So remember my last post?  About Caleb praying for a baby for our dear friends?  Turns out that a baby was born the day after he prayed and this dear couple was finally able to adopt a child of their own - something they've been trying to do for a long time!  God answers prayer...even from a three year old

We went for a walk in the park today...something we haven't been able to do for a long time because of my contractions.  But I am 36 weeks now, so we are in the clear   So we went for a walk in the beautiful sunshine.  Strapping Caleb in the baby jogger provides him ample time to meditate on his surroundings and comment (out loud, very loudly) on all he sees. 
"Mommy, why is that man doing that?  He looks funny!"
"Honey, he's just exercising" (I try to whisper...maybe he'll take a hint from my tone of voice)
"Why does he have no clothes on?! He's all naked!" (loud enough for the man to hear)
(by the way, the man just has his shirt off...but this loud comment is enough to draw the attention of dozens of other park-goers...including the 'naked' man)  I hid my head in shame and walk on.

To be fair, I find myself saying a number of odd things to my kids; things like: "Put that piece of road back where you found it!"and "Leave that tree there!" are common examples.  But Caleb also says some pretty cute things, in addition to his more embarrassing ones.  We bought some girl scout cookies from our neighbor and Caleb commented while eating one:
"Jackson, this cookie has a hole in it. That's just the way God made it!"
And today I was explaining to him that some friends of ours are unable to have a baby.  He said "That makes me sad.  Mommy, you have Caleb and Jackson and baby Miriam.  Why can't they have babies too?"  I said we would just have to pray for them.  And to my surprise, he folded his hands and prayed right then "God, please let people have babies so they won't be sad anymore.  Let them have a baby in their tummies, like baby Miriam.  Amen."  It melted my heart.  I know God hears all our prayers, but I can't help but think that one really got his attention. 

Normally, I try to avoid caffeine and only use it as a special treat.  I typically indulge in a coke or a cup of coffee only once or twice a month.  But that was before I got pregnant.  Third trimester, third pregnancy and I feel like I'm moving in slow motion, dragging through every day. Of course, it doesn't help that I have had insomnia most of this pregnancy.  It is particularly bad right now...I got only three hours of sleep last night.  I spent the other hours in wakeful agony, praying for anyone I could think of...praying that I could fall asleep again...praying for strength to make it through another day without sleep.  Morning finally came. I walked the boys to the car, buckled them in and we drove to the corner Starbucks.  "Tall Chai Latte please," I said to the drive-thru box. Once I pulled up to the window, she saw the pregnant belly (no way to hide it these days)  She raised an eyebrow and said "You do know that the Chai has a lot of caffeine in it?"  "Yes," I answered.  "Believe me, I need it." She couldn't help noticing that my speech was a little slurred as I said this.  She laughed "I remember feeling that way when I was pregnant."  I smiled weakly, glad to have a friend, someone who understood.  Now if I can just make it to naptime...if I can only fall asleep at naptime...

I've always been one to live in the moment.  I remember thinking in College, hard as it was, that I would look back on those days as some of the happiest in my life.  But now that I have a family, I know that these, too, are the happiest days of my life.  It's as if there is a ghost of me, an older self wisely prodding me to take another look around and enjoy these precious fleeting moments.  Someday, I will be sitting in a quiet home, my children grown and my house so clean and so empty looking back on these days.  I wish it could last forever.  I know that I will look back longingly, wishing for just one more day with these precious little boys, one more hug from those little arms; one more kiss on those baby cheeks.  The thought of them growing up and going away is a sobering one.  A thought that makes me leave the dishes in the sink and get down in the dirt to play with my boys.  I want to redeem every precious moment, savory every detail.  I am content to see my fireplace hearth covered in cars and trucks; I'm happy to trip over army men and teddy bears.  I know that all too soon, these toys will be cleared away and my heart will ache for the noise and chaos of these happy golden years.  I don't want to miss out on the joy of this time by being caught up in the chaos.  I don't want to have any regrets.  I want to know that I lived it to the fullest and that I spent every moment possible with my dear, precious children. 

"Mommy, I sure do love Camoflauge" said Caleb this morning, as he donned camoflauge for the fourth day in a row.  "Maybe we should buy Miriam some Camoflauge too"
"Hmm...that's a sweet idea Caleb, but maybe she won't like it as much as you do"
"Why not?"
"Umm, because it's green and brown and kind of boyish.  Miriam might like pink instead"
"Well, then we can just get her pink camoflauge!"

How sweet...I don't think he even knows there is such a thing as pink camoflauge, but if he really wants to get her some, I guess we'd better

I finally made it to 7 months!  Only 8 weeks to go until we meet our precious Miriam.  I had my checkup on Tuesday and they told me the baby has dropped (I could've told you that! It's been like walking with a bowling ball between my legs for two weeks now!)  She is sitting really low, so I am only measuring 29 weeks now... rather than 32.  My grand total weight gain is 17 pounds so far.  No, I don't have a picture.  I've taken several.  But the truth is, I feel fat and don't relish the thought of posting 'fat' pictures of me for all to see. 

