Meet Lochlan

Lochlan Kenneth McDonald
born 7:13 p.m. June 28 2009
8 lb 4 oz


We're all very glad he's here! The kids are lined up asking to hold him.

Made.

Blanket for a little boy. Can you tell Hollis helped pick the flannel side?

Waiting...

We made the long trip to Harrison, AR yesterday to get checked out by my midwife, Candy. Everything is going just fine: he's still headed south, I show no signs of any complications like eclampsia. Good to know. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be showing signs of imminent delivery, either. Sigh.

While we were there, Candy's assistant took my blood pressure while Livvy was discussing whether we should have twins, triplets, or quadruplets next time, so we can fill up our van. The bottom number was 95, so we took it again with no stressful chatter...and it was 77. That's how much my blood pressure can jump around according to if I'm nervous or stressed out!

So, now we're down to eight days left until my due date. My blog ticker at the right is actually one day early. I STILL need to make a new car seat cover for the boy, and a new summer nightgown for me. I'm wearing my long flannel one, and just burning up. Oh, and we still don't have a name picked out.

I have managed to accomplish some nesting-sewing. Each of the little girls got a new skirt two weeks ago. Hollis has a new set of train high-water pants/shorts. I made a new flannel and quilt cotton blanket for the baby. I need to make something for Liv. She needs a nice summer dress for church.

The box is waiting in the closet, full of sweet-smelling freshly washed baby clothes. We've bought some diapers and supplies for after, and I have a suitcase and box of birth supplies in the van, ready to go. I need to remember to take the camera and an extra battery, too.

Refried Dang Quesadillas

We eat a lot of dang quesadillas around here. I try to keep lots of the cheap but tasty shredded mozzarella on hand from Sam's club, where we also get tortillas. If we're feeling adventurous, we put lots of goodies on them, like leftover chopped meat or vegetables. We eat them for breakfast a lot, too, and those are usually plain because nobody has the capacity to fancy it up in the mornings.
Yesterday, Toby made some quesadillas for breakfast, and they were just plain cheese. But when I ate one, it was really good. Better than usual, I mean. The cheese was chewier and tastier somehow. Toby had a breakfast brainstorm and tried a new way to cook the quesadillas, and it is seriously lovely, and not a hassle at all. This technique probably works better with a non-stick or seasoned cast-iron surface.Put a bit of butter in your pan (or electric frypan). Let it melt into a pool of bubbly goodness and slap a tortilla down on it. I swirl the tortilla around a bit so it's evenly coated. Then sprinkle on a healthy dose of the cheese of your choice. Let it get nice and melted into a cohesive mass, while the tortilla turns golden brown and delicious. Now, here's the secret: flip it. Flip so that the cheese has a chance to brown and develop a nice bit of chew.

We didn't have problems with sticking. Just work your spatula around the edges, gradually making your way to the center.
Then turn it back over and fold it in half. Serves less than you think it will. I took pictures this morning, and after writing this post, returned to the kitchen to see that I'd missed my chance and all the quesadillas were gone. I had to make one for myself.

This girl was sitting in the kitchen at the time, munching unobtrusively on a quesadilla while working on a sudoku puzzle. She has a little book of them that someone gave her, so we sat down last night and figured out how to work them. I like that there's problem-solving involved, and no buttons or glowing screens in sight. I found out later that she was eating the quesadilla Toby left out for me!

Two strange conversations heard in the back of the van.

Hollis to Maggie: I remember this song. I like it.
Maggie: Me, too.
Hollis: Can you hold your leg up and play it like a guitar?
Maggie: Uh-huh.

Later...

Hollis to Olivia: Do you want to play a guessing game?
Liv: Okay.
Hollis: Which one of my fingers is wet?

Um. I'm more concerned with WHY one of his fingers is wet!

Nesting

I think I'm at that stage. I just obsessively cleaned every mirror in the house. I know it doesn't sound like much, but around here, that's some deep cleaning. Usually, I'm happy if crumbs don't stick to my feet when I walk through the kitchen barefoot. There's still SO much to do, mirrors were nice because I took a visibly grimy surface to a shiny-clean one. I even got down in the floor to polish the bottom half of our bedroom closet door mirrors. That's got to be worth some brownie points.

I have some fabric for a new baby blanket for the little guy, and some cool printed canvas for re-covering his car seat. We got that car seat, used, when Hollis was a baby. It had a nice cover at the time, but three babies' worth of crud and nasty have taken a severe toll. I can't imagine putting a sweet brand-new baby in it. Plus, it has sort of a laminated plastic backing on the fabric, that always made the babies sweaty. Since this is a summer baby, I think we need something a bit more breathable. I'll try to remember to post pictures.

We have two and a half weeks to wait. I generally have gone close to due date with each of the others, so I can't delude myself that this one will magically be two weeks early. I am ready, mostly.

Things I won't miss:
Inability to bend over and pick stuff up.
Inability to reach the sewing machine because my belly is in the way.
Multiple nightly urination trips.
Agonizingly creaky pelvis and hip joints.
Well-meaning comments about my belly/family size.
The mother of all heartburn.
Worrying about topping the big 200, blood pressure, iron, toxoplasmosis and listeria.

Things I will miss:
Being proud of how big my waist is. (And how small my chest looks in comparison!)
Pulling the P-card to sit down all the time.


Things I'm looking forward to:
Baby skin that's soft and smells amazing.
Tiny little froggy bum and legs.
Nursing quiet time.
Sleeping on my back sometimes.
Watching the kids all get to know each other for the first time.
Watching Toby with a new baby.

Kids at the Faire

We went down for the last few hours of the Muskogee Festival to help pick up and let the kids have a look around. Each child had been promised a trinket of their choice for being good this month for Grandma and Pa-Pa while we were away working. We had a nice time just being tourists, in spite of the smothering heat. My hands looked like sausages and my feet threatened to burst through my Cons.We were just in time to see Bob the Incredible Juggler's last show of the faire. He is a super-nice guy and we've been watching his show since our first Renfest visit in KC years ago (pre-Livvie!). The way he banters with the audience is priceless. We sat on one side, about halfway back from the stage, but the kids all wanted to sit closer. I told them they could, if they behaved and didn't run back and forth. They all sat there in the second row, looking like stair-steps, and were quiet and attentive the whole time. I was so proud. Even Ivy was riveted.

Then came the shameless commerce portion of the event, when each of the three older looked everywhere for the object of their dreams. Hollis purchased a snazzy pirate hat, Olivia procured herself a pink paper parasol, and Maggie now owns a blue dragon. You can probably see each of these items in the pictures. Toby and I stayed up late the night before making sure everyone was at least a bit decently dressed for the occasion. Corsets for little girls are no problem, but we also produced a fairly respectable pirate coat for the boy, I think. And check it out with those snow boots!When the faire was over, I pretty much sat about while everyone else picked up the booth and packed it all away into Michelle and Tyler's van and trailer. The kids even got into the action, carrying bits that were small enough for them to handle. We were right next to the pub stage, so before we left, Maggie and Ivy performed an impromptu dance number. (I don't know why this is blue and underlined, I can't get it to stop!)We had a really good time with the kids, and it's nice to just get out there and be a patron for a while, instead of being in the booth and helping customers all day. Oh, in this last picture you can see the cart Toby built to pull Ivy around in. He's justifiably proud of it. We're headed out the gate at the end of the day.