Week of weeks- Wyss Vacation 2019

I don't have the best concept of time and realized almost too late that we would be getting home from vacation the day before Cadence's birthday.  And that I should probably come up with gifts and a cake before we left... she requested Paw Patrol, and I found some ideas on pinterest.  Then I went low stress and bought everything- cake mix, frosting, and fondant.  I got the basic cake done in between Miriel breaks, and worked on the color flow logo.  The cake went into the freezer fully decorated and I left the colorflow to dry for a week... it looked pretty good(ish I don't have a very steady hand) when I made it.

Anyway, a little bit of added stress while trying to pack 6 people up for a week of vacation. 
They were wearing the same color... awww.

 While I am enjoying telling the girls stories about when I was growing up (they are particularly fond of hearing about the trials of sharing a bed with Michelle), I forget that there are other stories in which I am not the heroine...:)

 Little miss Miriel is starting to smile at us!  Yay for being past the first 6 weeks!!  

 Emmy is singing Miriel to sleep, Cecily is practicing piano, and Cadence is getting into trouble... including putting deodorant on her tummy.  

 Cadence has a bad habit of losing her precious blanky- we find it balled up and stuffed all kinds of strange places.  It went missing for almost 48 hours and we looked EVERYWHERE.  I had lost hope of finding it and figured it had gotten in the garbage somehow, so I ordered some similar fabric online just in case.  She had been very sad, especially at night, so her face when I opened the package... *gasp* (awed, quiet voice) Blanky! For me?!  It was very sweet.  And then Emmy found the original on the windowsill behind the curtains and blind we rarely open in their room. Because that's where everyone puts their most precious possessions and then forgets about them.      

 On Friday we played real life tetris and loaded up the van to the 'tippy tippy top!' So much stuff, it was ridiculous. 

 The drive to Michigan went pretty smoothly, Bob had mapped out a route with no highways, and we ended up on some slightly sketchy Indiana country roads... but we made it safely.  I introduced the girls to Hank the Cowdog CD's that we borrowed from the library.  They thought he was pretty funny. :)
It was only in the upper 70's the first day, and the pool was cold, but they didn't care.

 I was not super excited about swimming in cold water, thankfully Uncle Ron was willing to play with them.

 Drying off and warming up.

 Emmy roped Clayton and Jessica into playing dragons with her... haha.  

 We walked to the closest beach access in the evening. The Lake Michigan water level is super high this year so the beaches were small and not very sandy.  Emmy got busy making a rock 'store.' 

 Cecily and Kebe and Shena hunted for cool rocks.

 Cadence got wet. (the water was freezing! only 60-something degrees.)

 And Cadence's blanket went missing on... we looked everywhere.  And had everyone else looking.  And looked under furniture and cushions that probably haven't seen the light of day in years...  Cadence was a very sad little girl when she had to go to bed without her little blanky.  Bob found it the next day in the upstairs hallway... rolled in a ball, tucked into this dark corner.  Turns out, Emmy hid it the day before because she was mad that 'no one would play with her.'  *sigh*  After that we put both blankys on a closet shelf and only let her have them in our room.

 Typical vacation scene- boys quarteting, people napping, snuggling babies, and Grandpa and Grandma sitting back enjoying it all.  

Cadence really enjoyed dessert on vacation.

 Kacie's birthday happened and there was confetti and a pinata! 

 Cadence tried to hit Fred with the stick instead of the Taco pinata... haha. 

 So Jacie helped her...

 Emmy was very pleased...

 And Cecily too... I'm not sure they even knew there was candy inside until it broke open. :) 

 Playing games with the Kellenbergers. Cecily loves it when the twins are around.

 Happened to wander into the living room while Dr. Ned (violin) played from Fantaisie-Impromptu from memory on the piano... and of course it sounded amazing.

 My younger cousins are great.  The girls got to go to the "Sparkle Spa" one afternoon (they declined nail polish because 'Mom doesn't like it.' ha!) for foot rubs and fancy braids.  And one of the guys (who won't be named) played the villain in the pool all afternoon- they named him "the Evil Jiggle Belly."  haha.   Poor guy. (He's really not jiggly at all.)
Great Grandma Lydiann gave wagon rides one afternoon. 

