Month: October 2011

Keeping the Wheels on the Bus

Posted on by heather.e.d.mcpherson@gmail.com

It’s been a wild week around here – one of those weeks that begs of cliches about juggling balls in the air, keeping the wheels on the bus, treading water, and all sorts of other things that pretty much means that we’re having a messy, short-tempered, things-not-quite-getting-done, everyone is sick kind of week. Or rather, that’s the way the week started and now I’m happy to report that things are running a little more smoothly. It was a rough start, but we seem to have kept the wheels on and, as Clare sings, the wheels on the bus go round and round.

After what seems like a month of annoying cold symptoms that almost-but-not-quite get better, on Sunday night Clare woke up crying pitifully every two hours. Her nose was running, she was drooling and her eyes were crusting up. At about 4 am, with my little Bug sleeping on my chest, I decided that come hell or high water I was taking her to the pediatrician the next day. There was no earthly reason she should still be this sick. On top of that I am 37 weeks pregnant, meaning I could go into labor at any time. This not only means that I might be laboring while completely exhausted and sleep deprived (no one’s idea of a good time) but it would also mean that my poor baby girl who was crying for “Mama” during the night wouldn’t have Mama available. On top of that, J had spent the whole weekend pushing through coughing, green phlemy nastiness. Yep, we were a hurting family.
So come Monday there were doctors visits all around, medications procured and chicken soup made. Also on Monday I had a big afternoon at work (after the pediatrician visit and two trips to the pharmacy) that included speaking to an MBA class and a late evening event. When I finally got home I was sore and having contractions. Now it’s Thursday and I’m happy to say that two of us have lingering coughs (myself included) but no more major sickness or major contractions. Relief all around!
Why am I trying to document this crazy week? To remind myself in this virtual baby book that most weeks of being a dual-career family with 1.99 kids are balancing acts and that some weeks require a larger correction than others. This week the correction required is that tomorrow will be my last week of work before maternity leave, instead of Nov. 4 like I originally planned. Yes, I’ll only be 38 weeks along and am risking spending two weeks sitting at home without a babe in my arms, and yes this may mean two extra unpaid weeks at the end of my maternity leave, but we need it. I need time to take walks, finish the nursery, clean the house, make meals, take naps, etc. Clare needs one-one-one time with her Mama. J needs to not worry about me having evening contractions brought on by exhaustion and stress. Baby needs a more peaceful resting place right now, with a family who embraces his arrival with joy and anticipation not stress, fear and anxiety. So, for this week, the balancing act took a firm step in the direction of home and we are all taking a deep sigh of relief.

Scenes from a Thursday Night

Posted on by heather.e.d.mcpherson@gmail.com
Here are a few pics and stories from a typical Thursday night at the Mac House.
Tonight J asked me if I wanted leftover gnocchi or stir fry for dinner. I told him “either.” Clare looked up and said “I want Either too!” She always wants to eat what we’re having. Except that a few weeks ago she wanted some of J’s sriracha sauce. J gave her the teensiest taste of it on his finger and she declared it “gives me an owie on my tongue! I need milk!” Tonight she saw J’s sriracha sauce and said “No Dada. I don’t want that! I don’t like it.”

I convinced J to actually take my picture at 37 weeks. This is a pretty typical evening look in our kitchen – me in PJs with hair and makeup done from the work day, random mess including a pumpkin on the stove (just because), random mixing bowl and cookbook on the counter for the pizza dough that J is making tonight, a chair pulled out into the kitchen so that Clare can watch J make the dough, and a package on the table behind me from Grandma T (Thanks for the curtains!!).

Our usual bedtime ritual includes brushing teeth, bath, putting on PJs and reading books with her blanky. She usually requests to read books with Dad so this is a common evening sight. I tease J that he reads an extra book and that’s why she prefers him at bedtime, but I think it’s because this has turned into their special time together.

Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Posted on by heather.e.d.mcpherson@gmail.com

A few weeks ago Clare saw a bunch of pumpkins at the grocery store and was fascinated by them. I told her that we were going to go to get our pumpkin at the pumpkin patch in a few weeks. She hasn’t forgotten and every now and then has mentioned “the pumpkin patch.” Well, a sunny weekend without a trip planned was just the time to do it. So even though Clare has been fighting a cold and was up and down a lot last night (and so were her parents) we set off at the crack of 9:30 to the pumpkin patch. After a quick stop to collect Grandma and Grampa, we made our way to the pumpkin patch.

This particular farm is not just a pumpkin patch but also a harvest carnival and activity area. Clare immediately wanted to ride the horses in the pony ride area. She was very excited about it up until the point when J put her on the pony. Then she informed him that she was “scared” and “don’t like it.” J stayed with her, and Grandpa took the other side, so by the time they had completed one lap she was feeling much more confident. Grandma and I even got a few smiles out of her by the end.

Besides the pony rides, Clare got to go down a hay slide, watch other farm animals (her favorites were the ducks), and helped us pick out the perfect pumpkins. She also got to ride in the wheelbarrow like the little queen of the patch.


Finally, a few pictures from the last few weeks around here.


