Not how they wanted to spend her third birthday

This is Kristyn's younger sister butting in and posting. Hopefully she won't mind me posting for her as I know she's busy and don't know if she can get to a computer anytime soon.

LC was admitted to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines today due to re-herniation of her diaphragm. I only know what my mom told me, but Leah had been complaining of a stomachache and Kris was able to get her into the Dr. where they did an x-ray and discovered the re-herniation. She's stable and I don't know when her surgery is to fix it.

Hopefully Kris can come in and update with more details soon, but I figured her fellow CDH mamas and blog readers would want to know the situation. I know she would appreciate any prayers and thoughts you all can send up, especially since today is LC's third birthday.

[sorry Kris, but butting in is what younger sisters do best; you can always delete this later if you want!]

Three years ago . . .

I know Leah's birthday isn't until Monday, but when I think back to when she was born I tend to think more about the days of the week. I went into labor on a Wednesday afternoon and headed to the hospital around 10 pm, she was born at 4:48 am on Thursday and was sent to Omaha soon after that. John and his dad were there in Omaha with her on Thursday, and I made it late afternoon on Friday. Let me tell you, being in a full maternity ward with no baby doesn't make you a high priority. Thankfully I had my SIL there (who is a nurse and had just given birth less than two months previous and spent time in the NICU with our nephew) to help me through the night without a baby or a husband. About this time 3 years ago I was trying to get in a quick nap at home to get rid of my massive migraine (hormones and stress will do that to you) before heading to Omaha to be re-united with Leah after a good 36 hrs or so.

I will post more about Leah's story next week, but until then I hope you enjoy this:

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Corn

Inspired by my sister, Jes, and TJ I am doing an homage to corn today. Face it, I live in Iowa. Iowa is known for corn. Corn has been a big part of my life, and will always be a part of my life. What do you think paid for part of my college, my wedding, and some new furniture that will be gracing my home sometime in the next year? Corn. That's because Daddy grows corn (and soybeans and beef cattle) for a living and Daddy sometimes pays the bills.

This is where I grew up:


Views like these surround the house




You also see things like this




Growing up, corn was a big part of my life. I've walked through the field of corn, although I don't recommend you do this without telling your parents first. When we were little, my older sister and I decided to go for a walk around the field one day--it was a LONG walk. Luckily some neighbors spotted us at one point and told my parents where we may be. All I remember is I had a lot of bug bites and cuts from the corn leaves after that. I've played on silage. (Think a big, huge pile of chopped up corn). I've played in farm wagons full of corn. I've eaten more than my share of corn and shucked just a few (hundred) ears of corn in my day.

I love bringing the girls back to "Grandpa's Farm". They get to see baby cows newly born, ride in machinery that costs more than the annual budget of some small towns, play with the farm dogs and get to experience new olfactory delights. The one thing that isn't novel when we go there is corn.

Even though we live in a fairly large town, we are the literally at the city limits. Beyond our backyard is no longer Ames, it is Farmer Joe's field of corn. This morning I opened the screen door and this is what I saw looking straight out

to my left

and to my right

Corn actually makes a pretty good back yard neighbor. It isn't too noisy (except when being planted, sprayed, and harvested), it looks nice for the most part, and it doesn't have any annoying kids who play in my backyard. It does make a nice home for animals like field mice who will venture our way, though. Once the corn is gone later this fall, we have a nice open view. Its a great place to learn about nature.

We Iowans are a little crazy about our corn. We have the Indy Corn 250 race where the race cars run on ethanol (made from corn)

The boys from Orange County Choppers even made a bike for the event


You may even see some Iowans wear one of these to sporting events, although they are more fitting for our neighbors to the west who are known as the Nebraska Cornhuskers


We even have parties just for the sole purpose of eating corn. Friends of ours where we used to live grew some corn "for fun" and would have an annual Corn Party every summer. Unfortunately we missed it this summer, but you can eat all the corn you want.

And for those of you who don't know, there is the corn that you eat which is sweet corn

And the corn that most farmers grow which is field corn

Trust me, you wouldn't ever eat that off the cob.

One day I will make these:

(Those are cupcakes, people!)

