True love

In a few weeks Caleb and I will celebrate our four year anniversary. It's gotten me thinking about love.

True love to me is:
-Pulling a tick out my leg with tweezers.
-Doing the dishes
-Telling me I'm beautiful, even when you think my hairdo is weird.
-Watching the kids so I can go to book club
-Getting up to soothe the crying baby at 3am
-Buying me french fries when I'm crying.

I'm grateful Caleb is fluent in my love language!

Another punch in the mommy card.

Years from now at some high school reunion someone will ask me to name my greatest life accomplishment. I'm pretty sure my answer will be "potty training my children."

I'm back in Indiana, and the weather still stinks.

Hello, all of my faithful blog followers (all 14 of you). I have returned from a 3 week vacation and am ready to resume normal life. For this post I will share some lessons learned for a travelling parent.

Lesson 1: 

When flying alone with two children, it is perfectly acceptable to let your infant sleep on the floor AND shamelessly bribe your 2-year-old with candy. Anything to keep the noise level and movement to a minimum.

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Lesson 2:

Looking for a fun family activity? Have a unique pizza night! I made a Bacon Brussel Sprout pizza, compliments of the CPK menu. MMM.

Lesson 3:

Dads make the best babysitters.

Lesson 4:

Exercise is a way of life, and should even be done on vacation. The men in our family prefer push-ups.

Lesson 5:

Seatbelt laws do not apply for sisters.

Lesson 6:

The Mothers' Lounge is a great place to take a baby during church for a nap--even if that baby isn't yours.

Lesson 7:

When en route to the airport, be sure to give yourself plenty of travelling time in case you drive over debris, shred your tire, and have to put on the spare in freezing weather and 40mph winds. Worst travelling day ever.

Our morning routine

Every morning it's pretty much the same. Alaina and I sit at the table at 8 am. Caleb is already at school and Jesse is down for his nap. She debates whether she'd rather have corn flakes or cheerios (the cheerios usually win out), and I sit kitty-corner from her, amused by her enthusiasm over breakfast cereal.
Then it's off to her room where we pick out today's outfit and put her hair in pigtails. She enjoys this process so much it almost convinces me to put my own hair in pigtails.  Oh, to be two again.

Musings of a mom

I don't generally share the deep feelings of my heart on my blog. There is this hesitation because once I throw it out there, I can't take it back. But I'd like to share a little of my heart with you today.
Having a second child was a huge act of faith for me. Alaina was/still is a wonder kid, and I knew that having another baby would disrupt the comfortable routine we had, and demand much more of my time. But it's hard to ignore that feeling when you know the Lord wants you to do something even if you may not want to do it. So Jesse was born, and I assumed that because I was obedient to a prompting that the Lord would somehow snap His fingers and transform me into this power mom, and having 2 kids would be cake. Nope. The first 8 weeks of Jesse's life were the hardest of my life. More tears fell and more prayers rose up in that time than in any other time of my life. Jesse cried all the time, struggled with breastfeeding, and didn't (still doesn't) sleep well. I remember wondering why I felt inspired to bring so much hardship upon myself.
Jesse is nearly five months old now, and we have gotten past those difficult days. He still takes much more care than Alaina ever did, but he always smiles to make up for it. I have recognized drastic personal growth in myself over the past five months, and I am beginning to see why it is important for me to have children. It's refining me. And let's be honest: my son and daughter are also my greatest source of joy. Nothing better than hearing your toddler say "I love you so much Mommy."
I am also coming to understand God's nature better as I become a full-fledged parent.
My life motto is "I can do hard things," because doing hard things can strengthen character. And I'm starting to get the hang of this hard thing we call parenthood. I still dread those teenage years though...

The Wonderful World of Subliminal Messaging

There are many things that (thankfully) go over children's heads. I was thinking about this today as Alaina watched Dumbo. It made me reflect on several Disney movie plots, and the mixed messages they send.

Let's take the awkward baby elephant that gets wasted, wakes up in a tree, thus discovering he can fly.

Or the 16-year-old scantily-clad mermaid who defies her father's authority to be near her supposed "soul mate," with whom she has never spoken.

And then there's the strained family dynamics in the pride lands, where an envious uncle murders his brother and attempts to murder his nephew. The nephew returns to avenge his father, and, after a fight to the death, resumes the throne.

And let's talk about the sinister step-mother who subdues her orphaned step-child into domestic slavery. This daughter of a judge is wondering where CPS is at.

And yet I still love Disney movies. Every one. Except maybe The Black Cauldron. That one is creepy.

