34 ... or is it 35?

I think it's definitely 35+ by now. Are we really down to the last +/-5 weeks?! Holy moly!

Since last post, we had just one weekend before heading off to the beach for the annual Braud family vacay and then the trip back to NOLA with promises to stay put and not travel anymore until after JuneBug's here. That being said, this post'll be beach-heavy. Plus medical school graduation because that's fancy and important (and has the Brauds together again for another week).

Peter drove the kids and me over to Bolivar peninsula on Monday the 9th to call a lovely beach house home for the week. It was quite stormy that afternoon, and our first evening's walk down to the beach was, well, kind of hilarious. Paul raced to the waves, screeching with laughter, and Ada stayed as far back against the dunes, away from the water as possible, screeching with terror. "Paul! Water! Out! Mama, sit!" while pointing for us to get away from those fatal waves. Can you really even call what comes splashing on a 4yo's ankles waves? Sigh. Ada spent the next half hour (before the rest of us decided it wasn't worth it and called it quits) sitting in the wagon, watching Paul like an eagle. Spoiler: she eventually got over it - thank God!

Her mini-bed; now, this she liked!

So, here's the rundown for what each day looked like, and then I'll just fill in with any unique little tidbits; mostly, though, our 7ish days on the beach each summer are pretty similar to each other. We'd wake at kids' waking hour because there's no vacation from that, have breakfast and play on the deck/in the house until about 9-9:30. At that time everyone was sunscreened and suited up, ready for the morning session, where we'd set up camp under the canopy with chairs, novels, and sandcastle toys until lunch around noon. After lunch, I read to and put the kids to bed for a good 2+ hours, after which we went down for the evening session, with frosty drinks, less sunscreen, and closer to the tide gone out until sunset. Dinner was usually around 7:30 or so, and kids were asleep for, oh, 9ish.

Now for the anecdotes. Tuesday was a half-half day for Ada as far as hating - accepting the beach, (she doesn't like loud things, so was it the water's noise? One will never know.) but Paul was just game as could be the whole time. He had an excellent partner in Uncle Pete to take him deepish into the water to jump waves, and the funniest one-liner from that kind of play came when Peter asked him if he was cold; he answered, shivering, "No, my body just does this," with complete sincerity. Ha! Wednesday had Ada actually request hands to take her into the water - yay! "Nana, water. Now." "Mama, Ada hand." We definitely obliged. Walks along the shore were great for her by now, and she started liking shell-searching, too. Paul, of course, was in Heaven - Sand! Water! Sand and water! Outside all day! And as dirty as he wanted. (He slept like a log the whole week, of course.) Tante Ginny also arrived Wednesday, so it was the nuclear 5 Brauds + P&A. Thursday saw Ada join Paul's ranks, and any fear or hesitation left no shadow. She was happy to get in and out of the water, get dirty in the sand with Paul, go back in the water, deeper in the water, everything. They both liked having their towels wrapped burrito-style around them after coming out; very cute. Unfortunately, too, we started seeing the first trickles of Jeeps joy-riding up and down the beach ... there was to be a full-fledged Jeep Fest on Saturday. Groan. But first, Papa came in! He arrived after midnight on Thursday in preparation for a full day with us all on Friday, hooray! He spent the majority of his beach time with Paul in the water or digging big holes in the sand; the stuff dads do. We also had kites that day. And Ryan even got to join in after work for a crab and shrimp boil. Whole gang together. Saturday, the last full day, was both the loveliest and the most annoying; it was the best in terms of weather and water conditions and the most irritating because of the thousands of Jeeps parading up and down the beach. We parked our set-up as close to the water's edge as possible first thing in the morning so we wouldn't have to worry about the kids crossing the "street" like in previous days for the variety of soft vs wet sand. But the water more than made up for it, in my opinion. I enjoyed swimming most this day - the water was calmer and had great sand bars, so we could go out kind of far (so as to not hear said Jeeps), and still touch. Paul and Ada sat in a blow-up boat that we pushed back and forth between us and over the waves, and it was so, so nice having a little Knoll-time out there; the kids miss Papa when we're separated. Also, JuneBug loved swimming. It felt amazing! I hadn't had that experience with the other two because, hello, January in Minnesota. It was bizarre feeling the water glide over all of the same (and no extra) nerves on the skin on my belly; I kind of forgot about the belly until getting out of the water; boom, there it is. Finally, Sunday morning, we had a couple of hours on the sand before leaving around 1pm, NOLA-bound.

