Oh, hey! We also have some good news...

On top of the baby and all, we have a great update on Abbie!

She had an MRI a few days before Lucy was born, and the results have come in: the tumor has not grown at all, but there is significantly less dye enhancement. What this means is that the tumor is potentially going dormant! That would be absolutely wonderful, because then Abbie could be taken off the chemo and radiation could be delayed indefinitely. Her spine is also looking much healthier, meaning that most of the damage from her surgeries has been healed. So we'll see how her next MRI looks, but we now have a glimmer of hope that she may be spared radiation at such a young age.

All in all, very good news to get before having another baby! :)

More pictures of Lucy and her sisters

Introducing our spider monkey!

Lucy Anna made her entrance into the world without a hitch, at a surprisingly tiny 7lbs 15 oz. I was sure that she was going to be a gigantic baby due to the all the excessive and painful kicking going on, but as it turns out she is just very squirmy. So far she's an excellent baby, never fussy and eats like a champ. The only issue we need to address is her habit of waking up around midnight and remaining bright-eyed and bushy-tailed until about 4am. Hopefully we can talk some sense into her soon.

Friday the 13th....

Is looking like a lucky day for me!

I'm just packing up some last minute stuff, and then Chris and I are heading out to the hospital!

I'll have someone update the blog and post a picture or two at some point either today or tomorrow.

And if you have any spare prayers to throw my way, that'd be cool. :)

Yet another girl meets her destiny?

Beth wrote this story entirely by herself, and I've typed it out exactly as it is written. She asked for help on how to spell "garden" and "trick" but she figured out the rest herself.
I'm just the mom, of course, but I think it's pretty darn impressive for a five year old!!!! Enjoy:

The Big garden with a tree and a bee and a flours.
A trick book
Beths book

The big garben with a tree and a bee and a flours.
Thare wus a big garden with a lots of flours. in the garben thare is a big tree and a bee eding the nektr in the flours.
the girl lickt's too pick flours but wen the bee wus going uwaey she will picks the flours.
the end
and a girl waching all of the flours and the bee and the tree.

T minus 2 days

I am only going to do this once. And only because I was asked very nicely.

Please disregard the weird look on my face - getting the picture right was harder than I thought, and I was really concentrating! :)

Happy Easter!

Despite being totally jacked up on candy......



















the girls were angels for Easter! :)

More Tales of Claire and Abbie

Abbie's tumor has had more ramifications than I ever expected. For example: playing doctor.

"Doctor" has been a favorite game around here since the dawn of our children. Katie and Beth have spent countless hours slaving over either Chris or me, almost always resulting in the need to amputate at least one limb. They give shots, slap on band aids, listen to heartbeats -- all the usual stuff. Claire and Abbie, though.....well, their game has reached a whole new level.

I recently had one of those moments that really made it hit home; my kids know way more than they should about medical procedures. Claire and Abbie were playing doctor, and they ushered me into the guestroom for an impromptu surgery. Abbie very methodically checked my arm for a good vein, and then gave me an IV. She then took a blood sample to check for infection. Claire did the MRI to see where my tumor was, then put the anaesthesia into the IV line. They operated on the tumor, making sure to close and then wash the incision. And when I woke up, they made me take a sip of juice to make sure I was swallowing OK. Then they gave me pain medication and told me that I needed to start rehabilitation right away.

Pretty dead-on. At least, it's a far cry from the "here's your band aid, let me listen to your wrist with the stethoscope," we used to encounter in our pre-cancer days. I assure you, Katie and Beth never even thought to start an IV when they played doctor!

It's sad in a way, but funny in a way, too. At the least, it seems like Abbie's ability to play (and enjoy) this type of game is a healthy sign. Despite all the trauma, she's managed to avoid being traumatized. There is something sick and wrong in watching the two of them play doctor, but there is something beautiful and heartening about it, too. That Abbie (and Claire, who has seen, and thus had to process, more hospital action than the older girls) can tread this ground with such a light heart, such unconcern, shames me when I think of all the stupid things I've let myself be affected by. So hook me up the IV, girls! I can take it.

Proof that we have been overusing a certain phrase....

Claire woke up at 5am on Friday because she suddenly realized that her bear wasn't in her bed. She looked for it, then came down to enlist me in the search. I took her back up to her room, did a cursury look (no bear) and then convinced her to wait until morning to find Bear.

As Claire was climbing back under the covers, a little voice from Abbie's side of the room piped up, "Be quiet, Claire! I am SICK and TIRED!"

Melt my heart

Overheard during lunch:

"Hey, Princess?"

"I'm not a princess, I'm a ballerina."

"Oh, Ballerina? I love you."

"I love you too, darling."

Palm Sunday, or How To Torture A Young Family

Mass on Palm Sunday. Ah.

