The GeDIVA Convention

Once upon a time (twelve years ago to be exact), 14 girls who all lived on the same floor of David John Hall at BYU formed a bond.  They went to classes together, went to church together, went to dances together, primped together, laughed together, cried together, ate together, did laundry together--basically LIVED together for ten great months.  They called themselves The Divas and have been friends ever since.  Now they are spread out across the country (11 states!), but every four years they get together for a reunion.  This last Memorial Day weekend marked one such occasion.  They gathered in a gorgeous condo in Park City for spa treatments, delicious food, games, cheese tasting, karaoke, hot tub book club (this will be sweeping the nation soon), a birthday bash (because they're in the process of turning 30), fabulous restaurants, shopping, dancing, talking, and LOTS of laughing.

This weekend was incredible.  Nicole and I (the Utah Divas) had been planning this event for about a year.  Our theme was Viva La Diva.  And it came out better than we imagined.  I'm so thankful that each of these amazing ladies made the effort to leave jobs, husbands, babies, and life in general so we could have this time together (we missed the two Divas who are nine months pregnant and the one who had an important deposition to conduct on Friday and Monday terribly).  I love them all so much.  Here's a peek into our fun:

 

Yes, I'm in serious Diva Withdrawal right now.  2014 can't get here fast enough!

Sadie's Future Plans

I had the following exchange with Sadie this morning while watching a TV show about babies:

Me:  Do you think you'll be a mommy when you grow up, Sadie?  Will you have a baby?

Sadie:  Um, no.  I'm going to be a viking.

It's nice to know she's got career goals.  And I definitely can see how pillaging and plundering don't go well with parenting.  Kids really would get in the way.  

FREEEEEDOM!

A rather important event occurred at our house this last week.  I've been running around with my face painted like Braveheart, screaming "FREEEEEEEDOM!"

Well, not really.  But I feel like it.  The event?  I finally weaned Tessa.  [Note: This post was scheduled for last week, but after cutting her off for a few day after a nasty biting incident--which I vowed was the END--we relapsed for a few days.  But it's been five days now since the last nursing session, and I think it's safe to announce that we're officially DONE.]  And I can't say how huge this is for me.

You see, I've been either pregnant or nursing for eight and a half years.  EIGHT years of growing other humans.  Let's break this down:

*39 months of pregnancy 

(Nine months for each girl plus three months from a pregnancy that ended in miscarriage)

*64 months of nursing 

(Chloe = 22, Piper = 15, Sadie = 15, Tessa = 12)

I think it's worth noting that I never had more than four weeks between weaning someone and falling pregnant with the next (in fact, the Piper nursing/Sadie pregnancy actually overlapped for three months).  I did have three months between the miscarriage and the Chloe pregnancy, but we're pretty much talking eight years STRAIGHT.  2002 was the last time I had my body all to myself.   Also,  I never pumped or supplemented for any of the kids for the first six months of their lives.  That means I did ALL the feedings for 2 years worth of newborns.  That's right.  EVERY SINGLE FEEDING, night and day (and it also means that I could never leave the baby for more than 3-4 hours).  I take full responsibility for these choices (and they totally were choices--having so many kids, not supplementing, choosing to nurse for so long, etc).  But now you understand why I look so exhausted these days.  And why this is such a big moment for me.  And why I have the urge to dress up like Braveheart. 

When I found out I was pregnant with Tessa a good six years into this stint, I wasn't sure I could make it.  Physically, mentally, spiritually.  I was worn out and more than a little daunted by just the physical requirement alone (don't even get me started on the mental bit).   But I set a goal that I wanted to nurse her for 12 full months (I not only wanted to follow the recommendation of the AAP, but I also wanted to be fair and let her have close to what I let Sadie and Tessa have.  And yes, I openly admit that I enabled Chloe's nurse-aholic tendencies back in the day when I only had one kid.  But I learned a hard lesson back then and never made the mistake of trying to wean an almost 2-year-old ever again).  It wasn't easy meeting that crazy goal.  After nine months of severe nausea, a horrific delivery that left me with a broken tailbone, three bouts of mastitis, and a baby that refused formula (I was going to supplement this time but never figured out how to get Tessa on board with the plan.  And I just plain REFUSE to pump.  I hate it more than anything--even waking up 3-4 times a night to feed a newborn, obviously!), I did it.  I made it the full twelve months.  Completing this goal that I set 20 months ago feels like one of the biggest accomplishments of my life.  [Note: Tessa actually deserves a lot of credit here.  She made up for her first six months of refusing formula and went crazy for baby food.  She weaned herself down to two feedings a day pretty quickly after that which made it much easier to  reach that original goal!]

A scripture in Genesis caught my eye a couple of months ago:

                       "And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned."  Genesis 21:8

I love that it used to be a tradition to celebrate this major event.  It's one I wanted to adopt in our family.  Carter agreed to let me mark the occasion of weaning our last child in a very special way.  I get to go here:

to visit:

and see:

&

I leave in less than a month for my long weekend in Manhattan.  I have been trying to go visit my sister for two years now.  I'm excited I get to finally go!

FREEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!!

Tessa's First Year

One year ago today, my little Tessa Kate was born.  In some ways it seems like it was just last month that we brought her home from the hospital to meet her sisters.  In other ways, it seems like it's been ten years since she joined the family (1 month with 3 kids in diapers can feel like three years, believe me).  Yes, this has been a year full of the good (Four beautiful little girls in my life!  An easy baby that sleeps and eats well with hardly any crying!  A trip to Hawaii and Las Vegas!), the bad (Three different kids requiring surgery in less than 12 months!  Five months with three kids in diapers!), and the ugly (that broken tailbone situation that required ten months and a chiropractor to heal!  Facing the fact that I had to lose all the pregnancy weight again!  Three bouts of mastitis!).  But we survived.  That alone would be reason enough to celebrate.  But there's more!

