the famous fertile fair

J and I had our photo taken by this exact sign when we visited the Fair together before we had kids. This photo...not so easy to take and not so happy for the tired, hot kids either...

Yes friends we traveled to the Fertile County Fair and shared the weekend with friends and family too. The weather was horribly hot but the long awaited fair food and time with good friends made it all worth it.

My boys got the four-wheeler stuck in the ditch. Too cute waiting for a tow!

Oh and why you are out in the middle of nowhere why not get some shooting practice?! This gun was awesome and I actually hit the target 100 plus feet out there! (No photos of me shooting the Bereta but that was really fun too!)

Seth was old enough to go on the Fair rides this year. He pulled this off all by himself and love it.

Hold on tight! A little nervous of the first ride on the carousel.

Family adventures have been going on the whole month of June and now into July too. It's time for a much needed break from traveling for this mother of two. Hopefully we can relax for a few weeks now...

vacations are in season

June has been a month of travel for the J mom family. It all started with a trip to my home town to visit my parents and sister...

Seth loved running around the back yard. Funny, I remember when I was taller than that tree...

Eli loved trying out Grandma's high chair, or my old high chair for that matter. Now we just need to start some solid foods.

After a few days together we all went to my Aunt and Uncle's Lake cabin. Well, if you could call it that. They live there year round now that they have retired and it is a beautiful home...

Check out that sunset!

Seth and J mom driving the pontoon. This would be how I got my worst sunburn in years. Good thing the kid was covered in a third layer of sunscreen and better protected!

My favorite spot to relax - Eli loved it too!

The storms that cost three people their lives came just around us at the lake. The weather was scary but we were safe - praise the Lord.

The cutest boys ever!

Practicing a little casting for the BIG fishing trip.

We also went into Battle Lake and memory lane for J mom. We made a quick stop at Granny's Pantry. It's this old fashioned ice cream and candy store. I have fond memories of it as a child. Bringing Seth there to pick out candy was a bit nostalgic.

How can you not love that outfit!?! I heart you too Eli!

Traveling with kids is always an adventure, especially in summer road construction season. Seth and Eli were real troopers. In hopes of getting out some wiggles we spent some play time at a rest stop. It always feels good to get out and walk around a bit!

Seth and Grandma playing at the rest stop play structure.

Eli has to look around and get some relief from the car seat before nursing. It requires stops to be a bit longer...

Then it was back home for a few short days before we got back in the car for another adventure. More vacation photos to come...

we love the toys

I have grown up loving the Toy Story movies. Honestly, they are my favorites! I love the toys, I love the humor, I love the plots. Did I say I love Toy Story?! I do! It was an automatic for me to want to see this one in the theater. I am almost embarrassed to say that is has been over a year, maybe two since I have been in a theater. We just don't waste money on something we are unsure about. Also, watching at home means cheaper and much taster snacks and bathroom breaks without missing the movie.

This time around however, I wanted Seth to enjoy the movie theater experience. On Saturday I headed to a matinee with Jason, Seth and my dad in tow. (A little Father's Day celebration.) It was wonderful! Seth was totally awestruck by how big the screen was. His eyes were HUGE the whole time. Other than a quick potty break he sat great through the whole thing, taking a few turns on laps too.

We all loved Toy Story 3 and I highly recommend it even for your four year old. I wasn't sure they could pull it off but they did. It is very well done and makes the trilogy, or whatever they will call it, a huge success. I even shed some tears at the end. Sitting there next to my dad who enjoyed the first movie with me in the theater back in 1995 and now holding my four year old son on my lap to watch the third movie in 2010. Wow, has a lot of life happened in those 15 years!

The toys are certainly back in town!

need more time, much more

Jason and I celebrated our NINTH wedding anniversary on June 15th. Some years we get away, just the two of us for a weekend. Other years, such as this one...not so much. Having two kids, one only breastfeeding, makes getting away for more than a few hours pretty rough.

In fact most years we take a photo of us, me in my wedding dress even, as part of our celebration. This year it didn't even cross my mind to get out the dress. Kind of sad, but we are way too consumed by all the other stuff life is dragging us through right now.

