If my posts smell Powder Fresh today, it's because Madeleine found my deodorant, dug into it, and smeared it on the OddiBook.

How Fortunate!

Tonight my mom brought dinner over from a local Chinese place. These were our fortunes:
Mom: Your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life. (Not really a fortune, but it sounds nice.)

Erin: You like participating in competitive sports. (Not only is this not a fortune, but it is dead wrong.)

Madeleine: Happiness always accompanies with you. (Again, not a fortune, but still funny.)

These still don't beat my family's all-time best fortune, which my Mom got a few years ago:
"Soon, and in good company."

Here are more entertaining fortunes.

Happy Cloth Diaper Day Noah!

Noah in his Mother-ease One Sizewith the Rikki Wrap Cover

Today, Noah is finally big enough to fit a cloth diaper and cover. We have used cloth with Madeleine since she was the same size. Our diapers fit babies 8-35lbs, so we had to wait for him to grow a bit to fit the diapers and covers. It's still a bit bulky, and it gives him a bubble butted appearance, but it fits snuggly.

I only know two or three other families personally who use cloth, and the first thing most people say when they find out is, "Wow. Isn't it a lot of work?" Well, no, not really. I mean, I have a washer and dryer that actually does the work. It's not like I have to go beat the diapers against a rock in the creek to get them clean. Really, the hardest part about cloth diapering is trying to remember to keep them washed. I have no idea how much money we've saved by using cloth. I can say that I've spent close to $100 this month on disposable diapers for both Madeleine and Noah. We've used more than usual this month because we've traveled a lot (we don't use cloth when we go out of town - too much to pack) , Madeleine's GI bug (it's better for infection control reasons to just be able to throw the whole mess away), and Noah using them full-time (too little for our diapers). It's really surprised me how many we've gone through.

Here are some more photos from the last couple of weeks.


Our aspiring cowgirl


Homer is patient with Madeleine, but he does have his limits


Madeleine, Me, Noah


Ring ring - it's for Noah!






Madeleine sitting in a drawer at the Shrine Hotel. She's holding a Bible and singing a made-up song of her own


Madeleine's bed head


Noah and Homer having a conversation


Noah getting a bath in the sink at the Shrine Hotel


Me and Noah

Back at the Shrine

Oddwalk was hired to do the house band for the Shrine's World Youth Day events this weekend. I actually had the opportunity to sing with the band, a rare thing these days because of the kids. It was a lot of fun to sing with a real band, especially when you get such talented musicians as Rick and Theo. Oddwalk and the rest of the band did great, and Noah and Madeleine actually handled things pretty well. Noah hung out, literally, in my sling all day. Madeleine was managed by Aunt Laura, Grandma C, and cousin Mary Anne on Saturday, and by Teen Teamers on Sunday, most notably Kara Eisenbath. She is a busy little girl, and we really appreciated having someone to watch her so I could sing.

My favorite quote of the weekend comes from our friend Erin Hammond (and Noah's godmother):
"Tequilla makes me angry."

Four weeks gone in a flash

Noah is four weeks old today! Here are some pics of him today and one from his first day here.

I swear I did not photoshop this:

I don't even know how to use Photoshop. Gas prices have been falling dramatically since Labor Day (the oil companies' last chance to gouge summer travelers), but this is ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome, that is.

The Prodigal Homer and I'm Putting Puking Toddlers on Notice

Last night, Shannon woke me up at 11:30 pm to tell me the front door was cracked open, he didn't for how long, and our cat Homer was no where in the house. Homer is a two three year old big old fat and fluffy boy who is declawed in the front. He would love to be an outside cat, but without his claws and on our busy road and constant construction in our development, he wouldn't stand a chance. Well, it seems Homer saw his chance last night and mafivde a break for it.

Shannon woke me to tell me he was going to look for him down the street, so I wouldn't wake up for some reason and wonder where he went. Homer is my special kitty and there was no way I could go back to sleep without looking around the house myself. Of course, he was gone. Shannon came back from walking and got his car and drove around the neighborhood. No Homer. I just knew he had been hit by a car or clashed with a critter (racoons and oppossums are pretty vicious animals) and was not comming home. We had to go to bed, but I left the front porch light on in case he was looking for the way home. I realize he's a cat and probably didn't need the light, but it helped me feel better. And as it turned out, it was helpful in getting back in the house.

At five am or so, I was up feeding Noah. My stomach wasn't right (thanks, Madeleine) and got a sprite and a cracker to help settle. On my was back to bed through the living room, I saw something moving in our front picture window. It was Homer! The the porch light hadn't been on, I wouldn't have seen him in the window. All I had to do was open the door and he hopped out of the window and ran inside. He was hungry, but not hurt. I was so excited I picked him up and took him in to wake up Shannon. I certainly hope Homer got a bunch of prowling and exploring in, because it's going to be a long long time before he gets to have an adventure like that again.

Back to Madeleine, she's had some kind of stomach bug over the weekend. Babies are sweet and adorable, and toddlers are cute and fun and full of pure love and energy, but you really know you're a parent when you have to get up and change bed sheets at 1 am. Or you have to change your t-shirt three times in one night because you're child is too little to understand to puke into a pan or the toilet. However, she is all recovered today and has color in her face and enough energy to chase Homestar around the house (welcome back, indeed!) Now I have a touch of whatever made her sick. It's not as bad, but let's just say I can't go too far from the bathroom. Ick.

The Last Three Weeks of Our Life

So I'm finally getting around to setting up this family blog. It's been a fast three weeks since we became a family of four, and the blog kept getting pushed to the bottom of the list of things to take care of. So, I'm going to go back a give a review of life since August 29, 2006.

But first, here are a couple cute pictures from a week or two before Noah arrived.