For those of you not on Goodreads

Looking for a good book to read? I thought I'd share some of my favorite books I've read recently. A major chunk of my ideal day would be spent in bed with a good book, a cup of hot chocolate, and the sun shining through my window.

The Classics- I love these because, along with having a great plot, they tend to be very thought-provoking. This also means they tend to be long. Most of these are 800+ pages. Don't be intimidated!

Anna Karenina- And you thought your family was dysfunctional. This one really gets you thinking about your own relationships, and what brings happiness.
Gone with the Wind-LOVE LOVE. I'm half-way through right now.
Les Miserables- Beautiful. There are some long-winded passages about random historical things, and I skimmed those parts. But seriously I love this book.
The Virginian -this one starts slow, so skip the first 120 pages if you must. Just know that the Virginian is a cowboy who loves the local school teacher, and Trampas is the bad guy.


Just for Fun-Sometimes you just need a mindless book that makes you smile.

Edenbrooke-Jane Austen-esque novel. I'm sort of embarrassed that I read this book in 2 days. It's cheesy, but fun.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society-Charming and witty
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio-true and very unique story. Fun to read.


Not so happy, but really good books

The Book Thief- so this WWII/holocaust novel was a fascinating page-turner with a really unusual narrator. It's been a while since I've read it, but I think there was some language in this book.
Rebecca (by Daphne DuMaurier)- a suspenseful mystery
The Thirteenth Tale- This one was really well written, but kind of dark.

Biographies-typically I'm not thrilled about reading biographies, but I will recommend one:

Unbroken- about a WWII survivor. Holy cow, what a story. I think the movie comes out this year.



I'm pretty sure everybody has already read The Help and Life of Pi, so I didn't include those.

I have appreciated reading so much more since graduating college and leaving behind those mandated textbook reading assignments. Caleb still lives and breathes textbooks, so I can't convince him to read anything more. He did read Ender's Game with me last summer, though. We're redboxing the movie on Saturday.

The Wonder Eater.

There are some days when it's hard to be the mother of my 2-year-old. But then at dinner she says "More broccoli, please," and I get to thinkin' I have it pretty good. Today she asked for just a tomato for lunch. And  then she ate the whole thing.

Story Time Dropout

"Excuse me, but until your daughter learns how to behave I suggest you don't come to story time."

That's what the librarian told me today. So I picked up my squirmy son, my "spirited" daughter, the diaper bag, our winter coats, and my pride, and slumped out of the West Lafayette Public Library. Looks like we'll be frequenting the Tippecanoe County Library for a while.

One of my favorite family photos

This picture is almost 2 years old. If you look closely you will find something amiss. The young boy in the picture is not my son. His name is Byron, and we love him. Byron's class had "Grandparent's Day" a while back. Since neither set of Grandparents lived nearby, he naturally chose us as the lucky replacements. (My mom always says I have an old soul. Maybe Byron honed in on that.) Anyway, I love the way his hand is gently placed on Caleb's knee, like this is the greatest day of his life. It gives me hope that my own children might think I'm worthy of a public appearance once in a while.

White Things

A few white things have been on my mind lately. For instance, does the old fashion mantra "No white after Labor Day" still apply? I have been told that white flatters my complexion, and I find it unfair that I must avoid it for half the year. Plus, many of my shirts are white, and I'm bored of the others. PLUS, white hides the white badges of courage on my shoulders (aka spit-up) much better than more winter-friendly colors.
Which brings me to my second white thing: milk. It rules my life these days. Between breastfeeding and dealing with Jesse's copious amounts of curdled milk-vomit I consider myself a lactation expert. I've eliminated cow milk from my own diet in hopes of improving the situation, but to no avail. Jesse's stomach sphincter seems determined to stay open. And I really miss ice cream. And the last white thing is one I'm sick and tired of talking about, but can't avoid it: SNOW. It annoys me that Midwesterners chat incessantly about the weather, but I'm now realizing why. It runs our lives!!! It's colder here than Alaska, so feel free to pity me. I'm going home in March, and I may never come back.

Christmas, Kids, Cold

I don't really want to be one of those bloggers who only writes about their kids, but that's pretty much my life, so I apologize if it bores you. It's more for the Grandmas anyway. I will try to spice it up in any way I can.

We spent Christmas in South Carolina. I had never been to the South before, and I have a few observations about it. 1) great BBQ 2) friendly people. Some stranger and I got to be best friends in the clearance aisle at Gap because we liked the same shirt. 3) holy cow the biggest churches I have ever seen. most of them were the size of my high school. I love me some good ole fashioned God-fearing people. (Said with a southern accent, of course.)

