Winter in April

An Ode to the Uncles

Over the last week I had one thought come into my brain over and over: I'm so thankful for uncles.

You see, Peter and Cooper have eight uncles, with the possibility of two more. I have three brothers, Bryan has four brothers, and one of Bryan's sisters is married. That's a whole lot of uncles. Last Saturday all four of Bryan's brothers were in town. Peter and Cooper were practically swimming in uncles. And they can do things that I can't, like lift the boys up to touch the ceiling and fly them around on their shoulders like Superman. Forts were built, nephews were chased and tickled, and I was able to make dinner without breaking up fights or comforting the injured.

In short, it was awesome.

Cooper, Uncle Paul, and Treebeard the Bonsai

We all went and played miniature golf on Saturday. Before we did that though, Cooper and I watched as the rest of the group drove incredibly bouncy go-karts. Here they are waiting in line:

The men. Except for Cooper. From left to right: Jake (Bryan's brother-in-law), Bryan, Ron (Bryan's dad), Dallin (Bryan's brother that just got home from his mission), Peter, Ben (Bryan's third younger brother), Paul (Bryan's brother just younger than him), Spencer (Bryan's youngest brother).

Oh, there's Cooper.

Much time was spent doing this. Usually they would find something cool and pass the phone around to show everyone else. At one point I reminded Bryan that maybe we should talk to them while they were here, rather than communicate electronically.

The first batch of racers. You can't tell, but Bryan is driving a double car and Peter is his passenger.

This picture is slightly misleading. Peter had a wonderful time and wore a huge, open-mouthed grin most of the time. I just didn't happen to catch any of those grins with the camera.

The second batch of drivers.

Thanks for visiting guys. Whenever you want to come back, I know two little boys that will be very excited to see you.

Lightning Has Struck My Brain

I had something planned for today, but it will have to wait. I just read this and I think you should too. I think my favorites are five and six. And I've been thinking about number one a lot lately, so I appreciated her insight.

A few of my own recent mom epiphanies:

1. Cooper gives the best hugs. Period. He wraps his little arms tightly around your neck and puts his head on your shoulder. It's pretty magical. He also likes to pinch my cheeks, pull my face close to his, and kiss the end of my nose. There are few things in life as sweet as a snuggle from Cooper.
   
2. Life is better when there is sunshine streaming into my home. Double the joy if the windows are open as well. We are all kinder and more patient with each other when we're breathing fresh air.
3. My boys can make their own beds. I need to help Cooper a little bit, but Peter is totally self-sufficient in the bed making department. Persistence pays off. Who knew?
4. If I can make myself laugh and smile, even when I don't feel like it, the day will go better. The boys respond better to laughter and smiles than to scolds and frowns. Before long I won't have to force a grin, it will come naturally.
5. I love having a clean house. This isn't a new epiphany, but it is a recurring one. I feel like I'm a better mom when we don't have to pick our way through junk.
   

Have you had any epiphanies lately?

Photog

Peter got a camera for Christmas. It was practically free to us and pretty sturdy. However, he pulled the memory card out and jammed it in backwards, and it doesn't work now. I think we can fix it, we just haven't yet.

Peter misses his camera; he's developed an affinity for snapping photos. I know because I found him with our camera taking pictures today.

The top of his head

A train he built

Bedding... that's all.

Bryan and In-N-Out

Self Portrait

Seussical

Bryan's dad and brothers leave today. They've been with us since last Tuesday night and we're sad to see them go. We've stayed up way too late every night because we've been visiting, and I haven't had any brain power left for writing in the evenings.

And that's why I'm posting this awesome Seuss Army knife.

Photo Op

It's blurry, but it makes me smile.

Everything Nice

I did a little Amazon perusing last night and gathered a small collection of some things that our next child could wear.
Yup, all but two of you were right, Peter and Cooper are getting a little sister. I'm still in shock. After the ultrasound Peter kept asking, "Are we getting a real baby sister?"

I'm excited, I'm just having trouble wrapping my brain around it. I mean, I'll have things like ribbons and bows and little bracelets to keep track of.

Well, maybe not the bracelets...

Reds? Or Blues?

Today's the day. This afternoon we will find out if we'll be using our blue supply of baby clothes again, or branching out into purples and reds.

Peter has been telling me for some time that this baby was a girl, but just last week he changed his mind.

Peter: Mom, I think this baby is a boy.

Me: Oh you do?

Peter: Yeah, and then the next three are girls. And the three after that are boys. And then there are three more girls.

Me: (Uncontrolled and uproarious laughter for much longer than was polite.)

We know what Peter thinks, now it's your turn. Do you think baby number three is a boy or a girl?

I'll let you know the results, of both the ultra-sound and the poll, tomorrow.

Yoga Mama

No migraines yesterday!

In addition to making sure I ate (a lot), the boys and I did some prenatal yoga when we got up yesterday morning. Peter enjoys the pose down-ward facing dog while Cooper just likes saying yoga (or "yoda") over and over.

We'll do it again today and see if we have the same positive results.

Stay Awake, Don't Go to Sleep*

I have three migraine triggers: not eating enough, not sleeping enough, and not exercising enough. My body basically demands that I make healthy choices. Most nights I have a small snack right before going to sleep.

Oh Thursday, I didn't.

I was so tired that night that I figured I was still full from dinner and didn't need to cram one more thing into my already-sharing-space belly. Besides, I wasn't ravenous, that meant I should be safe from the big scary migraine.

I shouldn't have been surprised on Friday morning when I realized I had a migraine coming on towards the end of breakfast. I medicated myself, cleaned-up from the meal, ushered the boys into their bedroom, and begged them to play nicely while I lay down on Peter's bed with my eyes closed. While it wasn't all smooth sailing, the boys did let me sleep for a whole hour, uninterrupted, in the same room. I don't think that's ever happened before. By the time Bryan came home from lunch I only had some phantom pain left. The boys and I were even able to play outside with friends in the afternoon. I was glad the migraine had run it's course quickly.

The next morning I woke up during the 4 am hour to run to the little girls' room (and by run, I mean try not to walk into the wall because my eyes are half open). While washing my hands I looked in the mirror and couldn't figure out what was wrong with my eyes. One looked higher than the other. After ten seconds of staring I realized what the problem was: I was having another migraine.

I get those totally awesome migraines where I loose part of my peripheral vision, then I get the funky flashing lights (which make things look odd and disjointed, i.e. my unbalanced eyes), then various body parts go numb, then the vice-like pain starts on one side of my head or the other. If the pain is on the left side, I can't speak, at least, I don't make sense. And reading feels like I'm trying to force my brain to comprehend a language it's never seen before. If the pain is on the right, then I fall down a lot and have no coordination.

I prefer falling to being unable to communicate.

I woke up on Sunday with another one. Then on Sunday afternoon I got a fourth one. At first I thought it might just be the same one coming back, but when it switched sides I knew that theory was blown.

Here's the thing that I don't understand: the first migraine followed my normal pattern (I could identify the trigger), but the other three have no discernible source. Bryan suggested they might be caused by pregnancy hormones. I think I would cry if that were the case, because I would have another nineteen-and-a-half weeks to go of crazy pain and an inability to function.

I keep telling myself that the migraines are done. However, due to the fact that most of them have started in the morning, I'm kind of afraid to go to sleep...

*Can anyone name the movie?