 She wanted to go outside so bad after it rained and managed to get pretty wet and dirty in the puddles.

 We spent an evening at the playground.

 The older two learned to play banana-grams with the Aunts. :)

 We drove to the beach at New Buffalo for a few hours one day.  Little beach baby slept most of the time.  

 There wasn't much sand there either and the rocks were brutal on adult feet.  The kids loved it, though.  I went in the water briefly.  It was so cold it took your breath away- literally, it was hard to breath once I got in up to my chest.

 This was a Klondike bar...

She would come into our room and request her blanky, then she would just lay on our bed with it for a few minutes before giving it back for safe keeping... silly kid.  

 Sidewalk chalk at the pool in the afternoon- that's a picture of 'Di's Pool' if you can't read pre-schooler.  

 Miriel was so good all week!  She wanted to nurse a lot, but she also slept a lot and was pretty happy the whole time. 

 Shelly watched the kids on the porch during Wednesday night church.  I was there for moral support.  Or something.

 Thursday was our last day, so I took the older three to another beach access nearby, Bob stayed back with Miriel.  The water was calmer, but still cold.  

 Cadence helping Shelly build a cairn.  

 The weather was so perfect.  Low 80's and not humid.

 Grand Beach Inn is in various states of repair.  Our bathroom was pretty much brand new, but the door to the hallway was falling off the hinges.  Our favorite carpenter finally fixed it for us the last day.  So I guess you could say we left it better than we found it!  

 I spy.... Aunt Pearl taking a selfie?!  hehe.  

 Cadence, Gideon, and Boden hanging out.  

 Shelly captured this picture of a very forlorn little girl who was not ready to come home.

 We bring everything on vacation, including the kitchen sink... and a recliner.  Not even kidding.  :D

Packing up is always chaos, but we made it out by 10 am and had a good trip home.  We had to stop multiple times for bathrooms and diapers and lunch... we got to McDonalds just as Lori's and G and G were leaving.  Grandma insisted on paying for us, of course.  As if a week of vacation wasn't enough.  Listening to another Hank the Cowdog story, and then letting them watch Robin Hood kept the girls happy-ish.  At least, none of them cried all the way home like our last vacation.  
Highs and lows... hm... this was a really good trip, so other than how awful it is to get kids to bed the first few nights I don't have many lows.  Or maybe I've just lowered my expectations so far after four kids.  Highs- I got to spend a lot of time with Cadence since Cecily and Emmy were off playing and Miriel slept a lot.  Since I didn't really have any work to get done we got to just hang out and play, which was fun. And the older I get, the more I appreciate the time I get to spend with all of the generations of my family.  If we just got together on holidays for a few hours I wouldn't know my aunts and uncles and cousins nearly so well.  And they really wouldn't know my kids... as it is, Cecily really wants them all to come over to play Mario Kart with her sometime and that wouldn't happen without Wyss Vacation.  
So now we are home and had a few hours to recover before Cadence turned 3!
Blessings.

Lately

I was feeling guilty about not attempting any Memorial Day festivities, but then Cecily and Emmy gave me a play-by-play of what usually happens at the service in Tremont and I felt better (they were paying attention!). Mom invited us to the farm for supper spur of the moment, so we did that and there were games played...

 The maple trees were loaded with seeds this year and with the lovely wet weather lots of them are sprouting.  Pulling them out of the landscaping kept the big girls busy for a while. 

 Someone is still a little jealous that her spot in the stroller has been taken.  So she hangs out in the basket underneath.

 Cecily has been begging to go swimming since school's been out and it just hasn't happened yet.  We did fill the little pool but it was freezing cold and the air temperature wasn't much better.  They didn't seem to mind.

 The two year old was having a rough morning...  I dispatched a rabbit that was in the garden and she was not happy when I wouldn't let her get a carrot out of the fridge to give to the recently departed... sorry child, you can't feed a dead rabbit.  #whymykidiscrying

 I wanted to go for a walk and the girls went outside before me.  I found them visiting Marci and swinging on her swing.

