a horrible, no good, very bad day

Today was a low point for mommy-hood.  I was an emotional basket-case... and so were the kids.  Lots of frustrated mom moments.  Lots of "Khalid sad" moments.  Lots of fussing Nyla moments.  After finally getting Nyla to lie down for a nap in the morning, Khalid and I climbed into a chair and just cuddled, rocked, and cried for about thirty minutes.  We were a mess today. It's a good thing there's tomorrow.  Do you have days like this?    

Toddler Art: Oil Painting

A little post-valentines art... I'm always looking for fun, easy (read: "not too messy") art activities for Khalid. This one is a winner.

1. A plate with a little olive oil, a cotton swab, a few pre-cut heart (the thinner the paper, the better), tape, and a spill mat.

2. Dip cotton swab in oil and decorate!

3. Hang on the window with a little tape.

4. Voila!

Guest Party Blogpost: Karaoke Night

My friend Angel turned 30 this month and to celebrate, she threw her own birthday party.  Yes, that's right, she threw her own party.  This may sound sad to you, but I thought it was BRILLIANT.  I haven't had a real birthday party since I was six years old and although I talk about it, I've never actually thought of throwing my own party--exactly the way I would want it! I may have to follow Angel's lead on this one.

Her party theme was Karaoke Night and it was fabulous and tons of fun, so I asked her permission to share it with you.  Onto the party details...

The party took place in the Al-Wahaa Women's Center down the street from the main school building.  It's quite difficult to find party decor supplies here, so much of what you'll see was brought back from the States by Angel and her husband during their Christmas visit.  The pink, yellow, and black colors she chose for this event were perfect for a fun adult party!  First up is her simple, classy invite:

Using fabric, a sweet handmade banner, and the church sound equipment, she (along with the help of her hubs and a few others) staged a colorfully enticing singing spot that was begging for victims talented artists.  These pictures just don't do it justice.  The colors worked together fantastically.  Hanging from the ceiling were simple streamers (brought from the States), but they added so much to the area.  I wish I had a shot of the whole room to share with you:

  

The delicious food was an eclectic collection of dishes brought by various volunteers from our school.  The food table, as well as the other tables, was topped with cute centerpieces made with tissue paper:

This goes without saying, but this party theme was loads of fun!  Angel and her husband, Nick, started off the singing with the first song (splendid air guitar included) and then handed off the second song halfway through.  It really got things rolling in a smooth, non-awkward way.  By the end of the night, the majority of those in attendance (including myself, who was decidedly going to say seated for the night) got up to belt it out at least once.

Bohemian Rahpsody

Guests were asked to "dress up" and a few actually did.  (I wasn't planning on it until I tried to style my unwashed hair before the party and decided it would look much better teased to 80's rockstar perfection.)  Awards (and giftcards for a local coffee shop) were given at the end of the night for costumes and performances.

Turns out "teased to 80's rockstar perfection" actually means "hot mess."
Khalid is rocking a Rolling Stones shirt and Nyla is sporting her Beatles onesie.
Austin is.... handsome :)

Probably my favorite part of the party (besides the hours and hours of karaoke hilarity) were these adorable handmade truffle favors!  Angel is quite gifted in the creative art department and created each tag herself.  The truffles were DIVINE.  Seriously.  I must make these... and soon.  We ended up with three bags that night and all were gone the next day.

Thanks, Angel, for planning your own, successful karaoke birthday party.  Fun was had by all!  Can you be 30 again next year?

Have you hosted an awesome party lately?  I'd love to blog about it!

Repurposed Shelving

 I am beyond thankful that we were able to purchase some new-to-us bookshelves for our living room because these two will be ready for the dumpster before the year is out.  They are hanging on by a thread... or a nail.

I've been racking my brain these last few days trying to decide where to put the overflowing plethora of toys we have accumulated.  Khalid simply does not need a million and one toys out at once.  Overstimulation anyone?  We've created a one-toy-in, one-toy-out rule to fight this problem.  I've also been putting together some Montessori-ish materials for him lately.  All of these things found a perfect home this week when our decrepit shelves were...shelved.  

So here they are, in all their glory, living out their retirement in the guest bedroom/craft room/throw-all-the-junk-in room, housing our (very well-organized, might I add) abundance of toys and all-things-learning.

Some things on the shelves:

• Three different ring stackers (because you can always use an extra one of those)
• Shape sorter
• Wooden train (because there are two other ones floating around)
• Basket full of animal toys
• Basket full of big legos
• Bucket full of random blocks
• Old computer keyboard (because every toddler needs one)
• Box with interesting things that I want to use for Montessori materials
• Basket full of random containers that I'm sure we'll find a use for in all this
• Puzzles (on top in the old, warped cereal box organizer I made for school)... p.s. writing the name of the puzzle on the end is perfect for organizing like this

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into our home today...

