family camping, at last

Since the Bear incident of last summer, I have not spent a night in our tent.  Between pregnancy and just plain being too busy it has just not happened.  This past weekend I finally got my chance.  We spent the weekend with a three other families who are dear to us at Lake Elmo Park Reserve.  It was a wonderful time!

All the kids at the beach!

Little E was not so sure about the cold water on his toes.

Little E loved the tent.  It took him forever to stop watching the bugs on the ceiling and actually go to sleep!

There's nothing like time with Dad.

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...

more family vacation action

Our second vacation of the month took us to a cabin in Iowa on Silver Lake. It turned out to be a family adventure of "firsts" for Seth. There was fishing, jet-skiing, tubing behind the boat, a four-wheeler and much more!

Seth loved the jet-ski. Yes, he went with mom or dad.

My child turned into a water baby! Here he is with Dad on the tube. They went slow enough but did go under water once. However the fall didn't slow Seth down any, much to my surprise!

The four wheeler was another fun thing to drive. He had to talk dad into taking him on that though...

It wouldn't be a vacation without a s'more by the fire. The downside was this one happened around 10 pm - way too late for our little guy!

Little E was a great traveler once again. He has mastered the art of going with the flow. That ought to be very helpful since our summer is mostly about keeping up with his big brother!

Little E and his Papa.

Little E and Great Grandma Una. Eli's middle name, Richard, was her husband's name. Boy do we miss Grandpa!

Getting the worms ready for fishing! These worms came from our backyard in MN and made the trip thanks to Seth and Jason.

Catching a fish with Papa - still a little unsure of those fish.

Catching fish? No problem - we've got a pro!

The little guy learned from the bigger one. Here's Jason with his 28 in Northern!

Three generations of fishermen waiting for the catch of the day!

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!

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!

signs of spring

These are some signs of spring in the J mom family...

Little E outside with his sun hat and a onesie on.

Our first family picnic in the backyard - steaks, potatoes, garlic bread, corn, and strawberries - yum!

Time at the park. Little E napping under a tree.

My Seth up in a tree!

We know the weather is just a teaser but it sure has been nice to enjoy the outdoors in sun and seventies for a few days at least.

a dino-mite day

Seth's Dinosaur Birthday cake made by yours truly.

Seth turn four over the weekend. It was a dino-mite birthday thanks to Seth's current fascination with dinosaurs. We spent the day at the Minnesota Children's Museum which is currently featuring Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice. Seth absolutely loved it making it worth every penny for the whole family to go.

Seth dressed up to dig for dinosaur bones. What a handsome archeologist he would make.

To add some glam, Seth painted his face at one of the kids craft tables. He was so shocked that I let him do it - I must be a mean mom the other days of the week.

Dad held Seth up close to catch a whiff of that T-rex carrion breath.

Once home again we celebrated with pancakes, our Birthday Boy's favorite, and some yummy cake and ice cream.

the long and the short of it

Last night, I lost it. I went ape on my three year old. There was yelling, there was crying, in fact there was screaming bloody murder as my mother would say.

Seth has been waking up all hours of the night and refuses to go back to bed. We have tried tucking him in multiple times, laying with him (for hours!), music, audiobooks, confiscating toys, lost privileges, you name it. We are desperate to keep him quiet and in his room. I expect Eli, the infant, to be waking up all hours of the night, even being wide awake due to his lack of rhythm as of yet. But my three year old is the one waking up my infant with his screaming and temper tantrums in the night.

Last night it went like this. Before midnight Seth had two night terrors lets call them for lack of any other term. He is screaming, crying, failing arms and legs, talking nonsensically, and is really not awake but most certainly waking everyone else up. (I haven't asked the neighbors for fear they are hearing it too.) Then at 1 am this morning he starts yelling for mom. I enter his room ask him what he needs. He tells me he can't sleep. This is where is all starts.

First it is, "I can't sleep." Then we move to, "I can't stay in my bed." Then "I can't wait until morning." or "It's too long." or "How long is it until morning?" Then it is this and that and the other thing. Next thing you know you have been arguing with a child and giving consequences for two hours!

At three in the morning I found myself physically holding his door closed so he didn't have the choice but to stay in his room. Then he pulls the "I have to pee" card. I was so tired and so incensed that I actually heard myself tell him to pee in his pajamas. Yeah, it was bad.

I hate to admit this, but it was the end. I opened the door and screamed at him. I told him I couldn't wait for morning to get sleep and who knows what else fell out of my mouth. I was pissed off! My husband came and pulled me to my feet and sent me upstairs to the spare bedroom. I took Eli and my pillow and we were gone. Away from the noise. (Of course I still had to get an upset Eli back to sleep but that seemed easy in comparison to what I had just been through.)

I slept fitfully off and on caring for Eli until my husband came to wake me for the day. It was all to soon of course. The night once again, too short. Two hours of sleep does not give you enough to even make it worth your while. Honestly I might as well just give up on sleep altogether. I could finally catch up on my "To Do" list.

Motherhood has its ups and downs friends. Whether you are too ashamed to admit it or not. You have had those days, those long and those short nights. You find the end of your rope and somehow you have to make the rope longer. We have dealt with Seth's sleep issues for over a week now. On top of having an infant waking every three hours to eat I am way past exhausted. I keep trying to make my rope longer but I can't anymore.

God has been silent on this one so I know He is teaching me something. I know last night I failed miserably. He was not proud. I certainly am not proud. But I must move on.

God please help me be the mother you made me to be...lengthen the rope but don't let me hang myself with it.

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...