 Oh dear little Emmy.  :D  Our other neighbor was also out for an evening walk and Emmy was valiantly trying to strike up a conversation with him.  Poor Mr. F.  She is very determined.

 It sounded like somebody was jack-hammering, but it turns out we have a woodpecker who likes to drum on our metal chimney cap. 

 The weather was not looking good for the T-fest and we weren't sure if the girls were going to get to do rides this year.  But it cleared off and Bob got home in time to take them and they were sooooo happy.  I was not sad to have to stay home in the quiet with Miriel.

 The much anticipated dragon ride!

 Good times!

The brought home "prizes."

 This particular "prize" may just put me over the brink...

 The older girls are getting a little bit stir crazy since I don't feel like taking four girls out alone yet.  So I invited us out to Gridley to see Nina's kittens one afternoon.  (The girls do not understand the difference between 'farm clothes' and 'town clothes' I made Cecily change out of the semi dressy dress she wanted to wear... and she chose a different skirt and nice shirt. *sigh*) 

 So cute... then they turn into cats...

 Playing crack the egg on the trampoline.

 They had a tea party too, with Bethany's tea set on the little table from my Mom's childhood and peonies. :)  

It was a fun afternoon!  We just don't get to spend much time with the Schlipfs so I was glad that they were willing to let us come over on short notice.  Plus, the girls aren't quite old enough to roll their eyes at me when I wax nostalgic (I remember when... When I was little...).  I love that Grandma's peonies are still there. :) 

I had to document a day when all three girls were wearing *gasp* SHORTS!  Nary a skirt or dress in sight... how did tomboy me get three girly girls that hate all garments with legs?!  Which makes no sense because I make them wear shorts underneath anyway for modesty. And denim shorts no less!  (Denim is anathema, no idea why.  They are weird.)

 Littlest miss Miriel is growing!  And we are on round four for this ridiculous "Panzer Division" tank onesie from Uncle Jakey.

 Last week was Bible school week for the older two girls.  They had a lot of fun, but I think we're all glad that it only lasts a week. 
I had my follow up with my midwife/meet the baby appointment and felt vindicated- she would have let me do my thing (so there random resident!).  And she apologized up and down for not being there... which, whatever, in my opinion I deliver my own babies, they're just there to catch them and in case something goes wrong.   
Mom came and took the older three to the farm on Friday.  It was sooo quiet at home.  We had just gotten both of our mowers serviced and I was planning on mowing the yard- neither of them would start.  Bob got a new battery for the riding mower, so I did eventually get it mowed, but the push mower is still inoperable.  *sigh*  
Oh, and I think we've spent more time in the basement for weather this spring than all of the last few years combined.  We had to get them out of bed for a tornado warning last night- the box of comics under the stairs kept them occupied while we waited.  

Poor Bob, I kind of forgot it was Father's Day.  Ooops.  
Blessings.

April showers bring... May showers...

Other than going to doctor appointments and receiving guests, we have done very little the last two weeks.  

Cadence really wanted me to make her mac and cheese and got everything out for me...

 We missed going to our potluck, but they were kind enough to bring us some food! Cadence appropriated Bob's dessert. 

 Jake and Rachel were in town and stopped by.  Uncle Jakey is getting slightly more comfortable holding babies.

 Emmy and Miriel had doctor appointments during Cecily's field day.  She was disappointed that we weren't going to be there, and then she won her race!  Thankfully, I have good friends who send me videos and pictures so I don't feel quite so guilty.  Looks like she just barely beat Kenna. :P   

We got a new playhouse!  They were so excited! Poor Bob had no choice but to put it together immediately.   

 And then they pushed and pulled it to the backyard on an ingenious cardboard sled (I'm still not supposed to be lifting or doing anything strenuous so I didn't help...).

 They are pretty pleased and I think we will get good use out of it.  We are going to anchor this one though so it won't blow over!  

 All ready for our first Sunday in church!  Getting ready in the morning went fairly smoothly, and so did the rest of the day, really.  Miriel slept through most of it.