8/29/06 Noah Matthew born at 9:32 pm at 40 2/7 weeks after induction by artificial rupture of membranes and IV pitocin. 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Shannon of course was there, but we were delighted that our excellent friend Katy Korte could also be there to help coach me and support Shannon and witness Noah's birth. The transport team also attended the delivery because of fetal bradycardia the last five minutes of my pushing. My parents visited that night and brought Madeleine to see us and her new baby brother. She saw him, said, "Baby!" and gave him a kiss when we asked her to, but that was pretty much it for the interest or interaction with Noah. Noah was taken to the well baby nursery to be assessed and weighed after about an hour, after we had seen him, held him, and I nursed him for the first time. That was a little after 10:30 pm, and we didn't get to have him back until after midnight. Apparently, he started grunting in the nursery and the neonatology fellow was called to assess him. Luckily, the fellow didn't really see anything to be concerned about - she didn't even order a chest film or blood work, and at midnight we went to check on him and the nurse told us we could take him back to the room.

My first moments with Noah

Me, Noah, and Madeleine

Dad and Noah

Me with Katy

8/30/06 First full day with Noah! We rested and worked on breastfeeding all day. Actually, there wasn't much to work on except getting him awake enough to nurse, but by the end of the day he was pretty much over the sleepiness and was ready to eat every 4 hours or so. Several visitors came in the evening. Shannon and I had our special steak dinner with Madeleine nibbling on bits of our dinners and then the two of them went home for the night so Madeleine could have a normal night.

8/31/06 Homecoming Day! Shannon and Madeleine came back at lunchtime and we ate together. We packed up and left after we ate and came home. That evening, Mom and Dad brought us dinner and our good friend Kelly visited and we all watched the Cardinal game.

Our little Cards fan, all ready to go home!

9/1/06 Pediatrician follow-up visit for Noah. Down to 7# 4 oz. Our doctor didn't see any issues.

9/3/06 Went to Mass at our parish church, St. Andrew's for the first time as a family. It was a bit of a circus. Madeleine needed to be changed as soon as we got there and was then squirrelly and very much an almost two year old for the entire service. Shannon took her out for the Gospel and homily. Noah peed out his diaper onto my Mom's shirt and I had not thought to pack a back-up outfit, then he decided he needed to eat right before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. So as Shannon and Madeleine came back in, we left. We came back in to receive Communion. Afterwards, we felt brave, so Shannon treated us to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Noah slept throughout the whole meal. Madeleine did okay, but when she's done, it's all over. We came home and I took a nap. I asked my mom if it would always be like this, and she laughed and told me about when she asked her friend Jane, mother of 6, if it would ever get easier. Jane told her,"No, just different".

That afternoon, Shannon's mom and his sister, her husband and baby boy arrived for an overnight visit to meet Noah and hang out with us for a bit. Our nephew Nathan is nine months old and he's great. We had a very nice time getting caught up them them.

Noah at home

Madeleine and Noah

9/5/06 Noah is one week old!


Helpful big sister Madeleine provides Noah with some for the road entertainment in the form of a shape sorter

Said helpful big sister

9/9/06 Oddwalk hired to emcee the Festival of Faiths and Cultures at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. The kids and I tagged along and hung out "backstage" at the main stage outside in the parking lot of the visitor's center. It was grassy and shady and a nice place to relax. Madeleine LOVED the music and the dancing, especially the drums. Noah did well in my homemade tie dyed completely hippied-out sling. I ate the best empanadas ever and had bubble tea for the first time. The tea was good, but I'm still not sure about the enormous balls of tapioca in the bottom.

Madeleine and her dad

Madeleine and Orin

Noah's out...

...and so is Madeleine!

9/12/06 Noah's two weeks old! He had his first "photo shoot" while Madeleine napped. I needed a good picture for his birth announcements and he was extremely cooperative, as long as I would nurse him every few shots.

The camera loves you, Babe!

I love this adorable pout!

9/13/06 The kids and I met with some work friends and their kids for lunch. We have been meeting in restaurants for lunch, but the last time we tried it, it was completely chaotic with five kids under three and four adults - three of whom were pregnant. So we met at Krista's house and someone brought pizza. The kids destroyed the house - Krista's daughter is three and the oldest of the kids. They pulled every toy out they could get their grubby little hands on. Everyone got to meet Noah and it was nice to get out of the house and get caught up with work news updates. Even though it's only been two and a half weeks, it feels like forever since I've worked.

9/14/06 Doctor day for the kids. Noah had his two-week check up. He's up to 8 pounds 13 ounces already! Everything still looks good for him, he's in the 50%tile on the growth charts, and we'll go back at 2 months for another checkup and a round of immunization.

Miss Madeleine, who I'm ashamed to admit hasn't had a well-child check up (and therefore no shots) since nine months, was obviously way overdue for some of her immunizations. She checked out okay, too, a healthy and developmentally appropriate almost two year old. Then she got five shots - DTAP, IPVC, , MMRV, varicella, and Hepatitis A. The nurse was excellent and fast, and Madeleine is a pretty forgiving child and recovered quickly. Then we had to go to the lab and have a lead and anemia screen drawn on her and a repeat metabolic screen for Noah. The lab people were very nice and very good and the blood draw was over quickly, too. Madeleine cried loud and hard, but she held still for the phlebotomist. The lab people gave her several stickers, which she shared with her baby brother. Noah had three or four kitten stickers on him by the time we left. We got some apple juice and french fries on the way home.

9/15/06 Dinner with our friend Christina Bockwinkel-Baker and her son Patrick. Patrick and Madeleine are only a few months apart, so it was interesting to watch her interact with him.

That brings us pretty much up to date. I'll try to put some pictures up to go with all the words.