Mommy Reading Time is Back

So, I'm sorry to say that I have not read to my children since mid-December when I started to get sick. But our regular mommy reading time has returned every day after lunch. We just finished our first book. The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith is a charming book. We watched the DVD awhile ago, now the girls want to see it again...so I have it on reserve at the library.

It's nice to be getting back to normal around here (if there really is a normal!) We have still not returned to our previous (pre-pregnancy) extra-curricular schedule...and I'm thinking that we won't for a little while still! And I'm ok with that! Dance and karate are still on the back-burner. I think that every other week at the library will be good enough...especially since at least one of the little ones prevents Kessiah and Jenessa from playing on the computers.

The girls ask occasionally when they can do karate again and my standard answer for the past 6 months has been...January. So, hopefully by January I'll be ready to go with that again! We are starting soccer soon (Jenessa has her first practice this week) and all three girls will be playing! Whew, am I ready for 3 soccer games every Saturday!?! Kessiah and Jenessa have also gotten back into gymnastics this month.

Logan is 2!

I'll try to get some pictures posted sometime this weekend!

We celebrated with cake and presents yesterday at lunch (since Kessiah had a birthday party to go to that evening). Unfortunately, he was getting a little grumpy by the time we were ready to celebrate because he was ready for a nap. But, he got a smile back on his face when I put a piece of cake in front of him!

He is such a cute little boy. I think back to when I had my ultrasound with him and we found out we were having a boy! What a shock! I wasn't sure what to do with a boy. But he has added a wonderful dimension to our family.

He has been having a tough time adapting to being kicked out of his "baby" position in the family. The other day, I was in the kitchen and heard Mason crying on the couch in the family room. I went in to check on him and found Logan lying on top of him! Logan also has to deal with Sienna on a daily basis! (that sounded very negative, but it is a difficult position to be in for a 2 year old boy!) She either wants to be his best friend and plays with him really well or she is tormenting him and making him scream on a nearly constant basis!

Mason Wayne Judy

Well, let me just start by saying that having 5 kids under 9 years is not for the faint of heart! It can keep a girl busy...and I say that while my mom is still here!

Today was Mason's due date, but he showed up 12 days early. I'm really (really, really) glad he did since he weighed in at 9 pounds. All the others have been right at 7 1/2 pounds, so I'm not sure who was sneaking Mason the growth hormone!

So, a few birth details...
I started having some contractions the day before he was born, but nothing that was very painful or very regular. Ryan did stay home from volleyball that night just in case, but by the time we went to bed they had stopped! However, I woke up about 12:30 a.m. with painful contractions and was awake with them until about 4:30 a.m. when I asked Ryan if he had everything ready to go. He got up and got some things ready. We made a phone call to some friends asking if we could drop our kids off. We dropped the kids off about 5:30 and were at the hospital about 6:00 a.m. I was dilated to a 4 when we got there, so I immediately asked for an epidural. I figured if I was only a 4, I wanted drugs! By the time the anesthesiologist got there about 8:00 (don't ask me why it took so long!) I was dilated to an 8 and my doctor sent him away! Why? You may be asking...well, because Logan came so quickly that my doctor thought I would have this baby in the next 30 minutes. But Mason didn't really want to come out! He wasn't born until 10:10 a.m. So, at some point when I was a 9 I did get an epidural. I was hesitant to get it at that point because I got one when I was an 8 with Sienna and it didn't work all that well..it did take some of the edge off the pain, but I wanted more! However, this epidural was perfect! It started working almost immediately and wore off really quickly so I could walk around soon after delivery.

So, here we are...a family of 7! Wow! Pretty amazing when you consider where we were 10 years ago!

So, I'm doing well...just a little tired! I feel so much better and my kids are excited to have the opportunity to leave the house again!