Our first mistake was to pick our mass time without reference to which priest would be presiding. Our parish has two wonderful priests, and we like both of them very much. However, one is lucid and mercifully succicint while the other is pretty elderly and not in the best of health, and a very sloooooooow talker to boot. Veeeeeeeeeery sloooooooooooow. Think Princess Bride guy, without the speech impediment.

Katie and Beth did a wonderful job. I need to state this first. Katie followed along in her new First Communion mass book, and she enjoyed reading the entire gospel as it was read. Beth couldn't quite follow the entire thing, but she could read the congregation's lines and that was enough to hold her interest.

Abbie, though, just really wanted to talk to Chris. She had a lot on her mind, I guess, and the long pauses between each word being read seemed like the perfect time to convey these thoughts to her Daddy. Claire, on the other hand, was not happy with all the attention I was giving Beth (I was pointing out the audience response ahead of time so that she would be ready) and decided that I need to read something to her. Right now. She wasn't satisfied by my efforts to show both her and the Beth the same book and in protest she began to squirm against me, evidently trying to touch as much of my body at once as humanly possible. And so Beth leaned in closer to me as well, both to see the book better and, I suspect, to defend her territory. And at that moment the baby started to kick me. Hard. I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. Black spots were literally growing around my peripheral vision and it was becoming impossible to breathe. Meanwhile, Claire began crying because she wanted attention, Beth was shoving her head right into the part of my stomach where the baby was squirming, and the priest was up on the alter taking a full minute to read each. and. every. line. And then Abbie decided that she needed to be near Mommy as well.

We were smack in the middle of the pew, and there was nowhere for me to flee. Cue hormonal pregnant tears.

So Claire was crying, I was crying, Abbie was clearly thinking about crying, the baby was trying to break my ribs, Beth was shoving the book at me to keep on track, and Chris - from his end of the pew where there was air to breathe and just one, perfectly behaved 7 year old quietly reading, gave me a look that clearly said, "what is your problem?"

And Pilate said to the crowd, "What offense has this man committed?"
And they responded, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

Holy Week is going to be great. No, really, it is. Because I'm getting my own pew. And we'll see then who gets to leave mass with dry eyes.

38 weeks down, 15 days to go....

Eeep.

Commence panic.


(This is only a countdown to my due date - potential c-section is still not a sure thing, nor has it been scheduled yet!)

The Mole's Hollow - not just a euphemism!

Remember the post where I mentioned my fear of whatever was rustling in the dead weeds? Well, guess what? When I named this blog, little did I realize just how appropriate it would be.

As far as I can tell, we have at least one mole living with a vole or two right beside the house. We have one very large, very distinctively mole-ish hole, surrounded by a ton of little holes, with a few vole-specific runways thrown in. I guess it's Wind in the Willows out there, where all the animals are living in harmony. Excepting of course the large mammals living in this house, all of whom are pretty hostile to anything that qualifies as a rodent.

So, what to do? Part of me thinks that the idea of moles hanging around the garden is kind of cute. But then the other part of me saw a picture of a mole, and was terrified by how freaky it looked. Then there's the other part of me, the one who still says "pop," and "nebby," and who thinks that black and gold is a beautiful combination - this part of me can't help but thinking, "I need a safe place - somewhere with lots of concrete, where I can feel at home."

I thought we moved to the fake country. What are all of these real animals doing here?

Every single day, at least once

Abbie will come up to me and ask, "Is that baby coming out now?"

"No," I say, "not yet."

"Okay," is her always her answer, and off she goes on her merry way.

Funny thing is, I think she actually gets it -- I think she actually understands that an actual baby is coming to stay with us. (Side note: carrying a baby seems to kill certain parts of the brain -- the parts that can think of synonyms for words like "actual." Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Still hanging in!

Sorry for the long delay in updates! My site meter tells me that 14 people check this blog out every day, but you 14 people must be very loyal since I've lately been getting "are you still alive? why haven't you updated the blog?" emails every day. Thanks for the love! :) I've been....well, trying to get ready for the baby and stuff, but the real reason I haven't updated in a while is that I've been consistently choosing naps over computer time.

So, just a few quick notes and then I promise to put up kid stories tomorrow!

• First off, to my mom's friend Patty - I got your package, and I am really, really touched. Thank you so much! I fully intend to get a thank-you note out, but I wanted you to know that your gift just made my day, and the blanket is gorgeous.
• Please pray that we can get a date set for this baby's baptism. Our new parish is wonderful in many ways, but the office stinks and thus far I haven't been able to reach anybody who is willing to schedule a baptism. Please also pray that I manage to contain my spite and hatred, both of which are starting to build alarmingly.
• The baby is looking like she's a big 'un, so I'll have a sonogram next week to see if I am definitely C-section bound.
• Abbie has her next MRI the Monday after Easter. We have confidence that it'll show no growth, since she continues to get stronger every single day. Please keep her in your prayers, anyway, though!

