Congratulations!!

Joyous congratulations to our friends Todd and Katy who welcomed Edmund Michael into the world last night! Edmund joins his big brothers Aiden and Cael (who were featured here Thanksgiving 2008).

God bless your sweet family!

xoxo

Please pray for Adele Marie

Our dear friends, Tom and Martha, welcomed their 6th beautiful baby into the world on February 11th. Though the delivery went well, she had a planned home birth, they knew that there were some problems that they would be facing post-partum. Please keep little Adele in your prayers. The most troubling challenges are that she is struggling against a heart defect and some lung issues. She is at home with her family, surrounded by the love of her parents and all of her brothers and sisters.

Thank you, Lord God, for the gift of Adele. If it conforms to Your perfect will, please make her whole and allow her family the opportunity to know her and love her. We ask this through our loving mother, Mary. Amen.

Thank you for lifting this wonderful family up to our loving God in their time of need.

xoxo

58008

Now anyone who went to junior high math class on the day that calculators were used will know what my title refers to. Seriously, I'd never thought of them that much before, but they are literally the focus of my day now...can I get an Amen from the other nursing moms out there? Not that I was ever a surfboard (another adolescent reference...vs. turtle (snap, snap)) but this is ridiculous. I didn't know they made bras this big.

Okay, I just had to get that off of my chest. (hahahaha, pun totally intended) Anyway, that's what's going on here.

We haven't had much down time to get photos pulled off of the camera and sized for the web...but I will soon. Promise.

xoxo

Peter (the late) Augustine

We would like to, finally, announce the arrival of Peter Augustine.

01/22/10

9:47 PM

19.5 inches

7 lbs 11 oz

It was a joyous day! Thank you for all of your prayers during our pregnancy!

Love,

a+e+c+p

waiting is the hardest part

Apologies for the time between posts...there's no really good excuse except we've not had too much news in these parts. I wish I could tell you that we've been all wrapped up in our new little bundle of boy...but here we are no babe in our arms yet. Am I a tad depressed about the situation...perhaps depressed is too strong, disappointed is better...so yes, a tad disappointed right about now. Here's why:

Not that I believed it was all pinpoint accuracy, but they give you a due date when you find out you're pregnant. I've actually been given two due dates...at a 7-week ultrasound they told me January 10th and then at the subsequent ultrasounds they all said January 6th. So I'm either 9 days overdue or 5 days overdue depending on who you want to go by. Either way, I have spent nearly 10 months with this "finish line" floating like a little carrot in my mind. Not that I expected Peter to arrive punctually on the day...but I guess I expected SOMETHING to happen. A twinge, a sign, one of the (rather icky descriptive) signs...water breaking, mucus plug, bloody show, contractions. We really should come up with different set of names for these because, ew. Anyway, nothing happened. Both days came and went as if it were just any other day. Talk about anti-climactic. 10 months people...that's a long time.

We also missed shared birthdays (grandpa is 1/3, cousin Jacob is 1/15) and cool birthdates (01/01/10, 01/10/10, 01/11/10). And, okay, that was a little disappointing too.

Now here we are on the 15th. I've tried a lot of things...taken a lot of long walks...eaten spicy food...watched suspenseful action movies...drank a lot of raspberry leaf tea...had two acupuncture sessions...and other tricks and tips that people have suggested. We're closing in on the day when my midwife will send me away with a 4oz bottle of caster oil to chug with results following anywhere from 2-12 hours...and there's the membrane separation (another all-too-descriptively named procedure), additional ultrasounds and probably some other things that we haven't needed to broach as yet.

The prayer that I have, and that I would ask you to join me in, is that Peter would decide to come between now and the 20th. The 20th is the 2-week past due point for the January 6th due date and the day which will make me pretty nervous. I've been looking forward to being able to deliver in the warm, inviting environment of our awesome birth center, under the loving care of our beloved midwives. When we pass the 20th there is only a short window of opportunity before I would be considered too far overdue and therefore no longer low risk...that means my care would be transferred to an OB that I don't know and I will be stuck in a sterile and cold hospital (yes, I know they are far homier than in the past, but they are no birth center) with the real possibility of the "cascade of interventions" leading to the much dreaded c-section. I've never had a surgery in my life...I really would rather not have our birth experience be my introduction.

Anyway, I would appreciate all of the prayers that we are able to get. Thank you, in advance, for adding to the storming of heaven. If you like, it would be nice to ask Sts. Peter, Augustine, Francis Xavier Cabrini, Margaret, Michael and our own little Mary Grace for their intercession.

God bless each of you.

xoxo

cookie, cookie, cookie starts with "C"

Today has been spent hanging with Cababy as usual and trying to fit in some Christmas cookie baking. Tomorrow morning I have a cookie exchange with some lovely ladies. Whoever came up with cookie exchanges was brilliant. What's better than making one kind of cookie and going home with a whole melange of cookie goodness?! It's a really good thing.

This year I opted for an easy recipe (actually 2 recipes because the cookies are pretty small) that makes a LOT of cookies. Not lazy...just efficient. Oh, and citrus has sounded very good lately and I love how the kitchen smells when any citrus is being prepared.

Margarita Cookies. I'll tell you how they turn out, I substituted Triple Sec for the Tequila because we just didn't have any in the house.

"Key" Lime Meltaways. "Key" because I didn't actually go look for Key limes. I was at our market and they had limes bagged up (5 per bag) for $1 per bag!! I'm sure they'll still be very limey. A couple of years ago my friend Martha brought these to our exchange and I fell in love instantly. I hope some of them actually make it to tomorrow. :)

Can I ask how anyone managed to zest citrus before these babies came on the scene? I love, love, love mine...even though I only zest citrus 3 or 4 times each year (I'd love to use it more often...like for lemon curd and lemon or lime bars...but then I wouldn't be able to fit through the doors in our house). It is worth whatever it cost (I think it was around $9) and the little bit of drawer space that it takes up. Also, for those two recipes (that I doubled) I zested about 10 limes and 1 orange in a flash...so there you go.

Can't wait to actually bake and taste them!!

thoughts on a Friday

Random things in my head this morning.

Question: Could my feel get any more swollen and hobbit-like?

Answer: Probably. Then I'll be reduced to wearing slippers to the store (always classy) instead of any of my already uncomfortably tight shoes.

Confession: I am terrible at remembering to take off eye makeup at night. That, of course, leads to looking more like Alice Cooper than anyone really should.

Revelation: Is there anything more intriguing, beautiful, tasty and puckery (I think due to tannins) than a persimmon? My favorite has always been the Hachiya...but you see the Fuyu more often. I think it must be due to the simple fact that it's fun to say (and type) Fuyu.

person #1: "Hey, see this persimmon? It's Fuyu"

person #2: "For me?"

person #1: "Um, no."

Aaaand that's Friday folks. Still haven't gotten around to getting pictures off of the camera. Maybe before the new year?