Home again

Last night we arrived home from our 6-day trip to Pittsburgh. The drive was... rough... but the days spent there were well worth the many hours spent in the van listening to Aubrey whine.

We packed a lot into our visit: the zoo, an extended family Father's Day lunch, a day at Idlewild, guitar browsing, the first ever stop at Ikea Pittsburgh, two church services, playtime with cousins, Panera Bread, game playing, dinner with friends, and more. It was all really, really wonderful. And the weather, believe it or not, was idyllic.

Today has been spent catching up: laundry, grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, cleaning dusty bathrooms, getting good naps, etc. Tomorrow I hope to get out to the gardens, which exploded while we were gone! The perennial bed is coming alive with the buds and blooms of the bee balm, shasta daisy, delphinium, yarrow, batchelor's button, and astilbe. Our lettuce and spinach plants are suddenly in full production mode, which meant that I didn't have to buy any lettuce at the grocery store this morning and I did get to make a salad with greens that came straight from the garden only minutes before dinner. I picked up some tomato cages while I was out since we've only staked up the cherry tomatoes and desperately need to do something for the Big Boys.

The kids are glad to return to their toys but sad to be over 500 miles away from Grandma and the other friends and family we were able to spend time with. Fortunately, an hour or two spent splashing in the Ockrin kiddie pool this morning (while I shopped) seemed to help alleviate some of the sadness!

We forgot our camera (boo, me), but already a friend sent some that she took during our amazing day at Idlewild:

It's here!!!

The growing babe update

I'm well over 22 weeks pregnant now. I like to think of this as the halfway mark, since usually a woman finds out she's pregnant about 18 weeks earlier (sometimes later, of course, which I can personally testify to, but usually between 4 and 5 weeks) and usually she delivers her baby about 18 weeks from now.

So far, things are going well. I can't complain about a whole lot. Sure, I'm exhausted beyond anything I've ever felt (honestly, I'm beginning to wonder just how low my iron levels were/are, because I have never felt as badly-- not even postpartum-- as I have this past month or so), I've started getting up at least once a night to use the bathroom again (so, basically, I got to sleep through the night for about 6 weeks out of the past, oh... 2 years), I still get heartburn from certain foods (like orange juice), and I'm not quite out of the Awkward Clothing Stage, but these are all "normal" things, really. Every time I want to cry about how wretched the iron pills make me feel or the fact that I don't like dealing with only owning 1 pair of maternity shorts and no maternity capris, I remind myself that I'm not on bedrest and that this baby is looking really healthy, and it all gets put into perspective.

I've gained about 6-9lbs so far (our unreliable scale here at home fluctuates a bit, depending on things like where exactly it's placed on the bathroom floor, and I haven't seen the doctor in 3 weeks). This is probably a lot to some of you, but it's only half-- at least-- of what I've usually gained at this point. It's also particularly low for me since most of my pregnancy weight gain typically takes place during my second trimester (for example, I gained 29lbs when pregnant with Aubrey and only 7 of those lbs were gained during my third trimester). While I honestly don't really care because I don't think the lower weight gain itself will make much of a difference in fetal weight, I can tell that the healthier eating is making a difference in how well my body is functioning-- even in spite of my iron deficiency-- and it's a good feeling to know that the baby isn't getting the junk from refined flours and sugars.

The only problem with the lower weight gain is that it's definitely played a huge part in extending the Awkward Clothing Stage I mentioned earlier.

Oh, and I really, really, really miss chocolate.

I think I already mentioned that I'm scheduled for a fetal echocardiogram with the pediatric cardiologists (the same group of doctors that Aubrey sees) on July 20th. Because I've given birth to a baby with congenital heart disease, I'm now considered at twice the risk for having another baby with congenital heart disease (up to 5-6% from 2-3%), so this sort of ultrasound with these specialists is now considered standard protocol for me. Assuming the fetal echocardiogram looks good, I will get bumped down from High Risk to Normal (for the duration of this pregnancy). How cool is that?!

Another thing that I'm really happy about is how well Aubrey's continued to nurse right through this pregnancy. She hasn't seemed a bit deterred by any changes that have taken place-- not even by the dramatically reduced supply. Several weeks ago, as I realized there were absolutely no indications of self-weaning, I started to panic at the idea of tandem nursing since she was so demanding when it came to nursing (as in, if she wanted to nurse but I wasn't available right. that. minute, she would follow me around the house, crying and hitting my legs until I finally catered to her) and I was starting to picture myself breastfeeding a newborn while she threw a fit at my feet. After discussing it with Daniel, however, I realized the problem wasn't nursing, but her attitude (what a revelation, huh?!). I've never before had to teach a child to expect anything less than On-Demand Nursing, but it seems to me that if she's old enough to throw a temper-tantrum about breastfeeding, she's old enough to understand and comply with, "You need to wait, Aubrey." We're still working on her response to such instruction (one can't expect an overnight change), but she's really improved a lot in that area and I now feel like continuing to breastfeed her even after the new baby arrives-- should that be what she needs/desires-- will work. And, quite honestly, the idea of her still getting the natural antibodies and immune builders that breastmilk offers through this coming winter really comforts me as a mom.

