Expected Departure Date: UNKNOWN

Some of you may have noticed that Collin has a new toy.
It is hard not to since it is planted right under his nose.

Moustache May turned into Toy Time.
He currently has no plans for shaving it.
He is waiting for the curls to come in on the sides.
Yay.

I am not a particular fan of my husband's latest accessory, but I agreed to let him keep it a little longer. I fear he will never shave it unless I make him.
(or he wakes up and half is missing-whichever happens first)
I have decreed that next year's prize mustache must be shaved June 1.
(and for the record, he agreed.)

Summer Fun?

While trying to convince my children to play outside in the pleasant heat of our backyard, amidst the ever-present biting mosquitoes, and non-confrontational carpenter bees, I think I promised them something about races and water balloons tomorrow. Wow, I hope it rains! Just kidding, I am not all frump over here. However, I did think of a few (meaning three) games that we could play in such conditions (heat, bees, and mosquitoes).

1. BWHF (Backyard Water Hose Fights) akin to WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation).
It would be nice if we had a three headed spicket with three hoses so my kids could drench the house, each other, make the yard a bog, and further attract yet more mosquitoes to multiply in my yard. Unfortunately, we only have one hose for our single headed spicket, so on to option 2.

2. Minute to Win it: Backyard Edition.
In this round, contestants compete against each other to see who can get the most mosquito bites in one minute. The prize? A bottle of Caladryl Clear to sooth those war wounds!

3. BeeMinton.
We have found it rather therapeutic to take our aggression (when we have them-so rare!) out on the bees that drill into the beams and rafters of our glorious back porch. So, give everyone a racket and see who can hit the most off the porch!

So what do you do in the summertime?

I knew my child had super skills...

So Sam is already good at multi-tasking. What more can a mother ask for. If only he could fit Jacob into this equation somehow, but come on! There has to be a limit to what a 7 year old can accomplish right?

So I am sure this is what they would like to be doing all summer, but I have news for them (and mostly for myself): This is not what it will be like. I would like to think that I will plan a fun outing every week, but alas, I am lazy and have a new baby and will use every excuse I can to stay indoors.

So these are the things on our agenda, but it is not planned or complete:

1. Learn Spanish. (Sam's greatest desire)
Luckily, I know just enough conversational French to get us by. Just kidding.

2. Go to the Star Wars exhibit.

3. Visit family.

So that's about it (so far), but I intend to add more items that will stimulate my children's minds. But I also know that if I make a huge, elaborate plan, we will never accomplish half of it. Did I mention that I have a new baby and have to feed her every five minutes?

So I hope you have a fun summer (and hopefully you don't dread all of your kids being home like I do-because one more is so much harder and all) and will give me some great ideas to entertain and possibly subdue my minions.

Some pics of Zaida...

We love our baby!

To Pump, or Not to Pump: Always the Question

WARNING: IF YOU SUFFER FROM THE FOLLOWING,

YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS POST:

1) YOU ARE A MALE
2) BREASTFEEDING MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE
3) YOU THINK BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS SHOULD GO INTO CAPTIVITY TO FEED THEIR BABE
4) YOU FIND SUCH TOPICS INAPPROPRIATE FOR BLOGGING

I have rejoined the world of lactating crazy people. This is one of those things that I must have blocked from my pregnant mind because it didn't occur to me to get ready in any way to feed a baby. Silly, you may say, but it does require a little forethought. At least as far as getting out appropriate undergarments and such. I am lazy. I have never denied this, and I stand by it. Firmly. And this is where my dilemma lies. And I know some of you have experience with both sides of this, so opinions are welcome!
I have always pumped at the beginning. With Sam and Cooper, they were in the NICU and so I had to. Jacob had a hard time latching at first, so I pumped until I wasn't so engorged. Remember what it's like when your milk comes in? Especially the first time it comes in? I remember I woke up, after days of pumping, (which I fondly refer to as titty torture) and Voila! I had the most foreign and painful things attached to my chest! And they were leaking everywhere! I was in a horrible hospital room, on the most horrible post-partum floor ever, with milk soaked sheets that I was sure my nurse would not notice or change. I felt like I was wearing this:
And so I feel the same way now, except without the pain. I really think that I could have picked whatever size nursing bra I wanted, and I would have filled it in. You want to be a 40 GGG, put it on, and let your milk come in. Only joking, but it did seem that way. (And I don't know any woman who would aspire to such a size.)

My quandry lies in this: I pump now for convenience. It is just plain frustrating to get a small baby to latch properly. I know when she reaches 7 pounds, she will do fine. I am tempted to pump entirely, but I know it gets old. While it is less time spent feeding baby, it is more work.
So for those of you who have pumped for your babes, how did it go for you and what did you like/hate about it?

I am fortunate enough to have an abundance of milk, and Collin was kind enough to look up a recipe for cheese, made from breast milk. Ah, that is most disgusting. Ice cream? Maybe. Just kidding. I would rather eat mayonnaise. And that is saying something.

'My Three Sons' is now 'Adventures in Babysitting'...

