April 4, 2010

Easter Reflections

I cannot believe that it is April already. I feel as though Easter has crept up on me. When I was young the season of Lent seemed so long. Now I realize that time is moving quickly; too quickly for me to grasp.

My babies are growing up! Dawson will be six years old in five months. Owen is six months old in two weeks. Each day is so special to me. I savor every moment I can with my boys.

We spend our mornings cuddling in “the big bed” and we often read stories while lounging there in the middle of the day. Dawson is learning how to recognize words in books. Yesterday he read the word “fox” without any prompting and spelled it out. I am so proud of him.

Owen is developing his personality each day. He smiles often, and he has learned how to use his hands; he now grabs for anything in sight. He is also eating solids twice daily now. He’s one hungry baby, too! Rice cereal is his breakfast favorite, and then later in the day we alternate between vegetables and fruits. His favorite is an apple-banana-pear concoction that Gerber makes.

We spent Easter at my parents’ house. Dawson was so excited to participate in an egg hunt that Grandma and Grandpa the Easter Bunny had set up just for him.  He loved hunting for eggs all around the lawn and in the woods by Papa’s house.  My mother was having a lot of fun just watching Dawson’s excitement.  I loved taking photos of the adventure.

My favorite part was when Dawson was running around, searching for the multi-colored eggs.  He went to the front yard near the ditch and yelled, “Look!  I think I see a blue one!”  When he realized it was not an egg after all he said, “Aww, man!  It’s just a beer can!”  The whole family burst into laughter.  It was the funnies thing I’ve heard in awhile.  I get such a kick out of the things that Dawson says.

Owen was the center of attention when he wasn’t sharing the limelight with his big brother.  Uncle Nathan and Aunt Becky took turns holding the little man.  He was so cute when wearing his bunny ears, too.

The best part of Easter (aside from the delicious food) was celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ with family.  I have come to appreciate these moments more and more as time goes by.

Last Monday I celebrated the Passover Seder with friends and had a wonderful time reading from the Mishnah (and the children asking the four questions), drinking the four cups of wine (mine was pure grape juice since I’m still nursing), and eating matza.  I especially loved the Charoset.  I don’t remember ever eating anything similar.  The Charoset was made of chopped apples, nuts and cinnamon (from what I tasted, that is, I don’t know the official recipe).

Another interesting part of the meal was bitter herbs or Maror (horse radish) and greens (we had green onions, parsley and celery) dipped in salt water and then eaten.  The horse radish was rather strong, I could feel it in my nostrils, but delicious just the same.

While I was raised Catholic, and still practice the religion today, I truly appreciated the Jewish customs.  I realized that aside from the differences in customs, there are many connections between the two faiths.  I was grateful to be able to connect to the heritage in this ritual.

Now a week later, celebrating Easter with my family truly completed the circle.  After dinner at my parents’ we watched a documentary on the History Channel about Jesus and the suffering he endured by being crucified.  It’s difficult for me to put it into words, but I truly felt His presence these last few weeks.  I have come to understand so much, and still yearn for more knowledge on Catholicism as well as Judaism.  I’m eager to learn more.

(I still can’t believe it’s April! Where has the time gone?)

Happy Easter to you all!

October 5, 2009

More Nesting and Another ER Visit (This Time Not For Me)

Remember when I told you I was nesting?  Yeah, that was just a trial run, because the real nesting began Saturday, the second I got home from the hospital.  It’s like a fire has been lit under my bum.

It started with this intense desire to start organizing the bedroom that Dawson and his baby brother will share for awhile.  Doug took the doors off the closet and I went through every single item in that space.  The urge to purge hit me like a ton of bricks.

Three large boxes of stuff were sealed up and are now ready for donation to the Easter Seals.  I got rid of toys no one has played with in years.  Clothes that Dawson cannot wear and the baby wouldn’t be able to wear for years were packed for others to use.  Anything that had not been worn or used in a year or more was tossed into the boxes as well.  I realized that Dawson had a lot of clothes when he was born, more than the new baby could ever wear.  Gone it is.