We need more time together, much more. We have so many goals not yet completed and so many dreams yet to experience. This year things seem to be all about the kids and survival but we know our time alone will come again.

Next year the kids will be big enough to make it without us for the weekend. It'll be bliss to get away and share time with each other. Just thinking about it makes me smile.

Until then... I love you Jason in all we do together. Whether that's putting the kids to bed or watering the garden together or just finding each other in the same bed in the middle of the night. In all those moments we are still, us, and there is much more ahead!

blue in the face

Blueberry Pops, Martha Stewart Style

Today has been an all day rain fest so we are snug inside the kitchen. Seth's first request: more Popsicles please! Today we tried Blueberry Pops thanks to Martha Stewart. They are still freezing but if the taste of the blue goo we poured into our popsicle makers was any indication; they will be amazing.

The important step in this recipe is getting the "blue goo" for the Popsicle and leaving the skins and yuck behind. We used a sieve as Martha suggested. (I also used this method making homemade baby food with Seth and will be doing it again soon with Eli.)

This is how the finished product looked thanks to my handsome demonstrator!

Seth was a riot with the blueberries, considered by him to be a special treat. We have a huge bag a frozen blueberries that we use for the recipes. Thus I knew I had extra out on the counter for snacking but lo and behold the kid downed a pint of them while we were baking today! I think we can expect blue coming through, if you know what I mean...

The Blueberry Bandit!

The blue dude strikes again looking more like a dinosaur this time...

This photo was Seth's idea - I can't agree more. I love time with my big boy!

our official time

Since this post it's official, we're doing it our family completed the Book It@ 5K Walk/Run. Just today I received an email with our official times and scores. If you take a look here you will see our names. I have to admit, times and scores are important, but more important to me...we did it! Seth, Eli and myself had been taking long walks whenever possible. We walk to the store to pick up a short list of groceries, we walk to school, we walk to the park, walk, walk everywhere! I had hoped to do more jogging outside of that but walking forty-five minutes to an hour a day together turned out to be just the ticket.

As a family we all did great for our very first ever walk/run. Eli rode in the jogging stroller and just watched the trees and people pass by with a smile. Seth and Jason got us all jogging for awhile which felt so good! I thought Seth night need to hop on the stroller too but he made it the whole way on his own two feet, minus one carry over the Hamline Ave. bridge. I was so impressed! We have a runner friends...

For you race junkies here is the official info:
J mom and Seth's official time was 46:45.00, a pace of 15:03 per mile. We finished 99th out of 224 women and 28th out of the 41 Women 30 - 39.

Jason and Eli's official time was 40:55.80, a pace of 13:10 per mile. They finished 54th out of 112 men and 14th out of the 24 Men 30 - 39. (They raced us up the hill and we never caught up!)

We are looking forward to our next running adventure!

dedicated to God

the j mom family at Little E's dedication of mother's day.

mother's day is a special day in our church where families have the opportunity to have their children dedicated. a dedication is more on the parents than the child. we stood up in front of our body of believers and acknowledged that we promise to raise Eli in a home where Christ comes first. where we will teach him about the Way, the Truth and the Light. it was a special day for a special boy...

this kid is always so full of smiles!

my baby bright eyes.

dedicated to God on May 9, 2010

He is Risen Indeed!

I love Easter when the weather actually feels like spring and you can see the new life awakening around you! It was a beautiful weekend. He is risen indeed!

Eli and his book from the Easter Bunny.

Seth and his Easter Basket.

My handsome boys!

The J mom family Easter photo - not bad considering the effort this took!

Seth searching for Easter eggs. The neighbor girl saw him outside and came to join him. Seth was gracious enough to share his loot.

Plenty of eggs to open with Jelly Beans, quarters and Peeps.

My Easter Basket Boys.

It's tradition - my baby's always fit in the Easter Basket. Too cute!

three months gone forever

J mom and her little one celebrating Seth's birthday at Perkins.

