Post-Partum Recovery Unit (no, no, I'm not there yet!)

Poor, poor Miles. He has to put up with me - and me at 9 months pregnant in the middle of August is, I admit, probably not fun. Fortunately for Ben he is gone most of the day and so unfortunately for Miles he gets the brunt of. . . me!

So today he was driving me absolutely crazy. Now in Miles defense, Miles wasn't even being that bad. Truth be told he wasn't even being bad, just 3 - which often times can be confused with each other. I was confused today.

It started at the doctor's appointment for Jonas (Jonas is still skinny-skinny and ranks under the 1 percentile for weight! but we're not worried) where I was trying to talk and listen to the doctor and hold Jonas while Miles is doing everything I'm asking him not to do: turning the water faucet on full-blast, standing on the exam table, etc. So for the rest of the morning he just didn't listen to me - and I think that is probably my biggest pet-peeve. I would rather have him hit me than not listen to me. So anyways I had taken away his privileges of playing with a bunch of his toys (which, amazingly, he handled very well), but he still just didn't quite get it. But, whatever, we're over it. I told him I loved him and all that good stuff and that maybe I had gotten a little too frustrated with him, blah, blah, blah. And he's napping right now and so hopefully post-nap we all will be better.

But what this all brings me to is, during our fun episodes this morning, I thought how nice it will be to get a "break" while I'm at the hospital. Then I thought, "Man, 24-hours isn't long enough!" Back when my mom was having babies I think you stayed like 5-7 days. Now I wouldn't want that - I mean, the practices were so backwards then: you were practically bed-rest the whole time. But it did get me thinking. . .

There needs to be a Post-Partum Recovery Unit. This is for moms and babes only - you'd stay for like 3 days. While there you could sign up to take whatever classes you wanted to. Classes like Yoga for the Post-Partum Mommy, Nursing 101, Healthy Cooking, Post-Partum Exercising, Making Your Own Baby Announcements, chat groups with experienced and new moms, etc., etc. Of course the new little one gets to accompany you to all these things. And there would also just be lots of R&R and special bonding time with just you and your new little babe.

Yes, those are what my daydreams are like these days. . .

Lefse and Sailboats

Question: What do lefse and sailboats have in common?

Answer: My husband is really into them at the present time.

If you really know Ben, you know that he can get "into" things really quickly and really deeply. His current obsession is rather interesting : Scandanavian culture. I think this came about as a result of 2 things: 1. His increasing dislike of the hot, hot summer - thus his thoughts turning to cooler things (like Scandanavian winters, logical right?!?!) and 2. His new exercising (a lot I might add) routine of in-line skating - similar to speed-skating, thus, once again, turning his thoughts to cooler things and places. Or something like that.

So what is lefse? Basically, it's a potato pancake - from Scandanavian culture, of course. We hadn't even tried these and Ben was telling me we had to buy a potato ricer - huh? A potato ricer is basically something that mashes up a potato really, really finely. And you know what - we did buy a potato ricer ! A cheap one. But only because I read how great they were for making baby food. :) So last week we made some lefse. And it tasted like. . . potato pancakes. I mean, I did like them because I really like plain and simple food and that is what it is. Ben LOOOOOOVED them of course and can't wait to make them again.

And sailboats. Well I have to admit that sailboats aren't just a whim for Ben. He's been really into them since his Alaska sailboating trip about 10 years ago. He has always wanted to get on another sailboat and has also always wanted to buy one. So today he passed by a garage sale that had a . . . sailboat. He told me about it and so I said let's go check it out. So we went and saw this sailboat - called a sabot. It's a really tiny sailboat; I guess it's used for beginner sailors and is quite "simple and safe" to use. Anyways, long story short - he bought it. It will technically be a birthday present for him (yes, his birthday is in December). He was quite upset (in a friendly way, of course!) when I made him offer the lady $50 less than her asking price. But, come on, you don't offer full price at a garage sale - unless you're my Dad, then you offer more. Now I'm all nervous about my husband out on a sailboat, but my husband is a cautious guy and so I think it will be okay. I'm really excited for him. He was so cute when we bought it - like a 3 year-old on Christmas morning.