So, all in all, the halfway point finds me feeling very blessed.

And surprised that we're already here. Wow!

T-ball and couches

:: Last night we went to the end-of-the-year BBQ for the t-ball, little, and softball leagues. They fed us lots of free (and good!) food and gave each of the kids a medal for their participation.

There are lots of things I don't like about living in a small town. You know, things like not being able to order pizza in or the nearest gas station being about 10 miles away. Last night, however, was definitely the kind of night that reminds you of all the reasons small towns are awesome.

:: Daniel is leaving shortly to go pick up the couch some friends of ours from Connecticut packed in their [huge] trailer since they were headed this way on a ministry tour. Their willingness to do this has saved us about $300 that we would have had to spend on S&H-- and allows us to buy the couch that much sooner. I can't wait until it gets here!

Juggling

We're headed to Pittsburgh in the morning.

There are bags to be packed (x6!), errands to run, a van that is supposed to be repaired by this afternoon and then somehow picked up by Daniel or I, a t-ball end-of-the-year banquet to attend, a refrigerator to clean out (I'm not a big fan of science experiments), and I have yet to even get my shower in.

Aubrey just wants to snuggle and nurse.

*sigh*

I'm trying my best to remember that people-- my children-- are more important than any To Do list ever could be. Sometimes deadlines make remembering a bit hard.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Black bottom cupcakes have made their appearance at several Sinclair birthday celebrations over the years. They're simple to make and delicious to eat and-- the best part-- they don't require forks or even plates (a napkin to place it on will suffice just fine!).

This is the recipe I used for the cupcakes for Daniel's birthday:


Black Bottom Cupcakes

1-1/2c all purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
1/4c (generous-- I probably used closer to a 1/2, honestly!) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2tsp salt
1c sugar
1/3c vegetable (or coconut) oil
1c water
1T vinegar
1tsp vanilla extract

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3c sugar
1/8tsp salt
1c semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Line 2 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
2. Stir together the flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, water, vinegar, and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture until incorporated. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with chocolate batter, then top with a heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20-25 minutes.


I didn't taste any, but they seemed to be enjoyed: there were none left at the end of the evening!

another year

We celebrated Daniel's birthday (along with my grandma's) last night.

I am so thankful for Daniel.

Celebrating

Gabriel and I marked our first milestone as a homeschooling duo last night: the official conclusion of our first year.

He was very pleased.

I tried my best not to think too much about the years and years of schooling/training/education that lie before me so that I could just enjoy our accomplishment.

I asked him why he wouldn't smile when he stood up front and got his certificate. He said he was told to walk nice and straight, so he decided to be like a soldier.

Of course.

And then we celebrated with ice cream cones at home (well, everyone but me, that is...), which was also quite the occasion as far as the kids were concerned since I have never before purchased cones to go with our ice cream.

It was a great evening.

Simply

This morning, I stripped my bed-- from the top to bottom-- and began the process of putting the quilt & shams, duvet, sheets & blanket, and mattress pad through the washer. I love a clean bed.

As I hung item after item on the line, I thought about how happy it makes me to see pretty sheets hanging against the backdrop of green, green grass and a blue, blue sky.

I've been thinking a lot this morning about heaven. About how much I want it that sometimes my heart hurts and my eyes fill with tears just from the wanting.

This world is hard.

Young men die, women are abandoned, children get sick, babies are killed before they even take their first breath.

I sin. A lot. And I hate it. I ache for the day that I see Him and I am like Him.

But in the middle of it all-- the pain and the sadness and the ugliness of my heart-- I smile at the simple joy of a bedsheet hanging on my clothesline. And I know how blessed I am that even in the midst of brokenness, He shows Himself to me in a thousand ways each and every day. I can't imagine navigating these waters of life without Him.

I'm so glad I don't have to.

He's with me. Always.

Simply.