So just call me the Queen of Corn. Pass the butter and let's eat!



photos of family farm by KAS, cupcakes from Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tuck & Alan Richardson. If you are looking for a gift for me for some reason, feel free to get me this book. ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Rude Awakening

I'll be the first to admit I've lived a relative life of leisure the past 5 years or so. Don't get me wrong--staying at home isn't always a cake walk, but for the most part my girls have made it easy on me. Both of them usually do not wake before the hour of 7am. Most days they can make it to 7:30 am. Days like today neither one of them were up before 8 am (okay, I was up a little after 6 am but that is rare, and I went back to sleep). They are also good nappers. Leah is averaging about 3 hr naps these days, and Emma is quarantined asked to stay in her room for at least 2 hrs every afternoon for "rest time" so Mommy doesn't completely lose her sanity. I may or may not spend those two hours randomly surfing the Internet.

Emma starts kindergarten in exactly 15 days. I've read many a blog these days of mother's lamenting their babies going off to school, growing up too fast, getting too old, blah blah blah. I'm not overly sentimental about sending her off; rather I'm looking forward to some time without her. But do you know what time I have to send her off?? The bus will pick her up across the street at 7:27 am. Did you see the average waking time above? Yeah, things are going to have to change in the next two weeks if she is going to get on the bus 1. On time 2. Dressed and 3. Hopefully fed.

So in my parental wisdom, we are trying to get to bed earlier in anticipation of having to wake up earlier for school (in 15 days). This week we are working on the getting to bed earlier part. Last night was day one of "Operation GTBE" (go to bed early). How did it go? I was telling Emma her last good-nights at 9:10 pm last night. Not too early, eh? Its a work in progress. I'm shooting for light's out at 9 pm tonight.

If you happen to be on our street at 7:27 am once school starts, I'll be easy to spot. I'll be the mom in her pajamas and glasses, yawning and holding my cup of coffee. "Bye bye, honey! Have fun at school! Mommy's going back to bed!"

As Heard at Our House

I bet you don't hear things like this around your house:

Leah to Daddy, "Daddy, what's that on your philtrum?"

Does anyone know what a philtrum is? Here's a couple hints:
1. Its a body part
2. Its above the waist
3. Almost everyone has one

Let's see if anyone knows what it is without googling it.

Stay tuned to find out what was on Daddy's philtrum . . .

Call me crazy

Here is the book on my nightstand right now:



I've cracked it open once so far and wasn't too encouraged by what it said. Something along the lines of "if you have tried the 'traditional' method of toilet training, you've already screwed your child up and there is no hope of potty training her in less than a month before preschool starts". I don't remember the page reference, but trust me--that's what it said.

I've really sort-of not really been working diligently on potty training Leah this summer. She will be three in 10 days and old enough to go to preschool this fall. Granted, she will be one of the youngest in her class but I thought she would be ready. I think she is telling me otherwise. Not only is she not potty trained, she tends to freak out at times when other kids get within her personal space. Typically she freaks out with kids smaller than her (makes no sense, does it--she's bigger than them) but I think she knows little kids are less predictible and is scared what may happen next.

So my dreams of having 5 hrs a week with no children may be shattered here in less than a month. I had such big plans for those 5 hrs--getting haircuts without children around, grocery shopping in peace, exercising like a fiend, re-organizing all the closets in the house, actually finishing Emma's baby book, building twin bunk beds from a single piece of lumber (okay, that last one may never happen, I don't think I have the right woodworking tools). But you get the picture.

Speaking of not pooping on the potty (that's what we were talking about, right?) Leah did her first doody in the tub last night. It only happened with Emma a handful of times, and I knew my time was coming with Leah. The girls are now at an age where they don't have to be watched in the tub constantly, so I was out in the living room trying for the 4th time to watch a show I had DVR'ed (still haven't seen the end of it). I head a slightly frantic tone in Emma's voice and think I hear Leah saying "I pooped." Well she had, and for some reason she felt compelled to grab it with her hand and try to hand it to me. Eww. I must now bow down to the
Queen_Of_Poop and be thankful this was our first episode. Almost three years without pooping in the tub, that has to be some sort of record. Now figure out how to poop on the potty today, damn it!