So in spite of my husband's lefse and sailboat ways, AND because of them, I really, really love the guy!

A Little Bit of Nesting

Some "nesting" projects I've been doing this week: So my sister told me about these headbands for babies made with tights - thus staying on the head better and without leaving indentation marks on baby's heads. Her idea was to make some. Then I found some gal online who sold some "nylon" headbands - for $1 each. That was my idea - to buy them already made. So I bought 5 nylon headbands and 1 crocheted one, and got one free crocheted one. Wahoo. Then I found some crocheted flowers on Etsy and ordered some. I also bought some buttons and a non-crocheted flower at Walmart. Then I glue-gunned on snaps to the 5 nylon headbands and the backs of all the flowers and buttons. So now I have many possibilities of what to do for my headbands. I'm excited!
With the generousity of Ben's co-workers, my sister-in-law, and old roommie Rebecca, I had lots of baby clothes to organize. I decided a good place to hang a bunch of stuff would be in our catch-all office closet - it was already home to my sewing supplies, scrapbooking stuff, games, file drawers, etc. - why not one more thing? I, of course, had fun looking at all the adorable clothes again. So fun!
I used 2 of my drawers for more clothes - mainly pajamas and onesies in the top and pants/other outfits, socks in the bottom.
Here is the little nook I created in our room - since we have no space elsewhere. It should work - at least for the first few months. The moses basket is sitting atop 8 barrels of wheat. Lovely.

Now all I need is Grassy Rose. . .

Just the 4.9375 of Us

Well Ben was off today and it was just delightful. We went to Ouray - about 45 minutes away - and had a good time. I love Ouray - it is a town right next these beautiful moutains and is just fun. It was so nice to be up there because it was cool - literally cool. It felt incredibly good to get out of the heat - I absolutely hate summer, really I do. Anyways, we just played at a park there and had fun. Then went to get some snacks (i.e., treats) for the boys at a local bagel shop. Miles decided upon a cinnamon roll and we ordered one - to be shared with all of us. The cash register guy must have had pity on us because 1. We are a family of 4.9375 and 2. We paid with quarters (thus signifying how poor we are???). So as we sat down he brought over the warmed-up cinnamon rollS - yep, he gave us 2. He said, "Well they are kind of small so I threw in a second one." I just thought that was really nice!

Anyways, after that we took a "hike" (1/4 mile) to Cascade Waterfalls. It's a little steep hike, but just the right length. It was perfect and beautiful.

Then for the ride home we didn't want the boys to fall asleep - we still wanted them to take a nap at home! So Ben bought them a special candy - ring pops! And, needless to say, it did the trick - neither kid fell asleep. You'll have to look at the pictures, though, to see what sticky mess we got ourselves into, however. :)

So here are some photos:

Miles, and Jonas, both had fun on this "old-time" toy. They just don't make these things anymore - which is probably smart cuz with lots o' kids there could be lots o' accidents.

Swinging is Miles' favorite activity - he just loves it! I wanted to show the amazing mountains in the background. So neat.

Here we are at the waterfall. Of course we don't get the whole waterfall, but it's still neat. (And I really don't like this picture of me. I look, ummm, fat. But Ben reminded me this blog is a journal and it would be fun to show Grassy - so I conceded).

The hiker boys.

Well where there is water, there are usually rocks. And definitely where there are rocks and water, my boys will be picking up the rocks and throwing them in the water! Always. Miles would ONLY pick up the big, "humongous" (his new favorite word) rocks!

Jonas was really proud of his rock throwing, too. And he took it very seriously. Take note of the puffed-out chest as he gets ready to throw! Wow.

And this picture does not even do justice to the sticky mess Jonas got himself into! He smeared that ring-pop all over his legs, then proceded to his face and hair. He especially liked rubbing the ring-pop all over his eyelids. At one point his eyelids were even stuck shut - it was hilarious!