My baby is already three months old. How do such things happen so quickly. Though I hold him so much of my day, I still long to see his smile when he wakes up from a slumber. Now days he is full of energy, kicking and failing limbs and turning circles on the floor. He also gets cute little cases of the giggles that just have us all rolling on the floor in hysteria. What fun to have such a precious gift in our home. Three months I will never get back but oh, the memories we have already made... We love you little E!

Look at those wide baby blue eyes. I get lost in those every day.

Look what my little Eli found...his thumb. So precious.

steppin' up

Today was my first day wearing a pedometer. We get a friendly little bonus towards our health insurance plan if we do something for our health each year. This year I signed up for Health Partners 10, 000 Steps program. Apparently the average person takes 3, 000 to 5, 000 steps each day. Today I took 4, 197 steps. Pretty average. Considering I was at home all day running after kids with a short walk to the park, not bad. The idea is to get active and get to the 10, 000 steps point so many days a week. Those who are keeping track are much more likely to get in the step their body needs. I have to say, I am curious to see how it goes.

me, beautiful?

I have been nominated! Wow - makes you feel special and that just doesn't happen often enough. Thanks you so much Ally!

Now that I have been nominated a "Beautiful Blogger" I must tell you seven interesting facts about me and then nominate seven more beautiful bloggers. This may be difficult as my every waking moment in the past few years seems to be spent thinking about anything but myself...

1. I am shocked at how hard the transition from one child to two has been. I thought this would be a piece of cake other than the loss of sleep. Not so much.

2. I would love to have something published someday: curriculum, article, book, etc.

3. On the occasion I actually drink a soda, I love to drink Caffeine Free Mountain Dew. I like the taste of Dew but don't need all that caffeine in the evening.

4. There are times when I wish I was still in college surrounded daily by friends and unaware of all the adult decisions I was about to have to make upon graduating. I didn't even mind the homework.

5. I feel unclean showering in a dirty bathroom and thus mine gets cleaned weekly. The few times I have let it go to two weeks I have felt horribly out of control. I may really have OCD!

6. I enjoy doing laundry and vacuuming. It makes me feel like something is accomplished and I love crawling into clothes or sheets that smell fresh from the dryer! (More OCD?)

7. I love to cook and bake. Given more time I would spend it in the kitchen. I like trying new recipes and buying new ingredients. I hope to pass this love on to my children. So far, so good.

Now to award some of my beautiful blogging friends:

1. Jennifer at A Tale of Two Kiddies
2. Emily at Little Home
3. Katrina at Thoughts at 350 degrees
4. Allison at Running the Race
5. Jen at a little norman family
6. Sarah at The Overflowing Cup
7. Laura at Westrum Wonderings

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas
love the Johnson Family
Jason, Mandy, Seth and Eli

Labor of Love: Part 2

Where were we? Oh, transitions.

I stood next to the bed and leaned on Jason while the contractions racked my body. I was also rocking those hips my momma gave me like no tomorrow and breathing out heavy deep breaths right in my husbands face. I remember asking him at one point if I needed a breath mint and he laughed.

While standing and rocking my water broke. Now that is something to experience. It was like this burst and then yuck running down my legs. I do not like to have anything running down my legs - who does?! Then with every contraction more gushing. I was like, "Wipe that off!" Thus Jason's new job was to support me and clean me. Poor guy did great though. It didn't last long.

Penny, my midwife arrived at 3 am as my water was breaking. She was a bit surprised how far things were getting and made sure to get into position. She had the nurse remove all the baby monitor stuff and had me work my way into bed. It was so uncomfortable at that point but there was this realization that I was really getting there which kept me breathing and holding my own. Penny checked me and the next thing I know she wants me to start pushing.

I was like, "Wow, already?" She got her hand back down there and with the first push there was head coming out. She was telling me to breath and I am sure I growled out, "I can't!" She was trying to grab what she needed from the cart next to her and then turned to catch as our little on came out in the next two pushes. Fast - that is the only way I can describe it. Well, painful and fast might be a better description. I mean seriously we got there at 2 am and our little one arrived at 3:30 am!

