So after my last post, there was not in fact one more day till labor.  Nope, baby was quite content and decided to wait to make an appearance  . . . for two loooong weeks.  It took shaking the bottle of castor oil and announcing the eviction notice would be delivered the next day to convince baby that the time had come.

Four hours before an attempt at induction, I went into labor.  Three hours and forty five minutes later:

Alexander Scott was born.

We like to joke that he was so late because he was styling his hair.

He sleeps reasonably well, and eats like a champ and gives us the biggest smiles.  Basically he is my easiest baby, yet.

His big siblings are pretty smitten with him

Its hard to imagine life without him now, he brings us so much joy, but its been a long journey getting to this point.  The pregnancy was filled with severe ante-natal depression and anxiety.  Unfortunately, that is just how my body reacts to pregnancy.  I started experiencing symptoms before I even knew I was pregnant, and they greatly subsided within 24 hrs of giving birth.  Pregnancy hormones just don’t play nice with my brain.

Now that baby is here, I feel like I have finally arrived at a good place.  The intense suffering of this year broke me open and forced me to examine all of the pieces as I reassembled them, deciding what was worth holding onto and what needed to be let go.

As far as blogging is concerned, I am done trying to “hustle for my worthiness,” as Brene Brown says.  I realized that one reason I was writing was because I wanted to prove my value to myself through “likes” and “shares.”  I am done with that.  The internet is a noisy enough place, I don’t want to add unnecessary volume.  If I am going to write it needs to be either because I think it will help other people, or because I enjoy it.

I am still going to be posting here and perhaps doing some guest posts for others, but I am going to feel no “need” to post.  I have no idea how mom bloggers with kids who home-school are able to keep up a regular blog; I started writing this post six weeks ago!

I’d better end this quick while the older two are still entertained!  May 2016 be a year of peace for all of us, both in our hearts, and in the world!

 

 

Oh, final days of the third trimester; how I hate thee.  You bring a sense of eager anticipation paired with uncertainty of how and when things will unfold, along with a desire to avoid the whole bloody ordeal to come.

Do you know what else it reminds me of?  The French Revolution!

Not really.  Rather, while listening to “One Day More” from Les Miserable, I was struck with inspiration.  Seeing how popular it is to rewrite this song these days, I decided to try my hand at it on behalf of massively pregnant women everywhere.  May I present my rendition:

 

One Day More Till Labor

One day more!

I definitely took some liberties by making Valjean sung by a woman and omitting Enjolras.

So now that my to-do list is officially finished, here is hoping that there is only one day more left.

If not, then tomorrow I will be hosting auditions for Les Miserables: Labor and Delivery Edition – it’s sure to be a Broadway hit.  Massively pregnant women singing about their birth experiences: what’s not to love?

 

Anybody else out there counting down the days till labor?  Any tips for how to make the time pass faster?  I’m all ears!

I love rituals.  They bring such a sense of identity to those who partake in them.  Whether it is a family tradition, religous practice, or national observance, they have the power to create a cultural identity.

Just the other day I was reflecting on how much I love several of our family rituals.  When Anne over at ModernMrsDarcy shared some of her family’s unique traditions, I was inspired me to do the same.

Here are some randomly selected Scott family traditions:

1.  Pizza, Beer and Star Trek Nights- This one goes way back to our B.C. days (before children, that is) when we would do a marathon cleaning session of the apartment and then kick back with Pizza, Beer and Star Trek.  For bonus points we would play a Star Trek drinking game (a sip for every time Picard pulls on his uniform, a sip for every time Worf mentions honor, etc).  We still carry on this one with the kids (they don’t get any beer, of course), they don’t find most of the episodes scary since they know phasers have stun settings.

2.  Birth Day Birthday Cake-  Since we have home births, one family tradition we have started is to make the baby a birthday cake on the day they are born.  Granted I am the one who really benefits from this arrangement, but we won’t tell the baby that.  Then the following year on their first birthday we serve the same type of cake at their birthday party.  Sammy got a carrot cake, and Ana got a decadent (and gluten free) chocolate fudge cake.  Here is the recipe for the chocolate cake, check it out, you will thank me later.  Any suggestions for what type of cake I should request this time around?

3.  Sunday Afternoon Naps- The kids might not be the biggest fans of this one, but Nathan and I sure are!  Every Sunday afternoon, the whole family takes a nap at the same time, it is usually the most peaceful and restful part of the week.  Fingers crossed that we can get baby #3 on board with this routine quickly!

4.  Family Halloween Costumes- Every year we all dress up as characters from the same series, or genre.  This year there is a great debate as to whether it will be Marvel or DC Superheroes, Sammy keeps changing his mind. Since I already showed you our family’s Star Trek Halloween in our birth announcement, here is a sample from our Whovian year:

5.  Fourth of July Family Reunion- Every year as a child, my family would go up to my Aunt and Uncle’s cottage on a lake in Michigan for a huge extended family reunion.  There would be swimming, water sports, and all my cousins would be there.  I remember thinking to myself that it was more fun than Christmas.  Now it is really special for me to take my own kids up every year or two and watch them splash and play with their first and second cousins.

These are of course just a few highlights.  Some other favorite little traditions include family tickle time, date nights and read alouds.

 

What are your favorite family traditions?  I would love to hear what you do to make special memories with your family! 

Linking up with Jenna of Callherhappy.com for Five Favorites!