It took a few hours to figure out the correct floor plan for the room.  The furniture was arranged with efficiency in mind.  I delegated while Doug moved things around several times.  It’s very functional now.  I should have taken before and after photos.

Next, we took a trip to Target and bought one of these awesome toy organizers:

All of the most played-with toys were sorted into these 12 magic bins.  Because I had sorted through everything first, we ended up with two smaller bins being empty.

After the kids’ room was complete I crashed into bed and slept like a rock.  It was a long, rough day.

Sunday morning we went to church and after we got home Doug made a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and toast.  It was delicious.  I decided to tackle our closet after that, and 5 more boxes of clothes, shoes, purses and other miscellaneous items were donated.

I finally got rid of all those clothes that had sentimental value or emotional feelings attached them.  I haven’t worn them in more than five years.  Someone else can use them.  It was tough to let go of some of those things, but I noticed that an uncluttered house has also cleared my psyche.

Doug did all the grunt work and heavy lifting, and I’m so grateful for his help.  After tackling closets we cleaned out the pantry together, as well as the linen and coat closets, too.  My house is almost perfect.

Shortly after we finished our work, my mother-in-law called to say that my father-in-law was having health issues.  He has been feeling disoriented, experiencing hallucinations and memory loss, as well as sleeping a lot and not wanting to get out of bed.  I’m not sure what the medical condition is, but it reminds me of dementia.  My grandfather suffered from the disease.  I also wonder if my FIL was experiencing a mini-stroke.

We went to Doug’s parents’ house to help get my FIL to the hospital, but later decided an ambulance was a better choice.  Doug’s dad was taken to the ER and later admitted to the hospital for observation.  We got home a few hours later.  Doug’s brother and uncle stayed to help my MIL.  Doug wanted to stay longer, but he had to work very early this morning, and his mom said not to miss work until they know exactly what my FIL’s condition is.  We’re praying that he recovers from whatever it is that is ailing him.

After we got home last night, we all crashed into bed.  Another long day under our belts.

I’m hoping today is uneventful, and that no one else is admitted to the ER.  They say bad things happen in threes.  Here’s hoping that’s just an old wives tale, or a myth.

Later this afternoon I’m taking Dawson to see a free matinee showing of Transformers 2.  The theater is offering this show for customer appreciation week, and my little guy cannot wait for the DVD to come out on October 20th.  It’s our last mommy/son “date” before little Baby O arrives.  I plan to treasure every second of it.

May 26, 2009

A Graduation Ceremony, Memorial Day & Look! I’m Having a Baby!*

My weekend was full of cleaning, relaxing, freaking out, family stuff and other miscellaneous things I’ve forgotten.  Because words are escaping me right now, I’m going to show you some pictures.  I hope that’s okay with you.  (If not, too bad, because that’s all I’ve got right now.)

My youngest brother, Frankie (the baby of the family), pre-Graduation.

Arriving at the SPASH Fieldhouse two hours early, to get a good seat.  We still had to sit towards the back.

Ms. Colby, my high school journalism teacher.  She still looks as young as she did 12 years ago when I graduated.

Dawson hugs my father while we wait for the ceremony to start.

Kathy Kinney (Mimi Bobeck of the Drew Carey Show), Stevens Point native.  She was the keynote speaker for my graduation ceremony in 1997 also.  She gave a magnificent speech about being a good person and that if we all pay it forward, the world would be a better place.

Kathy, during her speech.  This was as close as I could get — and I was using the mega zoom lens on my Rebel.

My brother, accepting his diploma and customary handshake.

573 Graduating Seniors (of high school, seriously.  My class had 650 graduates out of 689 seniors), and nearly 3,000 family and friends pack the fieldhouse.

The Graduate.  (No, not that one.)

My parents, brother Frank and Dawson. (No, I have no idea what the boys are looking at.  Certainly isn’t the camera.)

“Mom, I’m 4 1/2, right?”

Ant Catching on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Picnic in the Back Yard.

