Lula Belle

The Week's End

We are heading out to the woods this weekend.  I have been busy getting everything ready today.  Here are a few moments of beauty that I have come across in the process.

  

rainy days are good for...

having a fashion show with last seasons clothes to see if they still fit,

 
and making a huge mess in the process.

nice warm baths,

  Charlie loves kicking in the water.

and reading books!!

 :)

An Afternoon At The Park

It was a lovely weekend here in Ohio.  Warm and breezy.  Just as soon as I hung our laundry on the line it was dry.  The kids have been rediscovering their outside world of toys games and friends.  Today we ventured to one of our favorite parks to take in the woods.  The kids could spend hours playing in the creeks and collecting sticks.  We make it down the trails slowly but surely.  There was a surprise at the end of the trail today.  A bald eagle had built a nest in a tree not too far off!  There were lots of folks there with scopes, so we got a chance to see the mama tending her eggs.  We will surely have to go back in hopes of seeing some baby eagle heads next month!

  

  

The New Way To Do Laundry Around Here

 

Pretty days are for painting

outside,

 
  with feet

 and friends!

 
 

Catching Leprechauns

For the past two days our house has been in full on leprechaun hunting mode.  There have been lots of great ideas on how to catch one, but so far no luck.  We almost got one once, but the little bugger escaped with a giggle.  Leprechauns are an inch taller than a cats nail and very sneaky and quick!  We are going to have to be on top of our game if we want to get one to take us to his pot of gold!

Tommy is hiding behind a tree with a string tied to the door of his trap.

  Katie is putting out green things to attract him.  So far we have tries beads, lettuce and green m&m's!

Any ideas?

ahhhhh

Today was another beautiful day!  We got up early and walked Tommy to school.  Starting the day early seems to make two things happen.  One, I don't take a shower.  Two, I am super productive.  By 10am we had already done two loads of laundry, picked up the house and gone grocery shopping.  That left lots of time to walk to the park and soak up this lovely weather.  I am getting the hang of this moby wrap.  It is a lot of fabric to mess with, but once it is in place, it is very comfy and convenient.  I decided just to leave it on for most of the day today so I wouldn't have to keep retying it every time I needed to pop the babe in.  He really seems to enjoy riding around in it and I love being able to stand up and do things again.  I swear my butt was starting to fall asleep from all of the sitting!

 
And here are some of those sweet little baby parts that I just can't get enough of.

 




Yay for Friday!!  We are expecting some special visitors this weekend!!

Sunshine!

Today the sun was shining and the air was warm.  We soaked it all in.  The air smelled amazing.  Like mud and smoke and warmth.  Like not quite but almost spring.  One of the things that I love about Ohio are the seasons.  They all last just long enough.  Just as I begin to tire of one it is gone and a new one is here in it's place.  We opened up the house for the first time in months.  It is so nice to hear the outside noises and let all of the stale stuffy air out.  Charlie felt the sun on his skin for the first time today.  He got to take his first real taste of fresh air.  

 
Isn't that sweater great!?!  A dear friend made it for him.  This little boy is loved!

 Signs of spring!

It truly was a lovely day filled with friends, bikes, scooters, snow banks and mud puddles, sunshine and joy!

Lazy Saturday

 

 And mama finally had a productive day around the house!  Life is good.

Charlie's Birth

At about 12:15 on February 21 I woke up after about and hour of sleep having contractions.  I decided to get up and time them since I was 41 weeks pregnant, I was pretty sure that this was it.  I tried to time them for about an hour, but they were really irregular.  Not even close to text book.  That's when I decided to call Kathy, my midwife just to give her a heads up.  She told me to have Matt help time them for awhile and call back.  We timed them for another hour.  They were getting so intense and close together, but still not x minutes long and x minutes apart.  Matt insisted that we call and I'm glad that he did.  While we waited for Kathy we called Matt's mom to come over for support and to help with the kids if they woke up.  Matt was amazing!  He was right there behind me supporting my body while I sat on the birth ball and worked through the contractions that seemed to be coming one right on top of the other.  It was almost like he was feeling them with me.  Mandy, Kathy's apprentice got here first.  She started getting everything ready.  I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed that I was starting to bleed. That was all I needed to decide to hop into the tub.  As soon as I got in, I had the urge to push.  I couldn't seem to stop myself.  Mandy checked me and told me just to listen to my body and do what I needed to do.  Then she got my MIL Laurie to call Kathy and tell her to hurry!!  When she finally walked in I was full on pushing.  My water bag was bulging and within minutes my sweet baby boy was born.  I must have woke the kids up when I was pushing.  I was not quiet by any stretch.  They stayed in their rooms until things seemed to calm down.  I was completely unaware of anything going on around me, but when I had the baby in my arms I turned around to look at Matt and there was Tommy right behind me, sleepy eyed and beaming.  Soon after Katie was at the other side.  He had a short cord so getting out of the tub was a challenge.  When we finally got out, the whole family joined me in the bed.  It was indescribable to be able to crawl in my own bed with my brand new baby in my arms and my wonderful family there with me.  I have never experienced anything like it before in my life.  I have had two other babes, but they were delivered in the hospital with epidurals.  It was a completely different ball game.  At home I felt like I was in control and at times completely out of control, but I was part of the process.  So was Matt.  It was all so primal and real.  It was so empowering to just let my body do what it knew how to do.  What it was made to do.  It was an amazing, spiritual, bonding experience!!

 

  

It seems fitting that all of the pictures are blurry, because that is exactly how I remember it.  
 
My labor lasted all of three and a half hours and in the end we had a 8 pound 15 ounce 22 inch long perfect baby boy!  Charles Walter McEnery entered this world at 3:50 am on Sunday February 21, 2010!  We all just love him so!