I was so shocked to have that little bundle on my chest. Jason peeked right away and was the one to announce "It's A Boy!" which shocked us both. (We now are the proud parents of two of the only three boys in our families! We figured the odds were on a girl.) As they rubbed him down the first cries emerged. It was such a beautiful sound to my ears.

What followed was an amazing time. We got to hold our little one and just relax in the quiet. The midwife declared that the baby had left only a small tear that would mend better without her help so she cleaned up the placenta and let us be. The nurse cleaned up around us and then let us be as well. The lights were mellow and we started discussing names. An hour passed before we started to wonder if we had anything else to do. (This was SO different from having Seth.) The nurse came back to check our vitals and I then she took the tiny man to check him out. He was the model of health!

This baby boy was healthy and able to stay with his mom and dad the whole time - what a joy!

We discussed and decided on a name: Eli Richard Johnson. We went back and forth between Elijah and Eli and realized that we would call him Eli anyway so why not just make that his official name?! The Richard part was a bit easier. We wanted a Johnson family name as our boys will be the only ones to carry on that name for generations to come. Richard was Jason's grandfather's name who passed away in 2005. He was a most special, God-fearing man and certainly one whom we always want to have remembered in our home.

Around 4:45 am or so the nurse came back and offered to get me in the bathtub to soak and clean up. They wanted to get Eli warmed so he could get his first bath around 5:30 am, at two hours of life. I gladly accepted and enjoyed some time getting relaxed. When I came out clean and in another gorgeous little "breastfeeding" gown I was deliriously happy and exhausted. Then I watched as Jason gave Eli his first bath and then we held and loved on him until the morning light started to stream into our room.

A blessing I will never forget was our family physician showing up at 7 am to care for Eli. God just happened to have her on rounds this week which is exactly what happened when Seth was born too. It was such a gift to have my regular Dr. and friend meet Eli and care for him right down to his circumcision before we left for home. I knew he was in good hands and that was such a great feeling! God is good!

I mentioned before that this birth was so different from our experience with Seth. I can't even begin to tell you all the ways but if I had to choose a plan of delivery so to speak, it was the way to go. Fast and furious but over and done.

Some of my favorite differences:

1. The calm environment with only the nurse and then the midwife while with Seth we had an entire collection of the NICU staff and extra nurses on hand.

2. No IV's or blood draws as opposed to six stabs before getting an IV started and then being woken up so often to have a blood draw just to prove that yes I was iron deficient but still alive.

3. The midwife just sat on the bed next to me while I delivered instead of taking apart the bed and using those horrible stirrups.

4. Getting to bathe right away and plenty often as opposed to finally asking if I could wash up somehow because I felt so yucky.

There were many small miracles that we enjoyed throughout our stay at the hospital though short lived. Due to the construction project and number of babes being born we were moved out of our room the evening of the day Eli was born. Our smaller room left us ready for our own beds and the comfort of home, but they awarded us with some perks for our inconvenience.

I was also blessed to have some great visitors in my short stay. My girlfriends arrived with lunch and gifts for Eli and big brother on Wednesday. It was so fun to talk with them and share Eli with them. They helped me feel so rejuvenated while in such an utter state of exhaustion.

Speaking of visitors, the Big Brother Seth won the award for the most excited to meet Eli. He ran into the room and didn't even have his mittens off before trying to get Eli in his grip. He held his little brother like a champ and continues to care for him with love.

Handing Seth baby Eli for the first time was so crazy. Just yesterday I gave birth to Seth - how can this be?! My Seth sure seems so much older now that baby Eli has arrived in our home! Oh Lord slow down the time!

So this is running on without purpose. I guess that exhaustion is kicking in again too. Time to go rest with my precious little bundle and best Christmas present ever...

A Labor of Love: Part 1

The birth of a child seems anything but miraculous while you are in the pain of labor, but now that Eli is home and in my arms I see just what a miracle the whole process was. God was looking out for all the details. I'll be honest this story can be sometimes graphic but let's be honest - this is a Labor of Love!