Tessa is the last baby I will ever have.  Because of this, I have really savored watching her grow this year.  She is incredibly sweet and oh so adorable.  I feel so blessed that she is part of our family and I don't want to even imagine our lives without her.  I can't believe how much she's changed in these last months:

On her actual day of birth

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

Month 10

Month 11

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TESSA!!!

I can't wait to see what this next year will bring.

#3 Turns 3

Sadie's big day was Saturday.   Her celebration started the day before when I let her open all the presents that Grandma Rose sent.  She loved The Princess and The Frog dress ups (including light up high heels) and the xylophone so very much.

On her actual birthday, we had a joint birthday party for her and for Tessa.  Their birthdays are only a few days apart (which I barely noticed last year but REALLY felt this year--I don't know how we'll do things in the future, but this seemed like a good solution for how young they are.  Plus, you can only inflict so many kids' birthday parties on your incredibly supportive family, you know?)  I did make two cakes (Strawberry with cream cheese frosting per Sadie's request and a Funfetti for Tess) and got two kinds of ice cream (Neapolitan for Sadie and Tessa's new favorite from Vegas, Rocky Road).  We had a great turn out:  Grandma, Aunties Laura and Lisa, Uncles Taylor, Barrett, Josh, plus cousin Jack.  The perfect crowd.

Tessa really liked that cake.  I think Sadie liked hers too.  I know for sure she liked the games.  I asked her what she wanted her party to be like and she said she wanted to play Red Light/Green Light, Duck Duck Goose, and Tag.  We did those things, along with a couple of relay races and Pin The Tail On the Donkey.  Chloe even taught us a game called Run, Rabbit, Run (how can I resist a game bearing the same moniker as my favorite John Updike novel?).  Sadie seemed to like it.

As you can see in this picture of her being the fox in the Rabbit game, she also got her beloved Lelli Kelly Shoes.  For about three months, she has been saying she wants these shoes.  I blame the horrific, mind controlling commercials on TV.  When I would ask her what else she wanted, she'd just say more Lelli Kelly shoes.  I almost died when I discovered how much they cost.  Lucky for me I found great knock-offs at Target (I got her two pairs for less than half of what a real pair cost).  She was completely fooled and wore them with great relish.  (Sadie, if you're 15 and reading this, I owe you a pair of designer shoes.  IF your foot has stopped growing, that is.  I just couldn't spent that kind of cash on shoes you could only wear for a few months.  I'm sorry!)

After the party, we headed to the Mayan for dinner.  I, of course, forgot my camera.  If I had remembered, you would now be enjoying pictures of the girls gawking at the cliff divers and oohing over the waterfalls and the tree house.  It was quite the adventure.

Overall, I think Sadie had a good day.  But I can't believe she's such a big girl now!!!!

Lessons Learned

The past several days have afforded me some valuable life lessons.  Ten, to be exact.  I am going to share them in hopes that you will not have to repeat my experiences in order to gain the accompanying lessons. 

1.  If a child awakens you in the middle of the night to announce she has thrown up, ignore any subsequent claims that she may make about doing it in the toilet.  No matter how warm and cozy your bed is or how many horrible nights of sleep you have had in a row, no matter how much you WANT to believe the whole mess has been flushed away, you need to go down to investigate for yourself. 

2.  If you choose to NOT investigate, have a hazmat suit on hand.  And a spare mattress.  At the very least, have a pair of rubber gloves.  You don't want to discover you are missing these important items after the mess has been sitting around for 6-8 hours.

3.  Rubber mattress guards don't do any good if you leave them in the box from Amazon.com next to the bed.  You have to actually put them ON for them to do their jobs protecting your mattress.

4.  If you choose to leave said rubber mattress guard in its original packaging, at least have some enzymatic cleaner on hand because that is what all your Google searches about saving mattresses from vomit will recommend.  You will NOT be able to drag four kids (one of whom is quite sick) to the store in the event of this particular emergency.  Also, make sure you have plenty of baking soda and antibacterial Febreze on hand as well.

5.  Don't yell at your kid for vomiting in bed and then fibbing about it.  It will just make you both feel worse than you already do.

6.  Almost-one-year-olds actually do HAVE to take every bite of food that you give them out of their mouth to inspect it/rub it in their hair/rub it on their clothes/add it to the collection of food on the kitchen floor.  It is a biological need stronger than actual hunger.

7.  Even the most perfect baby food eater will come to a phase where she has to spit every spoonful back in your face.  Don't think you've avoided it because you went six months and it never happened.

8.  Breastfeeding certain almost-one-year-olds often resembles that scene in Crocodile Dundee where he wrestles the crocodile.  Except more ferocious and with more teeth sinking into flesh.

9.  Even if you leave the almost-one-year-old three rooms away from a draining bathtub to go answer the doorbell,  she will be able to fall into the tub before you've retrieved the package off the stoop.  She IS that fast, even with her gimp crawl.  (Thankfully the water will be so low that she is not in danger of anything more than destroying the 20 minute diapering/lotioning/haircombing/clothing routine you just put her through).

10.  Motherhood is a disgusting job but somebody has to do it.  Preferably in that hazmat suit.

I Just Had to Share . . .

Srikumar Rao: Plug into your hard-wired happiness | Video on TED.com

LOVE this.  So much.