It was a lovely time, as always, and it was sad to get back to the reg, as always. Except, with kids, it's also sort of nice to get things back. Dylan was a champ in prepping for our return while he was on his own, and the house looked great. We only had to take care of a little laundry and unpacking. And quick! because Mom and Dad were set to arrive Tuesday evening to begin Peter's festivities surrounding finishing LSU med school.

But not before I had a bit of a scare on Monday morning (the 16th now) at the playground with our little school group. I'd walked the kids there with no problems, but around 11am, I had some pretty strong strained-ligament pain that I couldn't just wiggle away. I even laid down on a picnic bench to try to get JuneBug to shift around, but then I started getting light-headed and even having funny vision things, maybe blacking out, maybe tunnel vision? Then I got nervous, I think, and had a few hot waves comes over me. Long story short, a lovely neighborhood mom offered to drive me home while another friend offered to push the kids back home. And it turns out the ligament pain was one thing and the other things were all just low blood sugar. Derp. So, I did right in trying to get baby off of the side that hurt, but the other things were not related to baby at all ... except that I have to eat more. (I didn't know that was possible...) Mind's at ease; JuneBug's ticking along wonderfully - keep on growing!

Now let's shift on over to LSU graduation + family's visit. Wednesday and Thursday were the big days: Wednesday was the "pre-commencement", where the candidates for MD were hooded with their fancy robes; Thursday was the actual graduation ceremony with mortarboards and degrees. Both were mid-morning through lunch ceremonies, and both were about 2 hours. Peter wanted the bigger crowd for the pre-commencement ceremony, as it was tailored only to the medical students, whereas the full-on graduation was for all the health science kids; a difference of about 800 students. So, Peter had his parents, a sister+family, 2 aunts, and his godmother for Wednesday's ceremony, and later that night we added some uncles, another aunt, and the other sister for a big celebratory dinner. It was all-around really lovely! (I'd had my 35 wk check-up first thing that morning, too, and had any remaining worries calmed; plus, baby's head down! Yay, no version on a breach baby [ahem, Ada...]) Thursday's ceremony, while a bit less intimate, was very special because it was the first time someone else said "Dr. Peter Braud". We've all been saying it and teasing about it since he started 4 years ago, but to really hear someone else, also dressed in fancy academic regalia, address my little brother like that was a pretty neat moment. I may have gotten misty-eyed. Proud of you, Pete! Now, Mom & Dad's first two nights (the two nights before grad ceremonies) had a sleepless, coughing Paul. It was awful. He felt terrible and couldn't sleep for whatever tickle that got to him when he laid flat that didn't exist when he was upright and playing during the day. This hacking cough took its toll on the poor boy on Thursday, after 2 nights with much less than normal sleep, and he was carsick on the way to graduation and then slept the entire thing through on my lap. I was just glad he was resting, poor kid! He's been propped up to high Heaven since and has been sleeping beautifully since those 2 awful nights. So, moving along to Friday, then. Mom and Ginny came with me to take the kids to their Flubber Friday art class, and I think Mom was impressed. Ginny'd been before, but Mom had only heard about it. It is pretty great. And that night we just had a normal Knoll fish Friday dinner. It's always nice to sit around the kitchen table talking and drinking after the kids are down. I like those nights. Now we're up to Saturday. We started in City Park at Morning Call for beignets, Nana & Pappy took the kids duck-feeding and playgrounding then back home for lunch and naps while Ginny, Dylan, and I went to our last Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra event; it was a delicious crawfish boil in the blazing sun with a string quartet on the river. On the way home, we stopped for a famous Hansen's snoball. Beignets, crawfish, and snoballs all in one day; now that's a New Orleans Saturday. As soon as we got home, Mom, Dad, and Ginny set off for Houston - with many a hug and kiss because we won't see each other again until after this baby comes along! - and Dylan set to work re-linening the house, making sure I sit tight and take it easy.

