C'est moi

I got a new phone for my birthday. A few days later I took a selfie of me and Koy, and thought to myself, "You don't look too bad, Snell." (Snell is what I call myself when I'm talking to myself.) But then I discovered that my new phone has a standard "touch up" feature that automatically smooths out and brightens complexions. I had no idea, and I felt so betrayed. It reminded me of the last time we took Snell family photos, and the photographer thought it necessary to photoshop my arms down to a more acceptable size.
This made me ponder about a few things:
1. Constantly seeing "perfect" images of ourselves and others only leads us to feelings of inadequacy and competition. It's unhealthy and unrealistic and we shouldn't buy into it.
2. Never compare yourself to others based on what you see on social media. For all you know, that "gorgeous" girl you graduated high school with used "touch up" mode to hide 50 extra pounds and a mustache.
3. I have a little souvenier on my body from the pregnancy/birth of each of my children. Alaina left a freckle on my temple and a zillion stretch marks. Jesse gave me permanent bags under my eyes from the sleep deprivation, and about twenty more stretch marks. Koy's mark is a wallet-sized patch of varicose veins on my right lower leg. It's so visible that most people ask me if I got kicked in the shin. Sure, it's not ideal, but that's mortality for you. All are prices I would happily pay for the blessing of having them in my life.

Physical flaws just give us character anyway. I guess the one perk is that now have an idea of what I'll look like after the resurrection.

Playing Catch up

Hello World! It's been so long since I've thrown my thoughts out to you in cyberspace. Let's attribute this to me being the world's most devoted and dedicated mother of 3, never sparing a moment for myself... (or not. My Netflix viewing history will say otherwise...) Seriously, 3 is WAY easier than 2. WHO KNEW?!?! My older 2 kids are best friends and play all the time, so I just get to snuggle the world's best baby and watch yet another episode of the Great British Baking Show. (Ok, I usually only do that when I'm folding laundry, but we have a LOT of laundry.) Life is really good right now. I'm not saying there aren't times when 80% of us are simultaneously crying, but somehow adding Koy to the family has had a calming effect on the other two kids, and it's made me remember that I actually like children!
We're still in West Lafayette, Indiana. Caleb is currently applying and interviewing for jobs. We have loved our time here, but are both ready to move on to the next phase of our lives.
I don't think I even wrote about Koy's birth story. Probably because I'm trying to purge it from my memory. Best baby, but worst delivery. I guess it could have been a lot worse. Nobody was in danger of dying or anything, but let's just say that pushing out a posterior 9.5-pound baby es no bueno. I had planned a water birth again, and we even invited Caleb's mom to be there because we were so confident everything would run as smoothly as the last time. Contractions were a piece of cake. I basically skipped into the hospital at 7 cm dilated. But when my water broke the midwife suspected meconium, and so they nixed the water birth plan. Then came pushing, which was no fun. I mean, it never is, but with your third you expect to push 3 or 4 times and be done. Instead, because Koy's head was turned and he was HUGE I pushed for about 35 unbearable minutes. Lots of pain, and lots of screaming. I'll forever remember looking up and seeing Caleb's mom hiding in a corner with a pillow covering her head and thinking, "Inviting her sure backfired. She'll need therapy after this." The recovery was also a lot more difficult, probably because of Koy's size, and because I'm apparently no spring chicken anymore.
But in retrospect I'll take a harder delivery for a healthy chubby baby who sleeps all the time and never cries except when his older brother kicks him in the head or steps on him or bites his finger.
So yes, life has been great, and suddenly I blinked and my baby turned six months old and my oldest is registered for kindergarten. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to pastry week with Paul and Mary.