Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Mother's Day Etc.

In the last week or so I've felt this heavy fog begin to lift. I've been living in a such a haze of nausea and drowsiness and now that it's beginning to fade away, I feel like a new person. And damn I have missed a lot in these last few months. Nothing like being out of commission for a while to make you realize how much you usually accomplish when you are on your game and how quickly it piles up when you are not.

So yes, finally now at 15 weeks (15 WEEKS!? Hell, it might be 16 at this point. It' so hard to keep track of these things this time around...) I can actually say that yes, I am starting to feel better.  Food tastes good once again, I am particularly enjoying cottage cheese these days. Cottage cheese? Yeah, I know, but I just can't get enough of it. I can brush my teeth without throwing up (mostly), and I can stay up past 8:00 at night. You know, it's the little things that are important these days.

 

We started swimming lessons once again and Jack is repeating the class he took last time, with much more confidence this time around. Sawyer is taking his first ever swim class simultaneously, which leaves me sitting on the bench with a brand new set of iPhone moms. These ladies have caused me to rethink the whole iPhone thing as it's kind of cool to have nothing better to do that watch my kids. Jack is... well, let's just say I'm pretty sure that swimming won't be his thing. I'm unable to diagnose the problem from where I sit, but it appears that his feet simply will not rise to the water's surface. No amount of kicking will do the trick. He's a natural sinker- it's like he's wearing lead boots. I'm not sure what Jack's swim teacher will be able to do about this, but for now, it's his problem.

Sawyer, on the other hand, is like a happy little guppy in that water. He bounces and shrieks and I've seen him petting his teacher's hair a few times (I hope she's okay with this). He is certainly the most enthusiastic participant in his class, so much so that the lifeguard has taken to standing right next to him at all times lest he hurl himself off the beginners' platform as he tries to wait patiently for his turn.  

The kids are marginally excited about their new sibling. One night as I sat down to dinner with the boys, Jack asked me if we would have any more babies after this one. I smiled. "Oh no, this will definitely be our last!"

"But Mom, how do you know? You might get another baby in your tummy after this one comes out," he continued.

"That's not how it works, buddy. People decide when they want to have babies. It doesn't just happen," I said. And then I panicked because I realized exactly where this conversation was headed. Sawyer was not interested in this topic and so he finished his dinner and wandered off to harass the dog.

"How do they do that? How do people get babies in their tummies?" Jack asked innocently.

Shit! I stuffed my mouth full of pasta to buy some think time. What to say? I was totally unprepared for this and Brent was gone and I had to say something, and quick!

"Um, do you really want to know? You might think it's kind of gross," I warned him.

He nodded and so I gave him a very concise, one sentence, anatomically correct description of just how babies are made.

He looked a bit startled by this information, blinked a few times, finished chewing a bite of salad, and then asked me if he had soccer practice the next day. And that was that. For now.

I don't think that I've told you yet how the boys have suddenly and inexplicably become best buddies. They have inside jokes and can make each other laugh hysterically, especially at dinner time.This is pretty cute at first glance but their brand of humor is not appreciated by the over-five crowd and they are often banished from the table for using potty talk. I really don't get why peeing and pooping is so funny, but I remember my brother doing the same thing at this age and he turned out fine, so I guess we'll just ride it out.



Rhubarb anyone?


We spent a very warm Mother's Day at Brent's mom's house with cousins, a backyard full of toys, and a ton of excellent food. I sat with my feet up for a good part of the afternoon with an icy drink in my hand. It's always an amazing feat when you can relax and your kids can run themselves ragged at the same time.






But of course I did feel sad on Mother's Day, because that's how I always feel on Mother's Day and being pregnant doesn't really help with that whole emotional well-being stuff. And with this third child comes the reminder, once again, of what she's missing, and what we're missing. But from now on whenever my spirits dip, I'm just going to look at this picture, because who can feel sad about a goofy kid with a farmer's tan playing croquet in a sombrero? (With a price tag even!)

Not me.