Sam left Friday morning at 9:30am for Georgia. Our friend Tommy was getting married, and Sam was one of two groomsmen.
(Turns out that the other groomsman's wife went into labor Friday morning.
Congratulations to Jack and Bettina and best wishes to your new baby boy, Matthew!)
With Sam gone, I was alone to hold down the fort at our "peapod" and here's how it went:
At lunch, Julie and her 9-month old son Graeme came over for a playdate. It was nice to have some adult conversation and kid interaction. It was also interesting to watch what Graeme was doing as he'd grown so much since last I saw him. He also reminded me what I have to look forward to with Elaine.
Afterwards, all seemed to be going really well and smoothly until...
During Sam's call to me that he'd made it safely to Atlanta, I get a call on call waiting. It's our neighbor Mark. There could only be one reason Mark would be calling me in the middle of the day: his wife was in labor! As planned and as they did the same for us with Peter and Natalie when Elaine was born, I watched their daughter Lily while they were in labor/delivery. However, "the plan" was for Donna not to go into labor this weekend as Sam would be out of town! So much for trying to keep those legs crossed, Donna! :) I guess babies have their own plans (and a sick sense of humor!).
We all had a good time with snacks, art projects (thanks to Donna's gifts for the kids) and playtime. I have no pictures to show for it - didn't really have the extra hand to snap any photos. Trust me, it was a fun time for all. Lily was only here for about 5 hours when her grandparents from Chicago came to pick her up. At this point it was 8pm, and I was beat! Never thought 4 kids ages 3 and under would be that tiring - then again, it obviously sounds tiring!
By the way, they had a baby girl named Abigail Grace, 7lbs 6oz!
Congratulations!
Saturday morning came and I was refreshed as Elaine graced me with another easy night falling asleep at 10:30pm, waking up to feed at 3am, and waking again around 7am. God bless that girl! I got ambitious and took all 3 kids to the library downtown. Elaine was a little fussy as we parked the car, but fell asleep by the time we hit the sidewalk in the stroller. An hour quickly went by and we left in one piece and 8 books and 3 video heavier.
With Elaine still fast asleep, another surge of energy came over me. I took my chances and went to Hobby Lobby (which historically has been bad karma with babies in car seats). I had some art projects for the kids in mind and also wanted to look for material to make more burp cloths for Elaine and other baby things. Yes, ambitious, I tell you! Well, the bad karma was broken, and another hour later, we left with yards of material and foam stickers, a boat, and a princess crown.
This is Peter's ark, where lions can walk upside down! Peter did really well, placing all the animals where they are by himself - he even thought to hang the monkeys from the top! He needed a little guidance with his name, especially since our letter set only had 2 of each letter. Notice his full name has 3 E's and R's?!? That's where the crafty mom in me comes handy!
Natalie did a great job with her name too - she made sure each letter was right next to each other and needed little/no help from me. Peter kindly reminds me that he helped put the "I" in Natalie's name. I only wish I bought a crown she could actually wear. She's been trying to with no success! :(
Tanner joined us for some McD's for lunch. He also helped me absorb a lot of Peter's afternoon energy and read Horton Hears a Who (Peter's favorite of our library books). It was a cute moment and I wish I had a picture but I was so tired at that moment.
Saturday evening got a little hairy - my patience was wearing thin and Elaine was crying during key moments when I needed my hands free (ie: cooking and getting the kids ready for bed). After Peter and Natalie were off to bed, with perfect timing, our other next door neighbor Rita stopped by for a visit. As she held Elaine and learned I had also watched Lily along with my own kids by myself, she offered to keep holding Elaine to let me get a shower. Feeling quite gross and sweaty from the past 36 hours without one (yes, gross), a shower sounded heavenly. I jumped at the offer and within minutes I was refreshed and renewed! Thank you, Rita!
The rest of my evening was quite relaxing with Elaine asleep by 11pm, some TV and a bowl of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (thanks to Sam for getting that surprise for me).
This morning was an early morning with Natalie calling from her room at 7am, "Mommy! We wa-wake!" (Actually, Peter was still sleeping) Natalie proceeded to be a little model for me in the morning sun and the "rainbows" from the glass.
Peter soon followed suit...
...with Sydney crashing his photo shoot with a pedicure.
It's T-minus 1 hour before Sam should be walking through the kitchen door, and I will be SO HAPPY! Nothing can happen now to make me lose it - especially with Elaine like this:
So, if I may, I pat myself on the back and rest assured that I can do it by myself - with a little adult conversation every now and then!