Toddler Activity of the Day: Dropping Toothpicks

I can't remember where I found this activity but I whipped it up, in all its awesomeness, in about 3 minutes.

Fine motor skillz

Step one: Rip off the top of an old spice container that has large holes in the top (empty the contents into another container first if you don't have any empty ones--like me).

Step two: Cut off the sharp ends of 10-12 toothpicks.

Step three: Give to toddler.  Sha-ZAM!

Shaharain Nyla!

Shaharain means "two months" in Arabic.... TWO MONTHS!?  Wow, time has flown, right?  Sorry, Nyla.  I wasn't as much on the ball with your monthly updates as I was with Khalid.  Perhaps it has something to do with a very short little person with lots of energy that lives with us too.... hmm.  Let's get to it!

Weigh in:  Baby girl was born at 9lbs 6oz, went down to 8lbs 10oz in her first week and is back up to 15 lbs.  Yowza!  I wonder if our scale is wrong?!

Breastfeeding:  Nyla is a nursing champ!  It took her about a day to master her latch, and once she did, there was no stopping her.  I have no idea how often she nurses.  We just nurse "on demand" and she's fat and happy.  I imagine it's somewhere between eight and twelve times a day.  Yes, Khalid is still nursing and we've experienced a nursing surge with him (as expected).  He was jealous of Nyla's nursing for a couple of weeks, but when he realized there was enough for both of them, everything was all good.  Sometimes they nurse simultaneously, but Khalid is usually satisfied with her leftovers a few times a day.

Diapering:  This big babe wore orange edge GMD (smallest size) prefolds for about two weeks before moving up to the yellow edge infant-sized prefolds.  In addition, she wore size 0 kissaluvs for awhile too.  They were covered with Thirsties Duo wraps size 1.  When she hit about 11 lbs (shortly after one month), we moved to her bumGenius one-size diapers (the same diaper Khalid wears).  They fit her wonderfully and we only have to use one microfiber insert (trim!).  So far, no poopy blow outs and only a few leaky diapers when mama or baba forgot to change her (oops!).  We've also noticed that she has the same tendency as her brother to NOT pee when he diaper is off....weird... but lucky us!

Sleeping:  When we left the States, Nyla was on a pretty good sleep schedule of her own (we're really not into sleep training but prefer to let her develop her own sleep routine).  She took frequent naps throughout the day, and fell asleep hard sometime around 9ish for the night, waking only once or twice before morning.  Of course, jetlag threw us all off schedule!

Babywearing:  Our sweet girl LOVES to be worn and carried--naturally--and we gladly oblige, rarely putting her down.  Babies weren't designed for cribs and carseats, but were made to be held which is why we don't push the issue, even if it inconveniences us.  So no, we're not haphazardly spoiling her ;-)  Nyla loves the moby which both Austin and I have carried her in.  Austin also bought a Baby Bjorn that he found at a consignment sale for $15 (score!) and she enjoys that as well.  I have a growing affection for my Maya Wrap, a ring sling that got no attention with Khalid.  A friend from La Leche League schooled me on carrying baby upright in the sling.  This doesn't really works for long periods of time but is EXCELLENT for quick trips or when she's especially fussy around the house and I need to put her in something quickly.

New Stuff:  Well, everything's new at this point, but here are some highlights...

Smiles! In the last few weeks, our sweet girl has started smiling (on purpose!).  She really lights up a room and makes her parents act like complete idiots, begging for more cuteness.  We swear her little "coo's" are actually words.

Pacifier: After she turned six weeks old, Khalid gave Nyla her first pacifier.  She was too fond of it at first but it's grown on her some.  Unlike her brother, there are often times she simply does. not. want it.  and pushes it out with her tongue before getting really ill at us for giving it to her in the first place. (Our bad.)

Head muscles:  Baby girl's neck muscles are growing increasingly stronger.  She's holding her head up for a few seconds at a time now and loves to watch her brother act a fool.

Alertness: We can't believe how alert this girl is!  She has multiple long stretches of the day when she is wide-eyed and reacting to what's around her.  Khalid can't wait to play with her, of course :)



Christmas:  Nyla celebrated her first Christmas this year!  How wonderful to be surrounded by all her cousins in the States.

All the cousins

Christmas Morning

With Aunt Lisa, Uncle Brian, and Maddie

Nyla with her Great Aunt Carol

Nickname: No idea where I came up with it, but we've started calling her Nyla-belle quite often.  It has a cute ring to it :)

Happy Birthday, Nyla.