 Oh, and I made her dress long ago with the other three.... I have NOT been sewing since she was born. She makes the best faces.

 Little miss I-don't-need-to-go-to-bed-and-I-don't-need-a-nap fell asleep playing with Daddy's phone. Again.

 Bob went back to work after two weeks off.  It's been going ok so far.  My mom came over twice and cleaned my house for me sooo... I haven't really been alone.  
Cecily's all done with school!  I feel like this year has been a blur.  I pretty much was sick/pregnant for all of it so yeah, can't say that I was really present and involved in her schoolwork or at school.  And I didn't even get a last day of school picture- thank goodness I have an excellent sister-in-law who has been our bus service the last few weeks and got this picture for me!  

I had to take Miriel for yet another weight check right at dismissal time on the last day of school so Sharon and girls came over after school and we all ate McDonald's for lunch at our house.  Hooray for summer and Miriel finally being back at her birth weight so we don't have to go in again for awhile!  
The garden dried out enough yesterday that we finally planted the rest of it... and then it rained all night.  woot.  I didn't plant much this year, and I'm fully expecting it to be a weedy mess, but hopefully we'll at least get a few fresh tomatoes.  We planted a bunch of flowers too, for the girls to pick.  
Blessings.

Happy Mother's Day!

Woot.  

Miriel and I are spending the morning listening to church while the rest of the family is at church... it's very quiet.  

My sister (and at least one of my friends) could hardly stand it that we didn't have a  name for sure yet a few weeks before she was born.  Mostly because we were out of girl names and neither of us really liked each others lists.  Well, Bob was not a fan of my science-y names.  haha.  I think Curie or Ester would be adorable girls names! I really like the name Miriam but Bob wasn't sure since he had a great aunt named that. The girls have been lobbying for Violet since the beginning, but there was another great aunt, and it cracked the top 50 for girls names, and I'd like to avoid this generation's version of "Jennifer."  (Seriously, Jennifer was #1 for 15 years! There.are.so.many.Jennifers.)  Bob really liked the name Myrelle... but... I'm not a fan of the 'mur' sound in names (apologies to any Myrna's or Myra's).  And then I found a list of Tolkien names.  Miriel is pretty, and it's got parts of both of our favorite names.  Plus, Tolkien reference for the win!  I think middle names are hard- so since the girls really liked Violet, we went with that.  They were pleased.  And not even too sad we didn't name her "Violet Flopsy."  So Miriel Violet checks all the boxes- Pretty, old fashioned sounding, gender specific, not trendy, and impossible to find on any of those cheap personalized licence plates/key chain/pencil things.  

I'm sure you've all been dying to hear Miriel's birth story.  Or not.  haha.  Somewhere along the line I have become a bit of a birth nerd (not as bad as my sister... but close), but I realize not everyone cares about such things.  You can skip the rest of this, I won't mind. Also, it's mostly family friendly, but I did put in a little bit of detail at the end for the sake of the story soooo... be warned. :) 

So. By the fourth time around you learn a few things… like, how and when to tell people so that you get to share (or in my case, not share) as you so choose….. turns out, it’s a lot more fun when you get to tell people yourself! Ha.  Anyway.  And also, if you know that you’ll most likely go overdue and you’ll most likely have a “big” baby and your fairly laid back midwives/obs start to freak out more and more the farther past 40 weeks you go, you maybe fudge dates a little bit.  Like, I told them what I knew to be true, and guess what, it totally matched up with the initial sonogram measurements!  So I bought myself two days’ worth of time…  And then I was deliberately vague when I did tell people (sorry, not sorry).  It definitely helped cut down on the amount of horrified looks I got from people.   I mean “soon” and “May” and “not more than 2 weeks” sound a lot less immediate than a specific date…. 

I was fully expecting to go to 41 weeks because the older girls were born at 40, 41, and 41.  Plus there was no sign of anything happening.  Other than an increasing tendency towards introversion and not wanting to be around people at all... The two days before Clayton’s wedding I felt a lot more Braxton Hicks and I was slightly panicking because I really wanted to go to the wedding; and then they stopped and I was slightly relieved. We got to go to the wedding, Monday came and went as normal, and I even had groceries ordered online for Tuesday pick up.

