Another game

Due to the enormous popularity of Spot the Faker, its producers have decided to launch another game which challenges the audience with a picture. The new game is...

Name That Bottom Half!

Instructions: Examine and carefully consider the picture below. You will then be given a multiple-choice question asking you to identify the one to whom the pictured bottom is attached. Good luck, and thanks for playing Name That Bottom Half.

Name That Bottom Half, Round 1


Does this bottom half belong to:
A) Benjamin;
B) a chicken;
C) both A and B; or
D) none of the above?

Benjamin's Birth Story

I just thought I would throw this in for those who may be interested:

I had been having contractions for a few days, which were causing me much confusion as to whether or not I was in labor, and more than a little frustration.

Well I woke up at about 4am on the 27th and had 3 contractions each about 5 minutes apart. By the 3rd one I was sure I was in labor, so I got up and started walking around. Things progressed quickly, becoming more painful and closer together and I woke Larry up at 4.30am. I called the birth centre and told them we were coming.

We called my sister Maureen's place at some point (times are escaping me here, especially since our power went out the day before and we hadn't reset the clocks yet) and she graciously decided she'd come over to watch the kids, since they were still asleep. (Keep in mind Maureen is also pregnant and she dragged her pregnant self over to my house at like 5am to watch my kids!! She's so awesome!) Our original plan had been to take them with us and have someone pick them up from the birth centre, since my labors (of late) go fast. I think it worked out better the way it happened.

As soon as Maureen got there, we were off. I was coping pretty well, lying in the backseat of the car. I asked (demanded maybe??) that Larry put the fan on high, as the noise was comforting to me. I chanted "I can do this! I can do this!" pretty much all the way there...and discovered (about 3 births too late) the wonderful concept of counterpressure for back labor. I had my fists wedged into my back and it was SO helpful!

I think we got there about 6am or so. They had a beanbag and pillows set out at the end of the double bed. I felt like a cat going into the room, looking for my spot to give birth. I leaned over the beanbag for probably 45 minutes and Larry applied the counterpressure (and lots of it, poor guy!!) -- he was fantastic at it. I always have back labor, and it's the worst part of the contraction for me. Counterpressure pretty much eliminated it.

ANYHOW my back got tired from being TOO bent over for too long, so I knelt over the end of the bed, which was a little higher, and asked for entenox (gas and air) to get me through the last bit. I began to feel lots of pressure and told Larry to get the midwife because something was going to pop. A couple of contractions later and my waters burst. Ben came out within a couple minutes after that.

Long story short, Benjamin Morris: 9lb 5oz, 20 inches long, not much hair, big head, chicken legs, dark blue eyes. Very quiet and placid so far. Cute.

Me: 3 hour labor, panic-free, felt great immediately afterwards, no stitches or other complications. Every one of my prayers was answered in this delivery (ok except for the pain-free part, hehehe) and I am pleased to say, I had the amazing and beautiful birth that I have asked the Lord for all throughout this pregnancy!

As a side note, I asked Larry on Friday to remind me NOT to go into labor on the 27th, as there was a "Fun Run" on in the morning that would necessitate closing the roads around the Family Birth Centre. WELL, not only did I end up in labor on the 27th, but during the actual time of the Fun Run! We were able to see masses of runners, walkers and stragglers going down the street in front of the Birth Centre. I kinda knew that was going to happen! ;)

Photos of Benjamin Morris

Okay, this is Deb. I am feeling well, but tired, so I will not be labelling many of these photos right now! Most are pretty self-explanatory anyway.

We got home this afternoon, and are taking it easy. We would gladly welcome any visitors or telephone calls though! Just don't expect a tidy house! ;)








Ben and Wendy, the midwife who delivered him




























Benjamin and his Aunt Hannah

Benjamin

Benjamin was born at 7:01 AM, 27 August 2006. He was born 9lb, 5oz* and 51 cm long. He has very little hair, and a very round face. Pictures have been taken, and will be posted soon. Thanks to Aunt Moe for watching the other kids. Thanks to Grandpa and Mam-mam, Grandpa and Grandma T., and everyone else for prayer and support. God bless you all!

*Edited by Deb* Benjamin was actually 9lb 5oz, not 9.5lbs. I am still rather impressed with myself though! :)

*Edited by Larry* Yes. I seem to have contracted metric brain from the Aussies, symptoms of which include the inability to process units of measurement which are not expressed in a decimal format.

Fun with bubbles

After home-schooling, Jonathan relaxed today by blowing some bubbles. Grace, having slept in the van earlier, arose early from her nap to join the fun.

Fun with bubbles


Grace chases bubbles


Bubbles chase Grace ... and catch her!


Close-up of bubble boy


Daddy's favorite bubble picture

Spot the Faker -- Round 2

The faker from Round 1


First, a picture of the faker from Round 1, who was successfully identified by Grandma and Grandpa T.

Round 2 is a picture in the carpark outside a grocery store. All three kids fell asleep in the van on the way from Mommy's appointment with the midwife, but one woke up when we arrived at the store and parked. The awake one was asked to pretend to sleep for the photo. Can you spot the faker?