November 5th, 5:00am:
Early contractions started but nothing too serious.  We decided to go about our day as usual.  I started the day with a great prenatal yoga class at the birth center.  Later in the afternoon, I had my hair cut, we ran a few errands, and we met some friends for a late lunch. Later in the day, I started "losing my plug."

6:30pm:
After we got back to Austin's parents' house after lunch, the contractions started getting a bit stronger.  We decided it would be best if I could get some sleep, especially if these were real labor contractions and not pre-labor contractions, so I took a relaxing bath and hopped in bed.

November 6th, 6:00am:
The contractions continued through the night and I lost more of my mucous plug.  The more intense contractions woke me up about every hour but thankfully, I was able to sleep through the more mild ones.

9:00 am:
We decided it was time to call our midwife.  My contractions were becoming more regular even though labor didn't seem too serious yet.  I expressed this to her, and we decided it just wasn't time to head to the birth center yet.  She was pretty certain these were real labor contractions since I lost my mucous plug and had my "show" yesterday, but I wanted to labor at home for awhile.  She told me to go ahead and tell Mom to head this way.

1:00pm:
The contractions were becoming more regular although they would speed up to about 2-3 minutes apart if I was up walking and would slow down to 5-6 minutes apart if I was sitting down.  Austin, Khalid, and I went for a pleasant walk around the neighborhood.  I called Damaris when we got back and told her things were picking up, but that we weren't quite ready to head in yet.

3:00pm:
The contractions started getting serious and consistent.  I called Damaris and told her we were ready to come in.  We did some last minute packing and headed over there with Khalid.  We noticed Khalid was getting a little worried about the contractions.  When one would hit, he would put on a particularly sad face and say, "no, no, no."  Still, we really wanted him to be around for the birth so we continued talking with him and trying to make him feel more comfortable with it, hoping he would come around.  Austin's parents headed to the birth center a few minutes later.  We called our photographer, Christina, and Susan, our babysitter for Khalid, and asked them to meet us there as well.

4:00pm:

We arrived at the birth center and were greeted by our midwife, Damaris, and our student midwife, Lorie.  They checked her heartbeat with the doppler and everything sounded great.  Upon arrival, baby girl started getting more serious.  Apparently going to the birth center was a little kick in the booty for her :)  Khalid really wasn't getting used to Mama laboring so, after hanging out at the birth center for awhile, we decided it would be better for Susan to take him home.

4:30pm:
Damaris wanted to check me and see how dilated I had gotten so she could know when to call in the second midwife.  I expressed my hesitation with her because with Khalid's birth, I had really gotten emotionally hung up on my lack of progression.  Damaris left the decision to us but encouraged me that she could tell I was further along than I had thought.  I agreed to the check and was pleasantly surprised that I was 5 cm and, she was actually able to stretch me out a little bit further to 6 cm!

5:00pm:
Mom and Ray arrived at the birth center.


6:30pm:
It was time to move to the birthing pool, and it was the most relaxed I had felt in many many hours.

8:00pm:

By this time, my mom, Austin's mom, Damaris, Lorie, Christina, and Austin (of course) were all in the birthing room with me.  Austin's dad and my stepdad were waiting outside in the next room.  Everything was calm.  The sun had set.  Adele sang us some tunes.  Labor was serious.  I grew louder and louder as I worked through contractions.  Some were taken in the birthing pool, some on the toilet, some lying on my side, some on all fours, some squatting, some leaning/hanging on Austin, and some while walking.  I love to be mobile when I'm in labor and find it particularly difficult to labor in one position.  Damaris made position suggestions and occasionally checked baby girl's heartbeat with the doppler (in whatever position I happened to be in).  Other than that, she and Lorie remained on the sidelines.

We were ready for a second check to see if it was a good time to call the second midwife.  9 cm!  Holy moly!  I never made it to 9 cm with Khalid so this was a HUGE accomplishment for me.  I felt a surge of energy and motivation.  Damaris suggested breaking my water at this point because baby girl was still so high.  After discussing it with her a bit, we decided it was a good idea.  Sometimes, having a good pregnancy diet can make your water bag really strong and difficult to break on its own.  We're guessing this was the case for both Khalid and Nyla.

8:30pm:
Damaris broke my water without any pain at all (although the contraction that she broke it during was still quite painful).  I got back in the birth pool and she checked me again.  After the birth, she told me that I actually slid back to about 8 cm at this point.  In her wisdom, she decided this wouldn't be the best news for me to hear, especially knowing the situation with my first birth.  I was quite thankful that she made this decision.