Post Picnic Bike Ride.

Lilacs from the Back Yard.

My Little Acrobat.  Today’s ultrasound reveals I will be giving birth to the next Shawn Johnson. The baby was standing on his or her little head, legs dangling in the air, facing in the opposite direction of the tech’s wand. I will have to go back for another U/S because the poor technician couldn’t get more than half of the required cross-section photos she needed. So there’s hope that I’ll find out in the next six weeks!

Profile.  Looks just like Dawson.  Seriously.  I thought I might be having a girl, but now I think it might be a boy.  Also, today’s heartbeat was 138.  Three prior heartbeats were 165, 156 and 148.  So, that old wive’s tale is no help at all.

For more photos, visit my Flickr sets!

* And not an alien, as my husband likes to joke…

January 29, 2009

I Went Out in Public Wearing My Pants Inside Out

Last night my parents invited Dawson and me to go sledding and tobogganing with them.   My sister Rachel and my brother Frank came along, too.  Their church was hosting a sledding party at Iverson Park and since Dawson had already been to the winter park twice before, I couldn’t say no.

Now before I go any further with this story, I must confess that I had never been down a toboggan run before.  I’m nearly 30 years old and last night was my first time.  I was a toboggan virgin.

Iverson Park is beautiful in the summer, but it’s full of snowy action in winter months.  They have a sledding hill which is BYOS (bring your own sled) and two toboggan slides, each 300 feet long.  When we got to the park and my dad asked if I wanted to go down, I hesitated when I discovered we’d have to climb to the top of the platform.  I was freaked out because this is what the drop looks like:

I. Was. Terrified.

My fearless Dawson looked at me and said, “Mommy, you can’t be scared.  It will be so much fun!”

I declined to go down with Dad, Mom and Dawson.  Instead, I went down with my brother Frank first.  I didn’t want my son to see me cry.

So we climb up to the top, I sat down on the front of the toboggan, with my feet directly under the curl and my little bro (who’s 6′ 3″ and a good 250 pounds) sat behind me.   I felt safer knowing there was an anchor behind me.  The slide attendant instructed me to keep my body parts on the sled and to hold tight to the rope.

“Ready?” she asked.

“I think so,” I said with a stutter.

“Have fun!” she yelled.

Next thing I know she dropped the hatch and down we flew.  Picture me screaming, eyes closed, and tears streaming down my rosy cheeks.

“Hooooollleeeee Craaaaapppp!” I screamed.

When we got to the end and started to slow down, I opened my eyes, and sat there frozen with fear.

“Are you okay?” Frank asked.

“Am I alive?” I replied.

“Yeah. You made it.” he said.

“Okay, then I’m okay.  I’m okay, right?”  I couldn’t believe I didn’t die.

As we walked back up the hill, I saw my parents, my sister and little Dawson going down for the second time.   My son, fearless and smiling, was screaming with delight.  He loved it.

“Mumma!  Poppa, Nonna and Rachel and me won the race!  Woo hoo!” he shouted.

“You did!” I said.

Dawson asked me if I liked the “noggin hill” and I told him as long as I didn’t break my own noggin, I would be fine.

I managed to get up the courage to go down again, but with my Dad, Mom and Dawson.  This time the sled crashed and we all went rolling.  I was so happy I wore three pairs of pants because I had some major butt burn.  That wasn’t the first time we crashed either (can you believe I went down a total of 12 times?), and this morning I was so stiff in the buttocks and lower back.

Dawson had preschool this morning, and I realized we were running late.  I quickly threw on one of the pairs of pants I wore last night and drove my boy to school.

When I got home, I sat down on the couch to take a rest and noticed my sweats were inside out.  I can’t believe I was out in public dressed like that!!

If anyone noticed, I’ll blame it on Noggin Hill and my butt burn.  It could have been worse.  I could have broken my arse instead of just getting a bruise on one cheek.  No seriously, it’s black and blue!

Dawson has been begging to go sledding again, and I think I might just do it.  As scary as it is, it sure is one hell of an adrenaline rush!