Spot the Faker: Round 2

Sleeping beauties

Larry and I just thought we'd share one of the many reasons we enjoy being parents to these children. They are just so beautiful, and it's never easier to see than when they are asleep (hehehe). Having said that, see if you can spot the faker!! ;)

Guess who likes pudding??

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 (12-ounce) can NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1/3 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for accompaniment

1. Combine sugars, cocoa and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Stir in
evaporated milk and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly,
until mixture comes just to a boil. Remove from heat.

2. Place egg in small bowl; stir in small amount of milk mixture. Add to
milk mixture; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Pour into dessert dishes. Refrigerate
for 1 hour or until firm. Top with whipped cream.

Makes 4 servings.

The Travismobile

We are so grateful to Anton, a college friend of Larry's, and his family for generously lending us their Toyota Tarago -- which is of a size large enough to accommodate our family. We have use of this car until December, by which time we should be able to purchase a similar vehicle of our own.

Photos

We had some visitors today! Maureen and her kids came over (with lunch!!) to cheer everybody up. Thank you Moey! :)

If anyone has difficulty viewing the photos, please let me know and I will try to figure out what's going on.

Obviously, I'm still not sure how to work the layout when posting multiple pics, so forgive me!

Well, Larry and I have hatched a plan to start a weblog for our family so that our friends and relatives all over the place can keep up with us. While we can't promise to update it every day, we will try to stay as up-to-date as possible.

Let's start with today, then! The major excitement for our family today came when we bought ourselves a digital camera (for the very purpose of being able to easily add photos to our blog). We are kind of behind the times around here in some ways, but it's going to be nice to be able to keep up with events such as Benjamin's arrival (any day now) and Mae's birthday (coming up in early September) with photos.

Larry is in the midst of a whole bunch off essays. He has finished two so far this term (and he's doing a really great job, I have to say...I believe he got a high distinction on his first one!!). The man is amazing. Considering what a great dad he is, and that he always has time to take care of his excessively pregnant, hormonal wife, I can hardly believe he's even passing sometimes!

We have recently started Jonathan's homeschooling adventure -- in fact we started this week. We received his curriculum late last week and we were all looking forward to beginning. He is using a curriculum called Sonlight, which is very much literature-based. He seems to be enjoying it so far, although he has requested "more activities, and more treats". :) I have told him this will be happening for sure once I have had the baby! Activity isn't exactly top of my list right now, funnily enough...

As mentioned, Mae is turning three in a few weeks! Given the timing with Ben's due-date (they are/were both due August 25, although Mae was 10 DAYS LATE!!) we are probably going to have to put off celebrations for a while. October is when the weather starts getting nicer around here, and Mae has a cousin turning three in October, so her birthday party may be held then. We are thinking a tea-party would suit our little princess Mae-Mae quite well.

Grace is just a bundle of energy -- and some whining. She has a couple teeth coming in, plus is struggling to get over a bad cold (as is her hugely pregnant mama). She is still, for the most part, a joy to be around. She's a cuddly girl and with some coaxing will give out lovely hugs and kisses. I think Larry is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that she soon will not be the baby any more. Personally I am getting used to the fact that around 18 months is the age when our babies become older siblings, so it's not so much a shock to me.

And Benjamin! He is a wiggly little baby, apparently of roughly average size, and I think he's going to look like Mae. Something about his ultrasound pictures just screamed "MAE!" to me. He is due in one week, although I have planned to go into labor (spontaneously of course) tomorrow...we'll see how that goes, I guess...

We are having Ben in a birth centre attached to the hospital where I had the other three. The environment there is more family-oriented -- in fact we are able to have the kids there for the birth (although we don't plan to as I don't want to scar them for life! ). Larry and Grace will be able to stay overnight with Ben and me. The other two children probably could, too, but we decided it would be easier to have them stay with one of my sisters, and they will enjoy that much more anyway.

The flipside of the birth centre plan is that there is no chance of pain relief during labor -- not that I had any with the last two, but it's a little different knowing you have no option. Of course, being attached to the hospital, if there is a problem or I decide I just can't get by without an epidural or something, they can transfer me in a jiffy. I plan to avoid that with all my might.

As for me, I am about ready to be done with this pregnancy. I have had a lot of back/hip/pelvic pain (Larry says discomfort so as not to scare anyone, but it's straight-up PAIN) in the past couple of months and it's getting difficult to do anything. I also wanna hold my little baby! I have made his quilt, assembled his diaper stash (we use cloth), decorated his nursery (the first time we've really had a nursery!), packed our bags, accepted the fact that this house is just not going to get very clean right now...I'm ready to go.

Now to try and figure out how to post pictures here...

God bless, everybody!

Here goes nothin'...

Alright, this is a hodgepodge of photos because I don't know how to do this yet.

What we have here is an assortment of monkeys, plus a few photos of a habitat we've been fixing up for our new monkey arrival, expected any day now. Enjoy!