grace, as told by a five year old

in the name of the Father and all that. today i am thankful for God, my whole world, my games and my toys. ok, thats all i have, now what?

abundance

a⋅bun⋅dance -noun
1. an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply: an abundance of grain.
2. overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart.

this year i have so much for which to be thankful. i am feeling so blessed to have a wonderful husband, three healthy and beautiful children, fantastic parents and a loving sister, and a new to me home. abundance really comes short in describing my blessings and the fullness of my heart.

happy thanksgiving!

at last

its the eve of our big move and i guess i thought i would be feeling a bit more nostalgic. mostly i am just feeling exhausted and excited. finding a house was a long and difficult process and i finally feel like it was worth it.

after we finished signing all the paperwork and writing big fat checks on friday the woman at the title company handed us a peace lily and said congratulations. i wasnt prepared for it, but the tears streamed down my face. thankfully i was able to hide behind the new lily and pull myself together. i think mostly it was the relief that it was done. all the heartbreak we endured along the way kept me from believing it was truly going to happen. but it did, and tomorrow we can finally begin to settle into our dream home. now as i sit here and type in a house with nothing much left but furniture, my laptop, and a 2 liter bottle of lemonade i am mostly just excited. check back with me tomorrow, perhaps i will be feeling a bit more nostalgic then.

obama baby boom?

i just read this article in newsweek - i thought it was cute. it will be interesting to see what happens come august...

reprinted from newsweek.com

Change You Can Conceive In

Could euphoric Obama fans be sparking a baby boom?

The theory is almost too perfect to be true. Barack Obama, the son of politically progressive parents, was born Aug. 4, 1961—almost nine months to the day after John F. Kennedy was elected to the White House. Is it possible Obama was conceived on that historic night?

And if so, could history repeat itself? In the hours and days since Obama's victory, many of his exhilarated supporters have been, shall we say, in the mood for love. And though it's too soon to know for sure, experts aren't ruling out the possibility of an Obama baby boom—the kind of blip in the national birth rate that often follows a seismic event, whether it's scary (a terrorist attack) or celebratory (the end of World War II). "The mood of the country and the optimism about leadership is always somewhat related to birth rates," says Dr. Manny Alvarez, chief of reproductive science at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. "I'm gearing up for a healthy increase."

Hope and euphoria, says University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz, are a serious aphrodisiac. And voters under 30 went for Obama by a margin of 2 to 1. When you combine those two elements—randy people of child-bearing age—the likely result is what the online Urban Dictionary has already dubbed "Obama Babies" : children "conceived after Obama was proclaimed President, by way of celebratory sex." "If the amount of alcohol, happy people and major functions on election night is any indication, I suspect we'll indeed see a boom," says 25-year-old Brandon Mendelson, a graduate student in Albany, N.Y., who says he changed his vote at the last minute because "I wanted to be able to tell our future children that we voted for Obama."

Anecdotal evidence abounds. "On election night, my husband had managed to down a bottle and a half of wine in celebration and he was all about making an 'Obama election baby'," Abbi Whitaker, 32, of Reno, Nev., told NEWSWEEK. "He thought it would be the coolest thing." In Oakland, jewelry designer Meghan Connolly Haupt, who, with her husband, has been trying for a baby for about eight months, says she "was optimistic when I realized election night coincided with my ovulation time." And in Chicago, where 28-year-old Chip Bouchard—a former Hillary supporter—attended Obama's acceptance speech, he says he looked over at his boyfriend, Chris, and thought: "This [is] the president under whom I [want to] get married and adopt a baby."

Not everyone's experiences were quite as earnest. During one round of election-fueled romance, says Eric Davis, 37, of Minneapolis, "my wife accidentally said, 'Oh, Obama!'" Craigslist boards in various cities swiftly filled with posts from people looking to form impromptu, um, political action committees. "Feel great from Obama win, but now need to expend this positive energy," wrote one 30-year-old Manhattanite. "Obama! Red Wine! Smooching!" promised another. (And from the too-much-information department, sex shop Babeland, which has stores in Seattle, New York and Los Angeles, reports a 26 percent sales increase since Election Day.)

In order for an Obama baby boom to come to fruition, the sex craze will have to last a while. In August of 2007, the last year for which August birth records are available, Americans bore some 390,000 babies. In demographic terms, to achieve even a tiny boom, the number of babies conceived this month will need to exceed that figure. "So the question," says Florida State University demographer Woody Carlson, "is whether or not this catches on. If it's just a moment of excitement and then everybody goes back to being depressed, then we may see a tiny birth spike. But if it continues, then the birth rate next August"—nine months from now—"could be the start of something big." So get busy, folks. One of these kids might just grow up to be president.

capturing time

k. seems to be finally catching on to the idea of using words to communicate. about freakin time bud! granted his repertoire has increased from milk, mama, dada to now also include brows (eyebrows) and ma (max). obviously we have a long way to go, but the fact that we are no longer on the plateau feels great! he still loves to sleep, drink milk and push my buttons. he will always run into the bathroom and open the lid to the potty given the chance. if mommy is not quick enough he will splash in the toilet water too - gross!! f. never had any interest in what was under the potty lid, so this is a new one for us. k. also loves jumping. the look of satisfaction when he gets air is priceless.

m. is a talking machine. it seems like you tell him a word once, and he has it committed to memory. he is finally catching on that all things with 4 legs and fur (and frankly some people with excess body hair) are not called "puppy." it can be a bit awkward when your child calls a person a puppy, so i am thankful about this progress. m. has also seemed to discover that if he can remember to wake up from his nap earlier enough, he can score some highly desireable mommy and m. time. the boys will each have their own room in the new house, so hopefully this will allow k. to sleep when m. decides naptime is over.