Just the 2 of Them. . .

So Ben and Miles went camping on Friday nite - just the 2 of them. I decided my camping days are probably done this summer - although frankly I'm not all that comfortable anywhere so it might not have made a difference. (Plus, Ben slept from 9-6:45, while my sleep was from 12-6. Blah. It was my fault staying up late, though - trying to get some scrapbooking done!) But it was good for Ben and Miles to go by themselves.

Here Miles is helping get the truck all packed up!

Dinner time - some yummy ramen noodles and french bread. With S'mores later on for dessert, of course!

Really no need for explanation of what is going on here. But this is future payback for all the, ummmm, trying times he gives us. :)

Our very own blond-hair, blue-eyed Huck Finn. They spent the evening trying to catch some fish - but unfortunatley weren't successful (where's mom when ya need her?!).

Ben had forgotten Miles' pull-ups for the nite and so when going to bed Ben told Miles not to pee and that he'd get him up in the middle of the nite to go. So at 4:30am Ben awoke Miles: "No, Dad, I want to sleep." But he did go out - and got to experience the magic of STARS - and lots of them! Then he went right back to sleep.

The rest of the morning was spent fishing again. This time they were successful - yea! The first thing Miles did when getting a hold of the fish - hug and kiss them! Ain't that just so precious????

So it looks like a wonderful time. When they got up in the morning Ben asked Miles how his sleep was. "It was fun, Daddy." Well I guess if his sleep was fun the rest of the camping adventure was probably really, really fun!

My Favorite Thing. . .

So I just remembered that I had started this a few weeks ago - maybe even a month ago! It's not that I didn't have anything "favorite" happen to me, I just simply forgot. Huh, I literally see brain cells falling out every day of my life.

So I thought I would share a favorite happening of this week - it just happened today. I went to my doctor's appointment - which takes about 1 hour in all, while time with the doctor is probably around 5 minutes. Anyways, I wanted to make our last payment today - wahoo! If you pay early, supposedly, there is a 10% discount - and so I didn't want to miss out on that. Usually I balk at 10%, but when the total due is in the thousands of dollars, it, ummmm, makes a good difference. So as I was waiting I went up to the Desk Gal and asked if I could just make my final payment now. They had some discrepancy with how much they said I had paid and my receipts - so I brought in the receipts to clear it up. Anyways, the Desk Gal had to talk with the Billing Lady to figure everything out, and meanwhile I got called back (since I had waited 25 minutes in front, I guess I was due my wait of 25 minutes in the room).

So after my 5-minute chat with the doctor, I came out, scheduled my next appointment and then asked if they figured the payment all out. I was told we were done paying and didn't owe any more! The Billing Lady said she quoted us 20% off originally, or something like that. I don't know if I believe that totally, though! I just think people give you breaks when they know you pay cash and have no insurance.

Especially the Big Guy Upstairs (due all to tithing, of course).

Twenty-Eight

In honor of the 28 days until my due date, I'm going to come up with 28 reasons why I'll be glad to no longer be pregnant. Here I go. . .

NO MORE . . .

1. double-sided sciatica

2. pregnancy-induced carpal-tunnel syndrome

3. pregnancy-induced heartburn

4. eating of disgusting TUMS

5. comments from people

6. rolly-polly belly

7. extreme protruding belly-button (as my CPR instructor pointed out to our class: it would be very easy to do the heimlich on somebody with a belly-button like mine! [cuz it's easy to find!])

8. waking up every few hours - oh wait, dangit, scratch that one!

9. having a tough time getting up from sitting on the floor

10. wearing of maternity garments - wahoo, nursing garments (I think I hate them more, though)

11. being 10 pounds within my husband's weight

12. wondering what the labor/delivery will be like

13. running like a . . . pregnant lady

14. difficulty putting on my running shoes

HAVING. . .

15. a baby in our home again (although at times we ALL act like babies here!)