Because I'm there now. I need to slow down. It's time, and he's making me. There are no other trips, nothing else to do between now and Babytime besides taking care of the first 2 and prepping for #3.

31

It's been an exhausting yet very wonderfully full week of visiting dear friends and family from several different contexts.

It's just ... now I'm sick. And it's the 3rd day of cold/flu-like sick + worse sleep than usual for a pregnant gal of 31wks.

Last Friday, we ventured over to Dallas, taking our new carseats on their maiden (long) voyage. The kids seem to like them very much! Except Paul threw up in his. Twice. We made it to Dallas, though, otherwise unfazed, had a great, fast catch-up with high-school friends, Jenn & Matt Pierson, meeting their 2 little ones, before heading on to McKinney, TX for my cousin, Bekah's wedding! My whole fam came, which was a ball, and the wedding on Saturday night was lovely, lovely. I love attending weddings. Sunday morning left just enough time for breakfast and Mass in Spanish (it counts! Universal Church, here, and we needed that Mass time) before jumping back in the car for NOLA. Neither 8hr drive was anything to write home about, but I think 2 out of 3 days with an 8hr drive really wiped us out. Lesson learned: too quick a turn-around.

Monday, Dylan called in to work from home because we were unsure about our own health and about what the kids might have (they each had a 6-12 hr fever + Paul's vomit incidents?), and he has a co-worker whose son is undergoing chemo; let's try to limit the influx of bad germs his direction! I started feeling sniffly and then randomly coughing, too ... but we got to welcome an aunt and uncle from Australia for a 3-day visit! They're en route to see their youngest son graduate from college States-side (on a basketball scholarship), and they're making the most of their trip. It's lovely to see them and to host them, but of course we all wish we felt a bit more up for running around the city with them instead of just telling them where to go.

This big, ol' bump is growing well and moving nicely, too, so throw a prayer our way for better sleep and a healthier body to keep up this growin!

Paul's photography!

30 weeks! End stretch!

30 weeks along has kind of hit me smack in the face as being for-real-almost-baby-time. I think I've spent the previous 3 quarters of this pregnancy making things normal - normal for the kids, keeping up normal activity, etc - that all of a sudden, I don't think I've mentally prepared myself for this game-changer, JuneBug. I do still have 10 weeks (ish), which is kind of a lot of time, but I think I want to stop making everything feel normal and start upping the idea of change around here.

For starters, Paul attended a sibling class offered by our hospital, in which he got to put a real diaper on his baby doll, learn about holding babies, what babies do, and had a snack ;). Next, I have been cooking several meals for our upcoming Braud Beach Vacay (which we freeze so no one has to cook on the beach and we get food that's not just sandwiches...), and I've put a Knoll-sized portion in the freezer each time as well; in addition to these, I've stored away a total of 8 post-baby freezer meals. Then, we've started doing things around the house. A little. There are some general space-saving things we've had on the to-do list a while, now, and apparently it took an almost Anna Karenina-like nervous breakdown to just get to 'em. In any case, the last 6 days or so have cleared my head by way of Baby Arrival. Next up is the mental game of the actual birth and early postpartum coping. Woo!

In addition to those house-y things, Dylan and the kids planted some herbs over the weekend and found some worms, of course. Paul dug right in, but Ada was hesitant to grab one! What the weird? That's not a learned behavior! If anything, she jumps right in and does whatever he does, so what is there inherently in girls, perhaps, that made her not want to pick up a worm? Bizarre. Here's big brother Paul showing how it's done + photographic proof of Ada's hesitation.

We also attended our 2nd annual LPO Swing in the Oaks in City Park. I remember loving this event last year, and now that we've been members this year, our experience was made even more enjoyable with food and drinks in a fenced off area. It was lovely; we had gorgeous weather, beautiful music, obviously, and it's so special getting to show orchestral stuff to Paul & Ada - they really are into it.