f. has really been growing up over these last few weeks. he is excited about the new house and the new school. j. and i had been telling him that all the classrooms in the new school have smart boards. we discovered last week that he has been hearing smart cycle, not smart board. it was a bit of a bummer when he learned that we really meant smart board - after all his media center now already has one of those - code for "boring, mommy!" but he was satified enough when we confirmed that yes in fact the playground that we showed him is still at the new school. i am a bit nervous for him about the transition. hoping that the anxiety issues he tends towards will stay at bay. we have been hearing really great things about the new school and he gets to meet his new teacher next week and see the classroom. he says he wants to ride the bus the first day - so we will see. he is growing up before my eyes.

overheard recently or more evidence for the mother of the year award!

f: mommy, someday you should marry someone that you like at least a little bit.
(i guess the stress of the move is showing a bit too much)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

m: coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee
j: well, at least he isnt saying starbucks
m: starbucks

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upon arriving to pick f. up from granny and pops after a sleepover

me: hey buddy, i missed you!
f: well, i didnt miss you at all
me: ouch!

prematurity awareness month

1 in 8 babies is born too soon and our nation's preterm birthrate continues to rise. the march of dimes new report card is out and our nation has earned a 'D'.

nearly two years after m & k were born we are still dealing with issues stemming from their premature births. both of our boys still receive developmental therapy on a *weekly* basis. there are soo many families who face even more complex struggles as a result of prematurity. we count our blessings each and every day that we have such healthy boys.

i hope you will take some time today to educate yourself about premature births and sign the petition urging the federal government to increase support for the issue.

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Even if you do everything right, you can still have preterm labor. Preterm labor is a serious problem occurring before 37 weeks of pregnancy. This is too early, and your baby could be born too soon. Call your health care provider right away if you have any of these warning signs.

Warning Signs
• Contractions (your abdomen tightens like a fist) every 10 minutes or more often
• Change in vaginal discharge (leaking fluid or bleeding from your vagina)
• Pelvic pressure—the feeling that the baby is pushing down
• Low, dull backache
• Cramps that feel like your period
• Abdominal cramps with or without diarrhea

What Your Health Care Provider Might Tell You
• Come into the office or go to the hospital right away.
• Stop what you were doing.
• Rest on your left side for one hour.
• Drink two to three glasses of water or juice (not coffee or soda).

Take Care of Yourself and Your Baby
• Get regular prenatal checkups.
• Try to avoid stress. Ask family and friends for help.
• Don’t drink alcohol, smoke or take street drugs.
• If you feel burning or pain when you go to the bathroom, you may have an infection. Call your health care provider.

For more information, visit the march of dimes website.

packing it in

we are deep in it right now. i am sitting at my laptop, with not an inch of surface space available anywhere in sight. boxes, papers, remnants of a former household. i find myself beginning more sentences than not with "when we get to the new house..." i am thrilled about this move, and so long as i make it through the next few days we will be good.

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i have so many posts swirling around in my brain about the boys right now, but just dont have time. so just a few quick thoughts. k. is starting to "jargon" much more (therapist term for all the babbling that budding talkers do). its a huge relief because he has really hit a plateau and than was starting to teeter backwards a bit. its nice to see a SLOW amount of forward progress. m. on the total other opposite of the spectrum is celebrating language. he just loves to talk. banana is his new favorite word and he runs around practicing it all day long. baaaaaaanana. banaaaaaana. bannnnnnnana. who knew saying banana could be so fun?! however, i am starting to lose sleep as my brain just resonates "banana" for about an hour straight before it will unwind and let me finally fall asleep each night. f. is finally on board with the move. i think the fact that we will be backing to a golf course in the new house has sort of sealed the deal for him. he cant wait.

so as we narrow in on our closing date, quickly followed by our moving date, and thanksgiving and a very special duo second birthday we continue to pack it in.

yes we can

change is good. i am feeling so hopeful. americans came out in record numbers to stand up for the change that we need as a nation. one nation. as i sat and watched the concession speech of mccain, which by the way i thought was very gracious, i knew that i was living history. and as i tuned into obama's victory speech i had tears streaming down my face. i am feeling so hopeful. hopeful that we can work together as brothers and sisters and a people of *one* nation. let us set our differences aside and bring america back to what it should be.

get out there and vote today!!!

today it is so important for all of you to do your civic duty. since we went to war in iraq over 4000 american men and women have lost their lives fighting for our rights and freedoms. over 30,000 americans have been wounded. these young men and women are out there making difficult choices each day defending our freedom. its up to you to make a choice today, make the right choice today, get out there and vote!

this mama just voted for OBAMA!!

tuned out

its been a busy few weeks here. our house finally sold! yay! we finally agreed on a number one house! yay! we have closing dates, moving dates, packing, etc all in the works. we will be in our new home by thanksgiving. all that being said, my brain is on overload. this morning during the routine of getting breakfast ready, etc. i had confiscated the remotes from the little people and was trying to figure out how to un-order some pay per view program. f. was deciding what to have for breakfast - a process which can go on for a *very* long time. i guess i had tuned out, because when i finally looked over at him (a mere 4 feet away) he was holding the receiving end of the baby monitor yelling into it, "MOMMY. DO. YOU. READ. ME?"

in my defense, coffee had not yet been ingested.

get out and vote on tuesday