Blowing the stink off

Almost all of my gardening knowledge comes from reading The Secret Garden in grade school.
This unfortunately means that for me, "gardening" translates into wandering around with a pocketknife whispering, "Dost tha' think 'tis wick?"

What this means in plain language is that the afternoon the girls and I spent weeding today will either yield a prettier yard in the Spring, or a dead one. I have no way of knowing which it will be.

We had a really good time, though! The weather was beautiful, and it just felt so good to get outside for a good long time. The girls were very helpful, picking up the piles (and piles and piles) of dead stuff I'd hacked up and carrying them over to the fire pit. At first I was overwhelmed by the amount of debris I was making, and I couldn't figure out how I was going to fit all of that into the trash cans, but then I remembered -- hey! I have a fire pit! I felt very resourceful as we fed the dead....whatever they were into the fire.

It's a good feeling to have spent the day working outside, and despite the fact that I am an enormous 34 weeks pregnant and had an entourage of prissy little girls as my labor force, we got quite a lot done. There is still that patch beside the house to do, and part of one down by the swingset, but I distinctly heard....something, and it seemed best to leave that to when Chris is around to shield the girls from my terrified reactions. Uh, or to just let Chris tackle it himself. I love it here in the fake country, but I'm still a city girl when it comes to critters.

Maybe it's time to break out the holy water when...

...you overhear one little bright-eyed, mop-headed child suddenly exclaim to the other, "My finger talks to me!".....

....and she extends her pointer finger and, bending it in time to her voice, responds in a low, growly voice, "You need to eat that sandwich or you'll get in trouble."

Heaven help me, the mirror above my dresser gives a perfect view of the wall above my bed. Let's all hope I don't wake up to any lip-stick prophecies scrawled out backwards anytime soon.

Oh, and Abbie....

...Is doing just fine. The infection is completely gone with the removal of the line. They still haven't identified what the actual infection was - they sent a specimen to the Mayo Clinic, it was so exotic, so it is definitely for the best that it is gone.

She feels just dandy, and the only lingering issue is the fact that she has finally realized what an opportunity she has to milk sympathy. If she wants a toy that Claire is playing with, she is now very likely to remind Claire in a pathetic voice that she's "so sicky." When she wakes up in the middle of the night (the hospital has wreaked havoc on her nighttime routine) she almost always tells me that she can't sleep because "I'm sick. I'll throw up."

Wow. Time to dial down the pity for little brain-tumor-girl, before she turns into a monster. The problem is, she is so darn cute and knows exactly how to charm everyone. The biggest danger is not that Chris and I might spoil her, but that her sisters might. She has the three of them completly wrapped around her little finger, and they seem to be defenceless against her powers.

It just may be that this new baby will truly be the one to "bring balance to the Force," since the Force is so unusually strong in Abbie. But like Darth Vader's last encounter with Obi-Wan, I don't know that she will like the competition.

Dinner out!

Despite the fact that we see the Lobers all the time, practically veiw them as family, and have spent most of the last 7 years living near them, we have never actually done anything with them sans children since college.

We are stupid that way.

Well, Vanessa really took the reins and not only tracked down a babysitter for her kids through our parish, she also found one for us! The babysitters are in fact cousins, and live next to each other. So yesterday afternoon, we introduced the girls to "Miss Clare" (the "Miss" to distinguish her from little Claire) and hit the town with the Lobers. Actually, we hit a local restaurant, where I really did justice to the "eating for two" myth. It was very, very cool -- I almost forgot what it is like to go out with other people! It's so grown-up! And the girls had a very good time, introducing Miss Clare to the joys of Uno (of course) and finding out that she is willing to really commit to a game of pirates.

We may have to do this again sometime. Soon. And as an added bonus, we could actually go out sometime with Becky and Dante, too, something else we never do because they are usually the ones playing Uno and chasing down rogue pirates.

Wow. It's a whole new world. :)

Clean as Snow

Katie had her First Confession yesterday! She was a little nervous, but told me that she felt very "light and happy" afterwards. :)

We've been practicing the Act of Contrition every night before bed, so just about everyone in the house has it memorized. (They have my version memorized, I should say. Chris and I learned different versions, and neither of us like the other's. I do bedtime prayers 90% of the time, though, so my version it was!) So it has been a very common occurance around here to hear tiny voices floating around randomly, saying things like "I am heartily sorry for having offended thee." Beth, of course, as my little word-phile, loooves it and memorized the prayer before anyone else did. Hopefully, Katie confessed the not-quite charitable response she had when she realized this. :)