Marsbarn Designs...

If a drill drills, and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

little e: "The sound next door sounds like next door. (Pause) Yes, it sounds like what they do next door."
h.: Oh?
little e: "Yes. It sounds like what they do."
h.: "And what is that?"
little e: "What they do? I don't know. (Pause) What is that sound?"
h.: "It is a drill. They are drilling something next door."
little e: "Oh. Well, it is loud. (Pause) It is loud because I can hear it."

Pardon the whining

Aw, Crap.

My best friend since 3rd grade is getting married.

Crap, crap, crap.

To a guy I just met, but really like.

Crap, crap, double crap.

And I can't go.

I have already promised my Dad that week and weekend. And I've already run him through the "Oh, we can't go." "Oh, now we can go" ringer once. He's found a cabin for us at in the beautiful wilderness of California. A cabin that wasn't supposed exist, at a resort with a waiting list and a deposit that's non-refundable. And I've promised him, and Sweet G, and little e, and Big E, and NayNay, and Grandma K, and... and.. I promised.

Crap. I really, really can't go. I am so sorry Meegs.

Cake, straws, and the birthday cause

"Momma, you should do it a little like you do." Ah, the help of 5 year old is much like that of the 4 year old. It is deep and meaningful enough that I just don't understand it. Maybe my little girl has a future wearing robes and dispensing wisdom to acolytes.We are on the down hill slope of little e's birthday weekend. The children's party was this morning, and I am happy to report I have survived yet again. In fact, it seemed to go smoothly and was enjoyed by all, including the guest of honor.
The cake photo is from Friday night's birthday dinner. The dinner was a lot of fun. One of my favorite moments of the night was when Auntie O's Guy, The PhD Candidate, was presented with the dilemma of how to drink both the coffee and wine placed in front of him.
A joke was made about a double ended straw, and then Voila! What should appear? But a build-a-straw kit complete with joints and cross bars and two different lengths of straw! (Yes, it is possible that I can pull anything out of my Closet, so be careful what you ask for!) O's Guy jumped into action, built himself a bi-level double ended straw and commenced to drink red wine and coffee with a flourish. He is a brave, brave man. I could never have guessed, when I bought that kit in Boston at the ICA, how much enjoyment it could bring. Such serendipity!

So, all that remains of the weekend is an informal pizza dinner at home with Grand M and Papa, and holding the girls together until bedtime. And if the evening ends in tears and tantrums, it was a still a great weekend and the girl is 5!

garlands of red and orange

I made little e on of those pennant garlands for her birthday. When she opened the package, and pulled up the top flag, the other flags followed like one of those magic acts with the scarves. You know, the trick where he scarves keep coming, and coming, and coming? Little e began to walk backward with the flags flowing out behind her in a red and orange stream... What is it?! She gasped... It is to hang in your room, I answered. Oh, was her reply.

birthday girl with twinkle toes

All and all, I think the girl had a good birthday. Of course the birthday celebrations are only just beginning. She has a dinner tomorrow night, and a kid party/brunch on Sunday morning. As you can see, the shoe shopping was successful. Rings on her fingers, bling on her toes... she will make music where ever she goes. She has yet to simply walk in these magical new shoes, but there has been a lot of jumping, skipping, dancing, and spinning so they must work alright.

Mom, what did you do on my birthday?

Five years ago tonight, I was in the hospital drinking lots of water and trying to keep a little babe afloat in amniotic fluid. It was my second night spent in the "Maternity Spa". On what was my 35th week of pregnancy by my count, but only the 33rd week by the ultrasound assisted count, my amniotic fluid had begun to disappear. This pattern echoed Sweetheart G's birth, but Sweet G had been larger and further along by everyone's count. As with Sweet G, I was admitted to the hospital as soon as the problem was discovered and placed on an IV to try and re-inflate the placenta. There was no external leakage, just a chronic lack of replenishment, as if the placenta had declared its job done. With this pregnancy, the babe was small. So small that my doctor was convinced my dates were wrong...

My first night in the hospital, I spent on an IV, peeing every 2 hours, waiting for the morning ultrasound which would tell me if the internal fluids had changed. And they had. Little e was now floating in barely enough fluid.. I had met the borderline minimums
and her stats were good, except for her weight. They worried that she could be as small as 4 pounds 6 ounces. My doctor said I could go home for a few days, and then come in for a recheck. I asked to stay one more night, taking fluids only orally. I wanted to be sure that I wouldn't deflate like a balloon once the needle came out of my arm. My doctor, who I love, agreed wholeheartedly.