Gaining weight has always been difficult for me (even in pregnancy!).  I agonize over every pound.  Don't get me wrong, I want the baby to get all it needs and be perfectly healthy.  But even when I lose 10 pounds in the early part of my pregnancy, the baby still measures right on track.  So I don't think it as necessary to gain as much weight as they say.  It is especially difficult to watch the scale climb up this pregnancy, since it took me a whole year to lose the baby weight after Jackson was born.  So far, I've gained less this time.  Hopefully, it will come off easier this time around  

I've scheduled maternity photos for a few weeks out, so I'll post those when they are completed.  My brother is getting married March 12, so hopefully no baby before then! (I'll be 36 weeks)  Still a lot to do before this little girl makes her appearance; I have to potty train Jackson, move him to his big boy bed in Caleb's room, plan both Caleb and Jackson's birthdays, etc.  Jackson was born at 38 weeks, so that would be only 6 weeks from now!  I better get busy

I'm not a fan of antibiotics, but they do have their place.  Caleb got sick on Monday and for three days, couldn't keep even water down.  He lay on the couch, not moving once for the entire day Tuesday and Wednesday. Not even to go to the bathroom (after all, if you can't drink anything...) Finally, I accepted that he wasn't going to get well and I took him in to the doctor.  The prognosis?  He has Strep throat and Tonsilitis. (?)  Weird, I know.  But for someone with a weak stomach, swollen tonsils and a sore throat means he can't keep anything down. He lost 6 pounds (20 % of his body weight)  

Jackson had a low grade fever and an unexplained rash last week, accompanied by a very sore throat.  I was alarmed mostly by the rash and looked up 'Scarlet Fever' online.  (paranoid Mommy?)  Anyway, apparently Scarlet Fever is Strep with a rash and a low grade fever.  Interesting, I never knew there was a relation! The rash vanished by the next day, so I brushed it off as nothing.  But now that Caleb has strep throat, I'm thinking maybe Jackson really did have scarlet fever!

Long story short, we've had to place both boys on antibiotics.  And Caleb has had to have Zofran for two days, since he couldn't stomach anything at all.  (ironically, its one of the same anti-nausea meds that I still have to take for my morning sickness!)  I don't relish the thought of giving antibiotics to my young children.  It destroys all the good, healthy flora and cultures in their digestive tract, leaving them unable to ward off other illnesses they may be exposed to.  In an effort to keep them from going straight into another illness, I've devised a plan to reintroduce good cultures into their bodies again.  If you have to take antibiotics, you need to replace them with probiotics (good cultures, basically).  Cultures are found in cheese, buttermilk, yogurt, and anything fermented.  So I am currently fermenting all sorts of things on my kitchen counter.  And while fermented grapes and fermented potatoes/corn may sound like a good idea, I wouldn't go giving your kiddos wine or beer!  (however, beer batter bread may have it's advantages) Amish Friendship Starter and Sourdough Starter are two cultures you may want to try growing in your own kitchen.

Amish Friendship Starter:
1 c milk
1 c flour
1 c sugar
Mix together in a gallon ziploc bag and mix it each day for four days.  On the fifth day, again add 1 c flour 1 c milk, 1 c sugar.  Let it ferment four more days, mixing the bag each day.  On day 10, the fermenting is complete.  From hereon out, you will take from it once a week and add to it once a week.  It takes one cup to make Amish friendship bread. 

Sourdough Starter:
1/4 c water-filtered
3/8 c flour-whole wheat
Let sit 12 hours, stir add 1/4 c water, 3/8 c flour, stir and let sit 12 hours (you should see a few bubbles by now) Day three, remove 1/2 the starter and add 1/4 c water, 3/8 c flour.  Repeat this process of removing 1/2 and adding for seven days. Your starter should show signs of life and grow and double in size between each feeding and be at least 7 days old to be ripe.  From that point on, you will take from it once a week and feed it once a week.  You may need to keep it in your oven with the light on, to give it enough warmth to grow in this cold weather.  Now you can make sourdough bread, sourdough pancakes, pizza crust, etc. 

You can use buttermilk in pancakes, biscuits, etc. And you can make your own yogurt, cheese, and cultured butter/buttermilk just using a few common ingredients.  So if you have to use antibiotics, be smart about it and replace the cultures to rebuild the immune system. 

My sister and I had two errands to run, both of them quick and easy.  But with four boys in tow, nothing is quite as simple as it should be.  Already feeling nauseous and fatigued, I found the whining of the four boys to be more than I could handle.  By the time we arrived at our second stop, I was about ready to jump off a very tall bridge.  But we had barely gotten our shopping carts and fumbled through the door of Sams, when Caleb loudly announced that he had to go tee tee.  Great!  Just what I need to improve my mood...a dirty restroom.  Then he followed it up with the matter of fact statement "I already went in my pants, cause Giosue made me laugh." I'm pretty sure everyone in the nearest fifteen aisles could hear this embarrassing announcement.  I grabbed Caleb's hand, leaving the other three with my sister, and half dragged him to the restroom.  In a huff I pushed open the restroom door.  The spring on the door was a little too tightly wound, so it swang back abruptly and walluped Caleb smack in the face ( a great mommy moment)  I would've normally been comforting my poor battered son, but there was something strange and unfamiliar about this restroom that I didn't quite grasp; not until it was too late.  Screaming and hollering, Caleb loudly announced our arrival into the Men's restroom.  There I stood, bewildered, face to face with some poor guy standing at the urinal and desperately fumbling with his pants.  Beet red, I turned and unceremoniously exited.  In my haste, I forgot about the malfunctioning door and again walluped Caleb in the head.  His hollering drew the attention of the entire store to the fact that we were exiting the men's restroom.  I saw a blur of wide eyed and gaping stares before I ducked shamefacedly into the women's room.  Another humbling mommy moment.