And lastly for the week, Dylan and I called on everyone's favorite Uncle Pete Tuesday night to come sleep on the couch while the kids were asleep so that we could go to the hospital ... for a UTI. Lame. I say lame because it is a simple fix, but you have to go in to get the fix; it's just not going to go away on its own. And this, the night before my 30wk checkup anyway. So, I was at the hospital twice in two days, adding to Paul's sibling class, that made 3 times in just 5 days. Yuck. But we did learn how quickly we can get there should JuneBug press "alert" in the middle of the night like the others did - silver lining!

Finished & Loved Anna Karenina!

Loved it! But I may have had my very first experience with an anxiety attack a few pages before her own anxiety resolved itself. Unpleasant. Sympathy anxiety with Anna? (Hers was wrapped up in societal rejection, failure as a mother, and mistrust of her worth-giving-up-everything-for love interest; mine was mostly nervousness about the house not yet being "baby ready". I think she wins [or does she...], and I'm ok with that.)

Did I mention that I loved reading this? As much as I loved reading this, my first piece of Russian lit, I most certainly will not delve into a detailed critique of the novel here (way too much to discuss!); I do want to take a short moment to defend my good friend, Jane Austen. Recently, I had a conversation with two (female) neighbors, who were both of the opinion that Austen's, well, basically for sissies and can't stand up with real, strong literature. These two women I was talking to are also self-proclaimed feminists; I'll stand by the importance of context in literature in saying that they're not looking at Austen in her context. So here's where I jump in and name Austen the author of feminists. Bear with me...

Yeah, yeah, Jane Austen writes about love and hesaid-shesaid and the girl catching the right guy and the guy winning the girl, but - and here's the big 'but' - her protagonists are all self-confident women going about their societal life and all of its rules with a little defiance, doing it their own way. Take a look, now, back at Tolstoy's dear Anna, and maybe throw in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and what do you have? Attractive women who start down a path of getting what they think will make them happy, albeit a little unconventionally, that ultimately leads them to ruin!

So you decide who the feminist in this group of contemporaries is - someone who writes a strong woman-in-her-time or someone (coincidentally of the opposite gender...) who writes a strong-willed woman who wills her own destruction.

Just sayin'.

So then Dylan and I watched the star-studded, modern adaptation the other day, and now he wants to read it, too; duh. He's got more knowledge of cultural Russia as a starting point than I did, and I talked to him about several things while I was reading, anyway. Needless to say, we stayed up way too late talking through all the good stuff that was both included in and left out of the movie and had lots of fun with it. Novel gets two eager thumbs-up; movie gets thumbs-up, too, but clearly lacks in comparison.

Last Week in my 20's ;)

29 weeks gestation, that is...

Talking to Gin who asked to see JuneBug

It's been a rather relaxing little-over-a-week down here, mostly because we've had some rainy days, giving us a chance to have a calmer schedule. Perhaps I've mentioned before, since Dylan's been taking the car 3-4 days a week (and sometimes everyday, like when it's thunder-storming), I haven't had the usual errands as my driving force. Consequently, Paul, Ada, and I have engaged ourselves a lot more at home and in the neighborhood. The Little School Group's a bright start to the week on Mondays, and Fridays are a fabulous stride into the weekend-with-Papa, what with the moms' levee walk, art, and/or playground time. The middle days are spent either erranding, if Dylan rides, or busying about at home, in the yard, on the stoop, or on bikes. Paul is getting great at riding his bike; he's still got the training wheels on, but he's a great listener when we're riding in the street, and he even managed the 45min levee walk last Friday! Ada "rides" her trike (with parent-push-handle) when Paul gets to ride his big-boy bike, so it's excitement for both. 

Last week in particular, I made a physical list of all these little crafty to-dos I had building up in my mind, and I wrote it on our dry-erase monthly calendar on the fridge, which is also where I write the shopping lists; that is to say that I saw said crafty-list frequently, and just did things with Paul and Ada that I'd somehow thought was for some "other time" or "if there's time", etc. So, I mended Ada's Easter basket handle (broken from last year's party...), we had round 2 of Easter egg dyeing, we crafted little Easter chicks from Mrs. Ashley's supplies from 3 weeks ago, and built a tunnel out of the massive boxes the new carseats came in. It was great! I had a couple of nights of bad sleep + irritating allergies, so I caved and took some allergy meds, too ... which was also great! 

