we become four... I still haven't quite gotten used to that idea! On vacation I had every intention on making some welcome gifts for this babe, but of course was distracted by making things for the toddler, Bubbie bought Asher some fabulous d.b. yarn and I knit up some legwarmers.

To my defense they were really needed. That part of the let is always exposed in the ergo and stroller, and even when sitting and playing outside in cold weather. Plus he was very greatful, after the first one was complete he asked for the other side and was going on about "mama make." They were easy to knit up, and with a free pattern. Done in time for a cool morning bird walk in North Carolina.