The next morning, they did another ultrasound. My doctor realized that the previous test had had some errors, and that there were signs of my placenta calcifying. He was so glad I had asked to stay... and the caesarian was scheduled at once.

I was so worried about how small that babe would be... 4 pounds 6, is small.. whose dates would be right? How far along was this little person? But, the ultrasound had a pound margin of error, and we used it almost all of it. Little e was born 5 pounds, 5 ounces. I was so glad. But there were problems. Her heart raced too quickly, she had trouble learning to use her lungs, she was slow to "pink up", and she couldn't keep warm. Poor Big E was told he couldn't visit her immediately after birth, because he was "too exciting" for her. She recognized his voice you see, and then her pulse would race and her breathing would become erratic. She spent 5 days in round the clock care in the nursery. She would come to us for 20 minutes, twice a day in my room. I pumped copious amounts of breastmilk for her. The nurses said they had never seen someone pump so much milk so soon.

We were so lucky. None of her delays were serious. She never needed a respirator, never had to be transported to the Neonatal ICU, and her weight never dipped below 5 pounds. We appreciated every little blessing. And when we took her home, we were so glad, so very, very glad.

And that, little e, is what I was doing on your birthday. Happy Birthday little one!

A break in the normal broadcast

I have a quick, alternate birthday (as in someone other than little e) post to sneak in here.

Today is Kal's birthday at Trauma Queen, and in following with his birthday wish I am plugging his blog. Kal is an ambulanceman in Edinburgh. He takes gorgeous photos, tells a wicked story, and is a daily read for me. WARNING! This is not a kid-friendly blog.

Now, we will return to our normal, family friendly vibe.

Royal treatment head to foot

Little e's birthday is tomorrow. I finished 8 new royal crowns last night, as well as a batch of marshmallows, and chocolate chip cookies. (Those are two separate items, not one combined treat...) The ruby colored satin crown which reverses to a lovely pansy is little e's, while the lavender rainbow one is Sweet G's. I really like the way the rick-rack peaks out on the reverse of G's, if I do more of these I may have to invest in more colors.

The birthday girl spends tonight at Grand M's abode being showered in Grandma-y goodness. On the birthday morning, after a special birthday breakfast, the lucky monkey is going shoe shopping downtown for new sparkly footwear! (Yes, her cruel mother has given in to the girl's quest for pretty shoes.)

A bit of a child reprieve

I forgot (in the blinding glare of sunshine this weekend) to mention that Big E and I had a Date Night on Thursday. I'm pretty sure dinosaurs roamed the Earth the last time we went out together on a date. (Or at least it was in January... That's pretty much the same thing, right?) We had a lovely time eating Japanese food and talking without being interrupted. After dinner I had a chance to visit Kathy's Knit Korner while Big E met with some guys to play with their little men.. I mean models. As I browsed through yarn and books, and was nearly seduced by a big bag of roving, I couldn't help but be drawn into the conversation of the knitting group that was meeting in the shop. First of all the shop is one of those small narrow deals where you think you can touch opposite walls at the same time, so not hearing them was impossible. Secondly, who could resist the words "Oh I had my breasts done 7 years ago, and I've never been sorry." It was fascinating. Two women in this group had had breast reductions. One young woman had surgery seven years ago, and the other, older woman, a year ago. Eventually the conversation moved on to cervixes! Why couldn't my local yarn shop be like this! First this shop actually had knitting needles, and secondly they the table talk was amazing! Oh, and when I asked for a book about knitting socks, they had exactly what I wanted instead of pawning off printouts that don't answer my questions.

She's mine, all mine.

I had a lovely time downtown today. It was wonderful to have my Mom to myself. Somehow when little e tells me: "Momma, I will share your Momma with you today.", it doesn't really happen. Is it wrong for me to want yell, "She's mine!" and stick out my tongue? Such is the lure of Grandma M...

Little e's birthday plans continue to come together.. The official party window starts on Thursday and runs through Sunday. I made a flow chart today of the different meals, groceries, and cooking I need to do this week. Who knows, I might even get it all done.