We even managed a tiny taste of French Quarter Fest last Thursday; the kids and I ferried over and walked the 30-ish minutes to Frenchmen St where a friend was singing some jazz, and we met Dylan, who drove us home afterwards. Biggish pregnant lady walking across the Quarter with a very strange (to New Orleanians, at least) double stroller/bike trailer, I was prepared for some comments. (I'd gotten some before even not pregnant - like "with all them kids, better stay away from that man" or "hands full, eh?") What I got this time was, "Beautiful family!" and "Congratulations" x3, and "Good luck with the birth!". What a pleasant surprise.

Saturday was our, apparently, annual Easter party. We threw one last year and decided we'd keep it up as a way to have Easter egg hunts and fun Easter-y things during Easter. It was pretty chaotic this year, honestly, and a couple of kids went home with "bo-bos" as Ada calls them. Paul and Ada enjoyed having a bunch of friends over to play and eat a ton-o-candy, so that's good.

The next day, after Mass, we explored a part of City Park we hadn't before, and then this rainy week's kept us inside mostly. Whenever there's been a break, we've popped outside for some puddle-play, a walk down to the library for story time, and even got to put our sprouted sunflowers in the ground.

Today, Thursday, started out pretty well, too, as Dylan made waffles for breakfast - on a weekday! - after I randomly mentioned I wanted them, which I never do; he took advantage of that pregnancy craving, I think!





Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot: kids "built a fire" outside once, using that old sled from MN, collecting all sorts of junk and trash scraps from the party - yuck - and Paul's been playing "church", reading a bit out of the "Bible" for us. Allow me to relay this transcript:
<< Jesus, Chapter 2. Jesus found a big cargo ship on the lake. Filled with boxes, big boxes of ... jelly beans. And chocolate. And he ate the jelly beans and gave lots of jelly beans to people without jelly beans for Easter. And then he rose up to his Father. The End.>>

28+ & catching up

In an effort to breeze on through and not get too caught up in long-winded stories, here's a rundown via pictures as to what we've gotten up to for the last 10 days, beginning with Easter in Houston.

Egg-dyeing

Turkey-frying

Peeps-driving-twinkie-cars-making

Ready for early Easter Sunday Mass

Brauds-Knolls-Bivens ~ Happy Easter!

cozy ride home ... Pete borrowed Ada's sunnies

1/2 way rest stop, JuneBug 1/2 way+

P feeling JuneBug & Ada "Nicely. Petting." Lucy

Finger painting! Easter Bunny brought goodies ;)

Friend play while I had my glucose tested (all's well!)

Audubon Park's free music: LPO brass quintet!

Divine Mercy Sunday

Children's Museum fun

We've also returned to our Flubber Friday art class after about a month's hiatus! Then, we had a lovely weekend in that best warm-sun/cool-breeze weather, which included the much-anticipated, twice-postponed Movies on the Point viewing of Frozen. It was amazing, and I may have even gotten a little teary watching our neighborhood's little darlings belting out Let It Go, including Ada. Our Little School Group is already at the letter "V", too, and we had fun making vanilla ice cream in ziplocks as well as baking soda volcanoes.

Paul and Ada have been ticking along, growing fast, saying the "darnedest things", and being really flexible; sometimes I've needed to just sit down a while, and they gladly bring a stack of books 20-deep so we can hang out together. We've gotten to stoop out front, as well (before it's too hot and before the mosquitoes are too nasty) with diggers and sticks in dirt. Also, Paul's doing a few "jobs" for us around the house and doing very well; plus Ada's sorting the silverware as one of hers, cute. Oo, and once, during a snack or lunch time, Paul decided to read the labels on the groceries still out on the table; like, h-o-n-e-y, honey! and B-o-t-a-b-o-x, box? Haha, yes, Paul, that spells wine.

In news for Dylan and me, we now have 3 new, matching carseats that fit in a narrow 5-seater car, yesss, and I'm loving reading Anna Karenina; like, for real loving it. It's my first venture into Russian lit, and, so far, I'm hooked.