Jesse got to be Baby Jesus. You know, I always wanted to be Mary in a Christmas pageant. I thought I had it in the bag this year since I was the only one with a newborn. But they let the newlyweds have that job. I was kinda jealous.

Grrr. 

OK seriously? My kid is so cute.

Alaina has 13 grandparents alive. All 4 grandparents, all 8 great-grandparents, and one great-great grandparent. Spoiled much?

Jesse is destined love football. However I don't want him to actually play. I'd prefer a sport that keeps his brain in tact.

I try SO hard to get them both smiling at once. I gave up after this one.

Hmm, what else...

Oh, so I hate snow, and I hate being cold, and after the polar vortex came through I decided that Caleb will get a job in California after he graduates. Luckily he agrees with me.

Just a bit of advice for you westerners: don't call your daughter in the Midwest and tell her that you lit a fire because it was a brisk 65 degrees. Especially when it's currently -40 where she's at. The 100 degree temperature difference might create some hostility.

Bah Humbug

Last night, Caleb ruined Christmas for 4 young kids who came over for dinner by asking, "So, who made up the idea of Santa Clause? Was it Coca Cola?" The look on the parents' faces was priceless. Then he ruined his brother's Christmas by accidentally mentioning what his parents were getting him. He felt so bad that he sang this song all night long (Sung to Faith Hill's song from The Grinch):

Where are you Christmas?
Caleb has killed you
The magic's gone today
His words are poison
He hates the children
Why must he chase Christmas away...

Alaina Funnies

"Alaina, what are you doing?"

"I'm feeding my bear milk."

Ear Candy for a Mommy

I want it that way...

There are some days when happiness lies in iced pumpkin bars and your Backstreet Boys Pandora station. Sometimes I miss the '90s.

Oh, and snuggling with my babies makes me pretty happy too.

Jesse's Birth Story

He's here! Jesse Caleb Miskin was born on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 8:33pm. He was 8 lbs 15 oz, and 21 inches long. Here's how the labor and delivery went...

 

I had been having regular Braxton-Hicks contractions all of friday, which was very unusual for me. They continued the next morning, but then became more like real contractions by about noon. I was still a little in denial, because I was expecting this baby to be a week late like Alaina was. But by about 4pm I couldn't avoid the cold hard facts that I was in labor. This is when Caleb became frantic. He did what any husband would do in the same situation: he started cleaning the garage. I guess it's the male version of nesting. Our plan was to take Alaina to the neighbor's around her bedtime, and then drive to the hospital, assuming that things went similarly to my last labor. Well, they didn't. Things went much faster, and by 6pm it was time to get going. Brief interjection about my contractions: They were much more manageable this time around. I'm attributing it to my faithfulness in walking 3-4 miles every day of my pregnancy up until the end. My body felt much more "fit" for delivery for some reason.

So anyway, my dear sweet irrational husband refuses to go to the hospital at this point because, and I quote, "the dishes aren't done, and we will get fruit flies!" So here I am, suffering through contractions every 3 minutes while Caleb frantically throws dishware around the sink. Since the pain wasn't unbearable, I let him clean. We left for the hospital at 7:15, and made one more quick stop on the way there.

And now here's when things pick up:

7:50pm-arrive at hospital

8pm-walk into delivery room. About 6 nurses were waiting to poke/prod/measure/monitor/fill the birthing tub. I was already at an 8, 100% effaced. At first I thought the midwife was joking. I was expecting to be a 4 or 5.

8:10-I have to push! The tub isn't full quite yet, but I hopped in anyway.

8:11-8:32-Excruciating pushing and searing pain that seemed to last for hours, but apparently only lasted like 20 minutes. For those of you who haven't experienced natural childbirth, think of your insides being torn in half while pushing out an infant Edward Scissorhands.

8:33-Jesse was born.

For those of you doing the math, I spent a grand total of 43 minutes in the hospital before delivery.

A lot of people have asked what I thought about the water birth experience. These are my thoughts:

It is THE BEST way to go if you are planning on a natural childbirth. Being weightless in the water made it so much easier to squat and push. Being reclined in a bed makes it so much harder to figure out which muscles to push with. It was also very relaxing to be in warm water, and I was able to rest between contractions by leaning over the side of the pool. The best part of all was being able to essentially deliver my own child. As soon as I pushed him out the midwife helped me pick him up out of the water and rest him on my own chest. It was so cool to just chill in the tub for a few minutes with my newborn son. After Caleb cut the cord I got out of the pool and onto the bed for placenta delivery/stitches/etc. That part isn't so fun...