My alarm went off at 7 Tuesday morning and I got up to get Cecily ready for school… and my water broke.  I’ve been super paranoid about not making it to the hospital since Cadence came so fast.  I even had a bunch of supplies ready to go just in case I was waiting for Bob at home and we had an accidental home birth or something. So I called my mom to come right away and called my doula Bethany, grabbed a poptart (which I’m normally not a fan of and it was disgusting but it was quick and I needed to eat something), and we left for the hospital ASAP.  We got there around 8, and Bethany wasn’t too far behind, and then…. Nothing happened.  It was a busy day in L&D so we were hanging out in a triage room (reminiscent of when Emmy was born…) I was at 3 cm and I had a few mild contractions here and there, but we were mostly just sitting there twiddling our thumbs and watching the soothing nature video on the tv. Bob and Bethany ate lunch and snuck me a banana. 

My midwife had two other patients, one at the hospital across the road so she was in and out and I didn’t see much of her.  Once I got the first round of antibiotics, we started walking the hallways.  And walked. And walked. And nothing was happening.  And we read all the signs and looked at all the pictures on the walls a million times and I was somewhere between utter boredom and fear because the longer it went the more time I had to feel nervous. 

Finally at 2:38 I had an actual strong contraction.  And they had a room open up so they told us we would be moving over there soon.  That was also the point I told Bob, “I don’t want to do this…”  We got into the room around 3:30-45ish and they checked and I was only 4-5 cm. My midwife suggested maybe we should consider Pitocin since my water had been broken for a while already, Bethany and I both said noooooo, don’t think that will be necessary, ha.  We were right.  I pretty much went straight to transition and the next 45 minutes is a bit of a blur.  I remember lots of really strong contractions (it seemed like) one right after another.  I was on my knees pretty much clinging to the back of the bed for dear life and sweating like a porpoise- somebody was busy bringing me cool damp rags.  I remember thinking, well at least I know it’s almost over! I heard the nurses calling my midwife and then the hospital resident- “she’s really pushy!” and resolving to ignore them if they tried to get me to stop.  The resident came in and wanted to check me, on my back, um… I said no and made them work for it.  Guess what, I was complete already.

My midwife still wasn’t there and the resident must have read in my chart that they thought the baby would be big because she suddenly started insisting that I should be on my back in case of dystocia.  Um… no. (Flat on your back gives you the smallest pelvic opening, and is the worst way to give birth, which she should know…)  I ignored her because I had discussed this with my midwife and read a lot about it when Cadence was predicted to be big, and again this time, plus there was no reason for it if the baby wasn’t actually stuck yet.  She kept telling me I needed to move so they could help me and I yelled “No!”  I was so annoyed. I heard Bethany tell me “good job listening to your body!” Haha. 

The resident wouldn’t give up though, and told me to look at her- pretty sure I didn’t, but I snapped at her that I was listening.  We compromised and I agreed to be on my side, I think I said “fine” not very nicely, and she caught Miriel a few minutes later at 4:21.  She was really a very nice lady after the fact… unfortunately all of the worst parts of my deliveries have involved residents.  My midwife made it back to me not long after Miriel was born.  I was not surprised to find out that she weighed only 8lbs 4oz- she did not seem as big as Cadence, and I was pretty sure they had estimated too high.

 

The nurses were funny- they’d watched us walk hallways all day and then suddenly we’d had a baby- one of them said, “Well that escalated quickly!”  And another said I was only the second un-medicated birth she’d seen in the 10 weeks she’d been there- “it was really cool!” haha um… thanks?  I think?  I should have asked what made it cool. I think I'd describe precipitous labor as insane rather than cool.  :P  I am glad that we didn't wait around at home though, we would have been cutting it really, really close if we'd have waited for something to happen!  I might have needed to use my home birth kit... and Bob might not have survived.  haha. 

Blessings.