I decided that it would be appropriate to change the name of my blog since we no longer have only three sons. Yay for baby girls! More to come...

Zaida Olive Magonigal
April 16, 2010
12:33 pm
6 pounds 10 ounces

19.5 inches

Birthday Boys

We wished our sweet little boys a Happy Birthday by having cake with family and friends, and by going to the movies. Sorry, Jake, you got left behind, but none of us would have had any fun if you went! It was also Uncle Ian's birthday on Monday, so we shared some cake with him.

I think I'm Hyperventilating...

The doctor's office called this morning to change the time of my c-section.

"Congratulations! You get to fast until lunch and the doctor can fit you in on his lunch break."At least I don't have to arrive at 6 am.

For the record, I did ask if we could do the pulling and cutting and searing a day sooner, but alas, he is booked. That must be why I am now on the lunch agenda. Maybe he will sew me up faster.
After I asked for an earlier date, and was promptly denied, I started realizing that I would indeed be crazy to want that because I have waited to do all things improbable until the final 6 days before the baby's birthing. This is my awesome list, and I would be happy to contract some of these things out (and blogging about this is what I am doing to avoid getting started):

1. Hand quilt Zaida's blanket (and find the hoop to put it in)
2. Make cute burp cloths
3. Beg Stacey to embroider Zaida's name on a few things (check)
4. Take Cooper to see the Tame your Dragon movie for his birthday (planned)
5. Have cake and ice cream with family and friends for Jacob's and Cooper's birthdays (check)
6. Sew crib skirt (honestly that can wait)
7. Make room for Zaida's clothes by cleaning my maternity clothes from my armoire
8. Somehow clean up the huge mess that has evolved over the last few days.
9. Laundry (see picture)
10. Sterilize bottles, etc
11. Pack my hospital bag

I am quite certain that there is more, but definitely not less.

9 days, and counting...

I managed to ignore the entire month of March, blogwise. Just like I am ignoring the fact that my kids are watching Voltron on Netflix (Wii Streaming is amazing) and it's 7:37 pm. They should be going to bed, but dearest daddy is away for the evening and I am avoiding temper tantrums by pretending it's 6:37 instead. I can take only so much arguing over the Wii. And it's quiet (maybe they fell asleep?) and I would hate to disturb the peace.
I would really like to know if anyone has any good systems or suggestions that I may implement into a system to regulate how much they can play video games, the computer, or watch television. I can think of many things for Sam, but Cooper is one week shy of four, and while he is very bright, I am not sure that he will get it. So please give me ideas!
I have been very lazy as of late, letting them watch too long, etc. I realized this when I noticed that the one-week-shy-of-two year old is captivated by the TV. I really don't think that the high ratio of TV to toy time is the affector; I think he is just becoming interested. I just don't to foster it now, especially when I think has finally perfected his tantrum cry. So do I impose the "No TV Week" now, and detox them now, knowing that I am having a baby next week, or do I wait and let them become more influenced by the Sketchers ads on Saturday mornings? I think I will find something better to stress about, like lactation.

For the record, I did check my camera for pictures, just in case I took one, but no. Every picture on there has been taken by my one-week-shy-of-two year old. I wish I had some cute new ones, but old ones will have to do. In honor of our new baby arriving on the 16th, I have posted a few baby pictures of the others.

Pictures in order: Jacob, Cooper, Sam

Procrastinating...

I am currently avoiding the rest of the tasks on my list for today. None of them are especially unpleasant, and some of them are downright enjoyable, but alas, my blood pressure is rising, and I feel the need to delay.
So I will share with you, with words, the two amusing and totally picture worthy snapshots of my day. Sorry no pictures today, folks. You'll have to use your fine imaginations.

First, the boys were playing in the backyard. I had rolled the windows in my car down in the front yard. Jacob had also previously scooted his cozy coupe out to the front porch. I hear yells of distress from Cooper, and I ran as they were coming from the front yard, the escapees. I ran out to see that Jacob had given Cooper a boost with his car, to help him try to climb into my car via the window. No Dukes of Hazard here, please! Unfortunately for Cooper, Jacob had left him in his need, and was hanging from the window. The amusing part is that Cooper's pants and such were creeping down so low that he could have been the poster child for "Crack Kills".

Second, the charming children escaped to the front again, unbeknownst to me. I walk bythe door, wondering why it's left open, and at the same time, wondering why I didn't leave it open because it feels so fantastic out today. Earlier, Jacob had run to the street, stopped, and pointed with murmurs of "I know I shouldn't". I informed him that the street was for cars, not little boys who still sucked on pacifiers. So when I found the door open, I expected to see Cooper diggin up my tomato bush that I have never gotten to, but no! Jacob has pushed his cozy coupe into the street, (has been there for who knows how long) and when he sees me, he proceeds to run his car down the hill. Yay! I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to Josie-Grossie-run fast enough to get him. It was cute, and I am sure that anyone would have seen him and not run over him. It was still very hard not to laugh while scolding him.

Now, back to baking and taming my mane.