As far as addressing some concerns people may have about a water birth:

People may worry that a water birth is more risky than a regular delivery. I did some research on this, and although there hasn't been much research done yet, the 2 major studies I looked at concluded that it is just as safe as non-water births. You can read up here if you are interested.

Other people may be deterred by being in the water with all the "ickiness" of a delivery. To be honest, that's never bothered me, and I was only in there with all that stuff for maybe 5 minutes. I do feel sorry for whoever had to clean everything up though. And no, Caleb did not get in the birthing tub with me. I'm not that much of a hippie.

The recovery has been 100 times better than the last time. It took me 6 weeks to feel this good. Jesse is a cute little thing. He did get a cephalohematoma on his head from delivery (the pediatrician thinks he hit my pubic bone on the way out). But it just a fancy name for a bruise/lump, and will go away in a few weeks. Until then we keep a hat on when he has visitors, because it looks much scarier than it is. I promise he doesn't have a tumor. 

Some pictures!

Here he is.

This is Alaina as a newborn. I think they look very similar. Those Miskin genes are overwhelmingly strong. Also, someday it would be nice to have a small baby. Even like 7.5 lbs would be great. Is that too much to ask?

 Proud father

 Happy (& exhausted) mommy

 The lump.

Our family

We are all a little sleep deprived, but very happy to have him here!

Somebody knows me well...

I'm not on twitter, so the whole hashtag thing still confuses me. But if I was, I'd write something like #mightnamehimcosmo, or #futurecougar.

September recap

2 weeks to D-Day, and here's what the Miskins have been up to:

1. Introducing Alaina to the Potty. She has only gone twice--both when Caleb put her on. I can tell this will be a long process...

2. Planning/executing the best ward party ever, complete with Mexican food, a kid fishing pond, pinatas, and some pie-throwing at the bishopric. Caleb was in charge, and I have to brag about the banner he made. Everyone thought I made it because it was too good to be made by a male engineer. Turns out he uses both sides of his brain! The party was called "La Fayestta," a play on words because we are the Lafayette 2nd ward, and it was a Fiesta. Get it?

3. Alaina is getting excited for her new brother! (Although I suspect she will not be too happy to share her mommy when he gets here. She likes him just where he is.)

August

I'm back! August was a really fun month for the Miskins. At least the first half. Then Caleb left out of town for the second half, which was not so fun. But let's look at the full half of the glass first:

My mom, dad, and Corrie came to visit! We spent 3 days in Chicago, and then a week back in West Lafayette. Get ready for picture overload:

 We went to the Chicago temple first. The best picture we got was from across the street.

 We went to the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower.

 They have these clear extensions on the top level so you can go out and see straight down. Scary! I love this picture of Alaina.

 The best family pic we got up there.

By this point Alaina is ready for bed.

We made a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

 This monkey took a liking to Corrie.

 The petting zoo. Quite frankly, our local zoo was better than this part.

The kids got to climb up in a huge John Deere tractor.

 We of course had to stop by a park because both of these girls LOVE the swings.

Other places we visited:

The Shedd Aquarium

The Field Museum of Natural History

 The Museum of Science and Industry (A highlight for everybody. We could have spent hours more there.)

Other Attractions not pictured: Giordonno's Famous Deepdish Pizza,  The Adler Planetarium, an architecture river cruise, and the Chicago History museum. It was a jam-packed 3 days. So stressful, but so fun.

 What is a trip to Chicago without a stop at Albanese Candy Factory on the way home? Free samples, anyone?

 Alaina obviously had her fill.

We also went to the Fair Oaks Farm Dairy Farm. We went on a really interesting bus tour, played on some fun rides, and even saw a cow birth. (I didn't get any pictures of that.)

We took my parents (or rather they took us. My dad paid) to our favorite restaurant in West Lafayette: Mountain Jacks. 

My mom and I redecorated our guest bedroom. I am going to brag about the comforter. I made it out of a bed sheet via pinterest. I am so proud of it. The rest of the decor we either made or found at garage sales/Goodwill. We love designing on a dime.

 

Other fun included a tour of Caleb's lab at school, an intense game of Password, a repaired kitchen sink, aerobic dance for the ladies, and golf for the men.

Some pics with the fam before they left:

 

Caleb left for what I like to call "Summer camp for PhD nerds" the day after my family left. That left Alaina and I alone for just over 2 weeks. It was lonely, but I was very productive. I read 3 books, made Alaina and I matching skirts, deep cleaned the house and the car, and still found time to watch the BBC Miniseries "Bleak House" on Netflix.

And here's a belly pic just for fun.

7 weeks to go!