Since my last progesterone shot wore off December 2nd I have been having a number of contractions. That first day I actually thought I might be heading to the hospital but after a hot bath and lots of water things calmed. In the days since there have been contractions that came and went always making me wonder but then mysteriously dissapearing just when I started to get my hopes up.

That's how things went on Monday December 14. That morning I had a few strong contraction and then nothing. While making and eating dinner there were a few more but I figured as all the other times, they would just go away again. Thus I headed out to my church meeting at 6:30 and was a bit surprised to find that I was having contractions during the whole meeting about 15 to 20 minutes apart.

After the meeting let out I needed to run to Target and found myself walking around the store for 30 minutes just to see if I could keep the contractions up. (Let's face it - I was more than ready to have this baby!) While in the checkout line I actually had to lean up against the counter and sway my hips a bit to get through a strong one. The lady behind me gave me the craziest look and I just smiled and left.

Once home I got a few things done to last minute prepare for the hospital but also made a list of stuff to do for Tuesday since I was still not totally convinced this was the real thing. Around 10 pm I tried to lay down but the coming and going contractions made it too uncomfortable so I decided to get some more things done. By midnight I was in the tub thinking to myself, "If they keep up after this I might let myself believe that we are actually going to have this baby."

I got out of the bathroom about 45 minutes later and was convinced. The contractions were every five minutes all through the bath and had only worsened in intensity. I walked around the house and rocked back and forth and timed contractions and then finally woke Jason up just after 1 am for a second opinion. Should we start calling people?

We called my midwife and she decided to have me go in and be monitored and checked. That she would have St Johns contact her with the results of where we were at. (She noted later that I sounded so calm she wasn't sure I was really far enough along to warrant her getting out of bed yet.) With that decision made I called my friend Lora around 1:30 to come and spend the rest of the night at our place to stay with Seth. (Second children means more prep work!) She arrived and we were out the door into the cold night around 1:45 am.

Getting in the car was so uncomfortable! The contractions were strong but the transitions were horrible, up and down - no good. They were coming every three minutes apart too. That was a long ride to St John's in Maplewood. When we arrived we pulled up to the usual spot and I was just like, "Honey, I need out of the car." As Jason is getting me out of the car we are seeing that you have to enter by way of the emergency room after 10:30 pm. I was NOT getting back in the car mind you so a walk was necessary.

I walked in the frozen tundra (-3 degrees) down a flight of stairs and around the side of the building. It was not that far a distance but in that cold and with the close contractions it felt like a trek on Mt. Hood in a snow storm. Fortunately we did not get lost! We entered the door and of course they want me to sit in a wheelchair. Whatever! I bargained for walking next to the wheelchair and the nurse agreed with some hesitation. It was another long walk to the maternity ward stopping along the way to grab the hand rails and rock my hips. That technique along with the breathing is the best for me.

Once to the maternity ward the nurse just kept walking me all the way to a new room (the maternity ward is under construction). She told me that she had seen enough to know I was not going home without a baby. I agreed gratefully and told her she was right on. Once in my new room I got into that beautiful gown that covers what I am not sure and then got hooked up to the baby monitor.

This of course meant laying in the bed for awhile, not comfy. She let me get up after 20 minutes when all seemed well praise the Lord! The not so fun part was being checked for dilation. What a cruel thing they do to you. I love how they wait for you to be in between contractions, as if it really hurts any less. The nurse Cathi found I was too posterior to really know for sure so she called out for "long fingers" to come.

That's all I know her as since that's how they referred to her. No kidding though, she had long fingers and walked up my cervix as she called it. Not fun at all, but then she told me I was a six to seven and I decided not to harm her. Though she kept her LONG fingers in there though the next contraction and determined I was an eight. Then I thought about striking out, but hey, I was eight centimeters?! That was pretty great news.

Especially great news to my husbands ears who figured we were in for a long haul labor. He admitted later that he figured I was going to be at a two or three and hopefully have a baby by 9 am. What faith he had. Turns out I am tougher than he thought. The nurse looked over at me while rapidly trying to fill out my chart and double checked that I was planning on doing this naturally. As if I had a choice at that point anyway. When I nodded that this was in fact the plan she said I could do it.