Pictures

Some pictures of the kids from Memorial Day.

marching in the parade











the look-alikes: Aunt Camilla and Aubrey

Reporting

On Wednesday, we packed up our bags (bathing suits and all) and headed to Syracuse to spend a couple days with some good friends of ours who happen to have a big house, a terrific yard, a heated 40' long pool, a swing set (which is quite novel to my children since we don't have one), and built-in babysitters. Aubrey and I both had appointments scheduled for Thursday morning with specialists, so it seemed like a good time to take these friends up on their offer to give us a mini vacation.

I can't believe I forgot the camera! I have rarely seen my children so thoroughly enjoy themselves for 2 days straight and I totally lost the opportunity to capture any of it. They were humored non-stop the entire time we were there: play-doh, freeze tag, swimming, movies in bed, swinging, and more.

Thursday morning, Daniel, Aubrey, and I left Gabriel, Bronwyn, and Jackson with our friends to begin our round of appointments at the physicians' offices. Aubrey was up first with the cardiologists, and she got a rave review! Her O2 sats (the level of oxygen in her blood) have been holding steady around 85% for the past 6 months, which is still a very comfortable level. She's now 20-1/2lbs, just below the 3rd percentile for her age, and is 32" tall, just below the 50th percentile for her age. (Danica, Dad thinks we should just average William and Aubrey out and call it even!) The cardiologists don't care what her weight is, so long as her growth is steady-- which it is-- so Dr. Byrum was very pleased. As any of you who see her regularly well know, her color is great, her activity/energy is high, and one would never know by looking at her that there's anything wrong with her heart.

Dr. Byrum said he doesn't feel he needs to see her again for 6 months! This will be the longest she's gone between appointments since birth. Dr. Byrum also said that if her health continues to be as stable as its been, he could easily see them holding off on any "intervention" for another 3 years! (We are, of course, praying for a miracle so that she never has to undergo reconstructive surgery.)

After Aubrey's appointment ended, we had some time to kill before my level II ultrasound and genetic consult, so we headed up to the NICU to visit with some of our favorite nurses. Not all of them were there that day, of course, but we got to see a few familiar faces and they were delighted to see Aubrey. Most of their exclaimations had something to do with either how healthy she looks and/or her red hair.

Then it was off for my/Baby's appointments.

We didn't get any pictures other than this one because the baby's hands were over his face almost the whole time. Even in this profile shot, you can see a hand right above the nose/mouth.

The level II ultrasound went great. Dr. Silverman, the perinatalogist who looked over the film, was very pleased. Growth is right on track and the placenta is posterior (nowhere near the scar tissue from the c-section). And, most importantly, this initial look at the baby's heart shows nothing abnormal.

Our genetic consult was brief. And amusing! I mean, it's not often Daniel and I get a barrage of questions along the lines of whether or not there's any chance we might be related. ("Well, I guess it all depends on how far back in history you go, right???")

The last thing we did was get the fetal echocardiogram with the pediatric cardiologists scheduled for July 20th. After that, this pregnancy should get a "normal" status. I can't wait!

Oh, and no, we didn't find out whether we're having a boy or a girl. I wasn't even remotely tempted. Having done it both ways now (we didn't find out the first 3 times-- though we did try with Bronwyn and weren't successful-- and then we did find out with Aubrey), I can say from experience that it's much more exciting to find out on their birthday! At least, it is for me. I will say that, for what it's worth, both Daniel and I are guessing boy at this point. Even though I'm 0 for 2 (I honestly didn't even have a guess 2 of the times) Daniel is 4 for 4, so it would be surprising if he's wrong.

After our morning and afternoon of appointments, we returned to the pool and continued to be waited on hand and foot by our gracious hosts until we left yesterday evening after dinner. It was a great couple days and we feel very, very blessed by the appointment results.

Garden update

In spite of this miserably cold spring, our gardens are growing. Daniel-- going out on a limb-- planted our tomato (cherry and big boy), pepper (bell), and squash (summer and zucchini) plants over the weekend. The herbs still seem rather too tiny and delicate to handle these barely-above-frost nighttime temperatures, so we'll wait a bit longer to get them in the garden.

Daniel also harvested our first baby spinach leaves last night, which he was pretty psyched about.

The batchelor's button is blooming and is not disappointing me with its vibrancy. I love it. Our other perennials are doing well, though everything seems to be on a slower track this year thanks to the chilly weather.

I have about $20 left in my gardening budget after buying veggie seeds and plants, a handful of perennials, potting soil, and mulch. I'm trying to figure out if there's some way to do something with the front porch border for the summer. It's so shady there and gets so much moisture (whenever it rains, the water runs right off the road and down to the porch) that I'm not sure what to plant. I'd prefer a long-term solution vs. annuals since I can't guarantee much of a gardening budget from year to year. Any ideas are more than welcome.