For the next few hours, labor was particularly intense.  Damaris asked everyone except for Austin to step out of the room to see if it helped me progress any.  I stalled out at around 9 cm.  I felt the urge to push a few times and Damaris encouraged it, but then decided, after checking me, that it was too early. I don't handle regression well.  There were moments where I completely spaced out.  There were moments when I thought my body would burst and my muscles would explode.  There were moments that were so intense, that I yelled out in a completely primitive fashion.  At this point, my body was going into survival mode. Logic was no longer on the table.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I felt completely out of touch with reality and reverted back to everything innate within my body.  It was truly humbling.  What made this part of labor so difficult was how badly I wanted to push her out even though my body wasn't ready.  Damaris was encouraging me to blow through the contractions rather than bare down.  I can usually handle anything as long as I'm progressing, but I don't do "stalled" very well at all.  At times, between my moments of self-doubt, I verbally coached myself aloud and under my breath.  "Come on, Kayti.  You can do this.  I can do THIS!"

Thankfully, I had an amazing husband and labor coach along with two incredibly encouraging midwives to guide me and give me direction.  Full disclosure, if someone had offered me drugs... I would have taken them, so I'm incredibly thankful to have not been at a hospital where this option would not only have been available but probably offered and encouraged multiple times.  Again, my body was in the mode to survive and, I really wasn't thinking clearly at all.  I needed medication not to be an option.

10:45? (Can you blame me for not keeping up with the time?)
Finally, Damaris decided she would try and hold back my cervix to 10 cm while I pushed.  Unfortunately, we couldn't do this in the birth pool so I had to get up on the bed... on my back... not my favorite position.  But, I was so glad to be moving on to something different.  I started pushing with Austin, Damaris, and Lorie around me.  At some point, they called my mom, Austin's mom, and Christina back in the room.  I was wondering if this was for real, or if I would have to revert back to laboring rather than pushing once again.  Trying not to get my hopes up, I pushed with every contraction and resisted the urge to push when I wasn't having a contraction.  Eventually, Damaris and Lorie exclaimed that they could see her head.  "WHAT?!" I thought.  I really wasn't prepared for that at all.  I guess I had talked myself out of this pushing thing being a reality.  It gave me a surge of energy.  "I CAN do this!" I told myself.

11:11pm:
After the top of her head was out, I was able to reach down and feel her.  I'm not going to lie, I couldn't really tell what I was touching.  There were a lot of things going on down there, but the thought of touching my sweet girl was exhilarating.  I moved to a standing squat position on the bed, resting my hands on Damaris' shoulders as I continued to push her head out.  When her head was completely out, I reached down to touch her, offering soft words from a loving mother in between contractions. "Hey, baby girl, I love you. Come on, sweet girl."  Then, Damaris went behind me to help guide her out and I got down on all fours.

11:14pm:
A few more pushes and.... RELIEF... she slipped out quickly into welcoming arms.  My immediate instinct was to open my tank top and put her on my chest as I had always imagined, but since she came out behind me, it was quite important that I be careful with her cord so as not to break it.  I suddenly realized, she wasn't crying.  The three midwives (another had come in to help once I started pushing), were trying to get her to breathe.  Damaris gave her a few breaths mouth-to-mouth and then asked everyone to start talking to her.  We all began greeting her sweetly and coaxing her to breathe.  "Hey, sweet girl.  Come on, you can do it."  They brought out the oxygen tank.  I prayed.  They helped me turn over so they could lay her on my bare chest.  I kept sweetly speaking to her as she began to cough up what was clogging her airway.  The midwives continued clearing out her throat as I held her close, caressing her sweet hair and kissing her soft face.  Austin and I continued loving on her as she finally let out her first little cry.  The most amazing part was, as frantic as this situation could have gotten, everyone remained relatively calm.  It was like we all knew she was fine.  We all knew God was taking care of her.

On a lighter note...Moments later I delivered a whopper of a placenta to three very surprised midwives.  "Whoa! That thing is huge!" Lorie exclaimed.  At this point, we were all joking and laughing about everything.  I mean, how could I not laugh about all the baby poop smothered all over me?  Apparently I "won the award" for this one at the birth center too.

I can not express the immense joy and burst of energy I felt after giving birth.  I realize a lot of it was hormones, but what an incredible design by God!  I felt alive... invigorated... powerful... yet completely humble.  "I can't believe I just did that," I kept saying.  I sat up in bed and started feeding my littlest nursling who took a little while to get the hang of it.  I was relieved when I finally felt her strong latch.  Beautiful.  Everything was just perfect.  I birthed a 9 pound, 6 ounce baby, free of medication, with only one minor tear that didn't even require stitching.  I am still in awe... not of myself... but of the One who created me to do this.    

**Photographs by C. Taylor Photography