September Pictures

Posted on by heather.e.d.mcpherson@gmail.com
I’m feeling pretty tired tonight (my energy ends at about 8:30 pm) so I’ll just throw on some of my favorite September pictures from Adam’s nannyshare photography.




Clare said she was drawing “flowers.”

I love this picture! Clare and G are on a “slug hunt.”

Her latest trick is hanging upside down on the climber. Isn’t she getting grown-up these days?

A couple of other highlights of Clare at 16 months.

  • She can identify all of her letters and will tell us “M is for Mom, D is for Dad (or Dog), H is for Horse, etc.” She can also recognize her name when it’s spelled out in capital letters.
  • She can also identify all of her numbers (1 through 9) and is getting pretty decent at counting things. She’s not always accurate, for example she counted that I had 6 toes on one foot this morning, but she’s usually pretty close. She can also identify quantities of two and three by sight.
  • She loves to pretend to talk on the phone. Every day we talk to Oma, Papa, Grandma T, Grandpa, Danny, and/or Baby Maddy. She likes to play with our phones, but she’s been known to “call” people with anything that vaguely resembles a phone.

Signs that You’re 35 Weeks Pregnant

Posted on by heather.e.d.mcpherson@gmail.com

As if I could possibly forget that I’m pregnant, a few things lately have reminded me that I’m absolutely in the final stretch. So here are a few humorous musings from the large and gestating – you might be 35 weeks pregnant if…
– You catch yourself thinking “I wish we weren’t going to the beach this weekend. I’d rather stay home and wash baby clothes.”
– Your daughter starts to heave and moan whenever she gets up off the floor or the couch and you realize that she’s imitating you.
– Your husband glances up after not seeing you for a long day and the first thing he says is “I think you grew.”
– There is a dance party in your abdomen almost every night from 3 to 5 am. OK, so this isn’t funny but it’s true. It’s actually an improvement from a few weeks ago when I would wake up furiously angry (and I mean LIVID) for no discernible reason. I would have to calm down before I could go back to sleep.
– You’ve started to refer to your baby as Mr. Monkey Toes due to him wedging his feet and toes into your ribs.
– A co-worker looks at your with a confused expression during a meeting, and you realize it’s because your shirt is jumping up and down with the rhythm of Mr. Monkey Toes’ hiccups.
– On many of the 3 to 5 am awake times (sort of a reverse nap), you catch yourself making a mental list of all of the soups, stews, casseroles, muffins, breads and other foods that you MUST make and freeze IMMEDIATELY. If you don’t cook and freeze TOMORROW there will obviously be no way for your family to possibly eat after the baby comes!! You’ve also caught yourself googling whether or not you can freeze peanut butter sandwiches.
On a serious note, I’ve started to get really excited about meeting the baby soon. I wrote in this post a while ago about being content to just be pregnant and wait on the baby. However, now I’m getting antsy to meet this little guy, seeing what he looks like, and seeing if his movements and actions are similar to how they feel in my tummy. I can’t wait to see J with a new baby to snuggle and I am really excited to watch Clare fall in love with her brother. I’m starting to imagine kissing little baby fingers and toes, fawn over every yawn and facial expression, snuggle and smell into his little neck, and generally fall in that intoxicating new baby love.

Goings-On

Posted on by heather.e.d.mcpherson@gmail.com
Clare says “cheese!”
It’s been a busy couple of weeks around here, hence the lack of posts. Besides that, I’ve reached the point of pregnancy where I’m tired all the time again.

A couple of weeks ago we did Race for the Cure with the family and friends Carrie and Leah. It was a fun morning event that we’ve done almost every year for 8 years, first in Phoenix and now here in Portland. We just walk in the 5K, and with 40,000 people along the route it’s more like Stroll for the Cure (or, in my case, Waddle). As you can see we accumulated some balloons and pom-poms to entertain Clare during the walk.

Also in the last few weeks was my 33rd birthday. I kept telling people I was turning 32, until J finally corrected me at the end of the day. Whoops – guess the memory is the first thing to go! Adam took this picture of J and I before dinner. He was impressed by our unintentionally color-coordinated outfits.
This picture also shows my 33 week prego tummy. I’m pretty sure I’m bigger today than I was when I delivered Clare, and while I claim I’m even more tired and sore then with her J corrects me and says I complained a lot more in the last pregnancy. Hmmm… Maybe I just have less time to complain or pay less attention to myself these days. Regardless, I am definitely feeling the discomforts of the third trimester and I’m torn between being done with being pregnant and not feeling ready for the new baby. Good thing I have 6 weeks left… really, a good thing… yeah, maybe if I keep saying it then I’ll believe it…

Lastly, a few serious pictures of Clare as she plays. The picture above she’s playing with Legos after a busy day of painting (which most of it seemed to have ended up on her shirt). She’s painting again below, which is a common request these days. Our arts and letters child has really been getting into art projects.

Besides art, Clare’s music appreciation continues to grow. Just about every day she’ll start singing a song and I’m like “I didn’t realize she knows that song!” Between Adam and preschool her repertoire is growing. Her latest favorites are the “Sleeping Bunny song,” “Baby Bumblebee,” “The Wheels on the Bus” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” A few days ago we were in the car and at the end of a song on the radio Clare suddenly says “That was a GREAT song! I liked it!” J and I cracked up.