Transition was the name of the game - the contractions were right on top of each other and strong! Speaking of transitions this is getting long. I guess you'll have to wait for Part 2...

Welcome to our Family!

I am sure to give many more details in the days to come but I wanted to let you meet the newest member of our family...

Eli Richard Johnson
Born: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 (38 weeks to the day)
Time: 3:30 AM (We arrived at the hospital at 2 AM at 8 cm!)
Weighed: 6 lbs. 7 oz. (only five oz. more than Seth)
Length: 19 1/2 in.

Mom meeting Eli for the first time. I was so shocked to here the word, "BOY!"

The proud father of two sons!

Eli resting and warming up after his first bath - Daddy did great!

Our precious little angel with his Daddy and Brother's chin.

Seth ran into the hospital room and couldn't hold Eli fast enough. He is so thrilled to have a little brother and is taking this responsibility pretty seriously. I am in awe of how well Seth is doing with such a huge change!

We're so excited to finally meet this precious little gift from God. He is beautiful and healthy and both mom and son are doing well. We came home Wednesday afternoon and are recovering with the help of my family. We ask that you pray for continued health for us all. We were all so sick in the weeks prior to Eli's arrival and the germs are lingering in our home still.

You'll have to hang on for the birth story as I have yet to sleep more than rare snippets and the computer seems the last priority if you can imagine...

Homemade Hotsling

Now it may not look like it works all that perfectly but let's keep in mind that I am just a day shy of 38 weeks pregnant in this photo and things "hang" a bit oddly! (That would be Baby Irwin - my former, now Seth's, Cabbage Patch Doll - I used for a mannequin.)

I have really wanted a Hotsling or shoulder sling to use with this baby. I know that hands-free will be much more necessary with a preschooler of my own and two day care children in our home also. I kept watching craigslist-mpls for a good deal but nothing in close proximity in my size ever came up. So I started looking around for patterns and who else makes a similar product.

I found some really cute designs on Etsy, but it made me think, if other people are making and selling them maybe I should try to make my own. That led to more looking. I then found that right on Etsy I could purchase a pattern but easier still I could find one online for free here. However after reading the pattern suggestions I just got more confused about to pull this off. I needed more assistance, off to Hancock Fabrics.

At Hancock's I pulled out the old fashioned books of patterns and found pay dirt. On sale for $1.50 was a baby sling pattern. It allowed me to see the cut out form and exact measurements that had so confused me previously. Good old McCall's #M5678 if you are interested.

Using what I learned with the online pattern and what I received from McCall's I made my own over the shoulder baby holder! The whole project took me about only an hour to sew. I always pre-wash my fabrics so that took longer than putting it all together!

I tried to show you here how it is folded. The curve is where the baby bottom will sit, soon I hope. I used corduroy fabric so it would be slightly stretchy but also thick and resilient. There is a black interior and the multi-colored stripe on the outside which allows me to have a plain color if so choose. Totally reversible and washable and ready to carry a baby. Now if I could just give birth!

How Much Longer?!?

When I look down not only can I not see my feet, if my son is standing in front of me, I can't see him either.

I am officially 37 weeks pregnant today. Nobody seemed to think it was possible and yet here I am huge and uncomfortable! I think that fact that everybody expected me to be holding my baby by now had me expecting it too. I find myself impatiently waiting for this baby to make its appearance when in all reality it may not arrive until 40 weeks for all we know.

The mind game is almost as painful and the pregnancy. How on earth do women go past their due dates?! I am sorry if that is your story. I can barely walk and the exhaustion is a killer too. My back hurts, well, everything hurts! On top of it all I have a son who is sick and not sleeping which only seems to make it all worse.\

Seth and I making some funny faces, at a time like this laughter is a necessity!

When are you coming baby?!? Please don't wait until the blizzard hits and the streets are pronounced unsafe for travel. I don't think Jason wants to give birth to this child in our home, nor do I.