16. the smell of a new baby - no, not the diaper smell, just the sweet, newborn smell

17. cute little clothes - PINK, and lots of it, too!

18. TWO big brothers

19. lots of "breaks" to sit and nurse

20. someone in the house who is 100% completely dependent on me (although that is highly annoying at times, it is still a very neat thing)

21. someone that someday i can braid her hair AND take her out in public

22. family come visit

23. family know what Grassy Rose's real name will be

24. a good excuse to not go grocery shopping

25. a body that, hopefully, will be losing weight and not gaining

26. "Joe-Babe" suddenly appear to be a very big boy indeed

27. to go shopping for a few new non-maternity clothing

And finally, the 28th reason it will be nice to not be pregnant anymore. . .

28. To welcome the cutest, sweetest, littlest GIRL this Maxwell family has ever met.

Dang, she better be a she. . .

A Beach in Colorado

Ben was off the other day and so we decided to go to the "beach." Ridgway, that is. In Ridgway (a town about 25 miles away) there is a big huge lake and a little beach area to play and swim at, as well as a park. It was really fun, except that the sand at Ridgway is not nearly as soft as a real beach. Oh well.

I loved the short "big kid" swings - and so did Jonas!

It still makes me nervous sometimes when Miles goes down slides!




















Miles having fun in the water!
















And Jonas having fun in the water too, until. . .

he fell face first into a little puddle we had made!

And this is just a hilarious picture - we don't think it looks a thing like Jonas!

So there were our adventures for that day.

Denver - a little late

So here are my Denver pictures - and there are a lot of them and I could have done a lot more! It's so hard to decide.





On Saturday we went to a wonderful park, that even has a little train. How fun! (pictured: Levi, in front; Katie, Miles, and Lexi - from left to right; and Uncle Kenny in back).


On Sunday we visited the Littleton Historic Farm. It's a lovely place to just walk around and see old buildings, some animals, etc.








Here is Ben putting Jonas on a cow. Mooooooove.

















My other husband.



















Ben and Jonas inside an old schoolhouse.









Yes Miles is doing what you think he's doing. Yes, he is weird.

A family photo.

The Coneheads

All kids need is a little creativity and look what they come up with - loads of fun! They all had a great time in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard and with all their fun "toys."

From left to right: Melanie, Josh, Claire, and Miles (cousins).

Claire and Jonas sending "messages" to each other via the cone-phone.

Before heading out on Monday we stopped by Jim and Diana's friend's home. They have all sorts of creatures there - snakes, lizards, tarantulas, etc. Lucky for me Jonas was too antsy and wanted to just walk around everywhere, so he and I just went out and played. Miles loved touching the snake - I was real surprised at that! It was fun.

It was really great to "meet" the Hudsons - Ben's sister Debbie, husband Kenny, and great kids Katie, Melanie, Josh, and Claire. Miles still talks about them and often pretends he is Katie, Jonas is Melanie, I'm Claire, and Ben is Josh.

Here are some sweet pictures of Aunt Debbie and Cousin Katie reading to the kids.

A Remarkable Thing Happened Yesterday. . .

Miles actually looked AND smiled (at the SAME time) at the camera for me! And even waited for me to take a picture. Whoa. Monumental. Huge. Amazing. I was in utter shock.

Seriously, whenever we want to take a picture of Miles we have to beg and plead and beg and plead. Then we might get a nanosecond of a glance towards the camera. Usually it won't include a smile. If it does include a smile, it's a completely goofy one.

So I was pleasantly surprised. And that's why I love this picture.

Explanation of the picture:

A friend brought over some hand-me-downs - mostly toys that we don't have room for. We also ended up with few items of clothing. I thought Jonas' shorts/slacks were quite funy and wanted to try them on. As soon as Jonas was decked out Miles wanted to join the fun. So we got his "new" swim shorts, football jersey, and train-conductor's hat on. Oh, and Jonas put those shoes on by himself. It was hilarious (to me since I'm their mom and they are my life) to see them strutting their stuff - and, yes, they were definitely strutting.