(Turns out that the other groomsman's wife went into labor Friday morning.
Congratulations to Jack and Bettina and best wishes to your new baby boy, Matthew!)
With Sam gone, I was alone to hold down the fort at our "peapod" and here's how it went:
At lunch, Julie and her 9-month old son Graeme came over for a playdate. It was nice to have some adult conversation and kid interaction. It was also interesting to watch what Graeme was doing as he'd grown so much since last I saw him. He also reminded me what I have to look forward to with Elaine.
Afterwards, all seemed to be going really well and smoothly until...
During Sam's call to me that he'd made it safely to Atlanta, I get a call on call waiting. It's our neighbor Mark. There could only be one reason Mark would be calling me in the middle of the day: his wife was in labor! As planned and as they did the same for us with Peter and Natalie when Elaine was born, I watched their daughter Lily while they were in labor/delivery. However, "the plan" was for Donna not to go into labor this weekend as Sam would be out of town! So much for trying to keep those legs crossed, Donna! :) I guess babies have their own plans (and a sick sense of humor!).
We all had a good time with snacks, art projects (thanks to Donna's gifts for the kids) and playtime. I have no pictures to show for it - didn't really have the extra hand to snap any photos. Trust me, it was a fun time for all. Lily was only here for about 5 hours when her grandparents from Chicago came to pick her up. At this point it was 8pm, and I was beat! Never thought 4 kids ages 3 and under would be that tiring - then again, it obviously sounds tiring!
By the way, they had a baby girl named Abigail Grace, 7lbs 6oz!
Congratulations!
Saturday morning came and I was refreshed as Elaine graced me with another easy night falling asleep at 10:30pm, waking up to feed at 3am, and waking again around 7am. God bless that girl! I got ambitious and took all 3 kids to the library downtown. Elaine was a little fussy as we parked the car, but fell asleep by the time we hit the sidewalk in the stroller. An hour quickly went by and we left in one piece and 8 books and 3 video heavier.
With Elaine still fast asleep, another surge of energy came over me. I took my chances and went to Hobby Lobby (which historically has been bad karma with babies in car seats). I had some art projects for the kids in mind and also wanted to look for material to make more burp cloths for Elaine and other baby things. Yes, ambitious, I tell you! Well, the bad karma was broken, and another hour later, we left with yards of material and foam stickers, a boat, and a princess crown.
This is Peter's ark, where lions can walk upside down! Peter did really well, placing all the animals where they are by himself - he even thought to hang the monkeys from the top! He needed a little guidance with his name, especially since our letter set only had 2 of each letter. Notice his full name has 3 E's and R's?!? That's where the crafty mom in me comes handy!
Natalie did a great job with her name too - she made sure each letter was right next to each other and needed little/no help from me. Peter kindly reminds me that he helped put the "I" in Natalie's name. I only wish I bought a crown she could actually wear. She's been trying to with no success! :(Tanner joined us for some McD's for lunch. He also helped me absorb a lot of Peter's afternoon energy and read Horton Hears a Who (Peter's favorite of our library books). It was a cute moment and I wish I had a picture but I was so tired at that moment.
Saturday evening got a little hairy - my patience was wearing thin and Elaine was crying during key moments when I needed my hands free (ie: cooking and getting the kids ready for bed). After Peter and Natalie were off to bed, with perfect timing, our other next door neighbor Rita stopped by for a visit. As she held Elaine and learned I had also watched Lily along with my own kids by myself, she offered to keep holding Elaine to let me get a shower. Feeling quite gross and sweaty from the past 36 hours without one (yes, gross), a shower sounded heavenly. I jumped at the offer and within minutes I was refreshed and renewed! Thank you, Rita!
The rest of my evening was quite relaxing with Elaine asleep by 11pm, some TV and a bowl of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (thanks to Sam for getting that surprise for me).
This morning was an early morning with Natalie calling from her room at 7am, "Mommy! We wa-wake!" (Actually, Peter was still sleeping) Natalie proceeded to be a little model for me in the morning sun and the "rainbows" from the glass.
Peter soon followed suit...
...with Sydney crashing his photo shoot with a pedicure.It's T-minus 1 hour before Sam should be walking through the kitchen door, and I will be SO HAPPY! Nothing can happen now to make me lose it - especially with Elaine like this:
So, if I may, I pat myself on the back and rest assured that I can do it by myself - with a little adult conversation every now and then!
