Sleeping Changes

Conan WAS sleeping from 9:30ish pm to 4ish am.  It was nice. Then he began another growth spurt.  Now it is 10 -12, 1-3, 4-5:30, 6:30-8.  That means, I get a total of 6 hours of interrupted sleep each night  (I get up before him to take a shower and start breakfast...).

Good thing I am forced to lie around all day feeding him.

I wouldn't mind the growth spurt so much if he would actually GROW.

Sigh.

Schoolwork

Typical school time lecture:

"Connor...do your work."

...

"Connor...do your work."

...

"Connor, stop looking at me to see if I'm going to lecture you about what you're doing. If you know you shouldn't be doing something, don't watch me to see if I notice you doing it...don't do it in the first place..."

...

"Do your work."


All. After. Noon.

Not frustrating at all...

Real Strength

Daddy decided to watch "Conan the Destroyer" this evening.

Samuel: "He's so strong, he fights naked!"

Yep. Pretty much.

Bandage

After tripping a few days ago, Ariana put ice on her knee for 10 minutes and then played the rest of the day as if there was nothing wrong. The following morning, she limped around the living room for an hour.  After I refused to put a band-aid on her knee because it wasn't bleeding and would do  no good, she decided to take matters into her own hands...

Yes, that is toilet paper.

And yes, her limping miraculously stopped once this bandage was put in place.

I'm surprised she didn't demand crutches...

The Thing About Babies

Samuel: "Conan's a lot more fun when he's not hungry or poopie."

Yep.

That's A Problem

Ariana was assigned the task of writing a word problem in math. This was how she began her problem:

"Mom had many children. She had to sell them..."

I'm not sure I like where this is going...

Make Your Choice

When we go to the library, we routinely return home with 25-30 books consisting of science books, biographies, children's fiction, and books for me to read aloud. This week's haul included some Choose Your Own Adventure books.

While searching through the pile of books, Ariana spied "Pilgrim's Progress" (children's edition). She turned to me, her face alight with excitement, and asked, "Is this one where you get to choose where you go?"

Hmmm... not sure how to answer that one...

4 a.m.

When looking down at the sleeping child cradled in my arms--his rosy cheek resting on my chest, his little lips turning up in a dream-induced smile, his perfect little eyelashes fluttering ever so softly in his R.E.M. state, his tiny hands clasping my nightgown tightly as if he never wants me to leave--it is difficult to decide if I want to return to my nice, warm bed, or stay in this moment forever.

The Seventh Sense

Some say there are six senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, sound, and a woman's intuition. I say there's a seventh that comes when a child is born: Mommy vision.

I was lying down with a washcloth covering my eyes. Conan was sitting next to me on the floor in his little rocker/bouncer. Honor came over to "help watch Conan" so I could rest more effectively.

Mommy: "Honor, put that down."  A muffled sound as Honor put down the object.

...

Mommy: "Honor, stop picking up Conan in his chair!"

Honor: "How did you know!?! Are you peeking?  That's just creepy!"

No, Honor, I just know you REALLY well.

Go Speed Racer

Samuel:

"When I grow up and become a race car driver, I am going to be better than everyone else because they only start practicing when they are 16. I'm already practicing going fast on my tricycle and bike and I'm only six!"

Doing School With Samuel

John does not want to do the __________thing.

Samuel (talking to himself): "Wrong. 'John does not want to do the wrong thing.' Oh. He was a good boy. He must know the Bible."

He Didn't Hear That From Me...

Overheard from the other room:

Connor: "Honor! Mom doesn't want you to watch Barbie because it's not a Christian show and it's all about sex and stuff."

Mommy: "What!?! Connor come in here!"

He obeyed and I asked him to repeat what he said.  It was what I thought I'd heard.

Mommy: "What does that mean?"

Connor: "It means they only think about themselves and stuff they want and stuff like that."

Mommy (breathing a sigh of relief): "That's not what it means. Don't use that word anymore."

Crisis averted once again...

Whoever Invented Noise Making Party Favors Must Have Been a Very Lonely Individual.

Sometime in the middle of the night my kids' ability to use common sense gets reset to zero. This must be the case, how else can they forget that blowing a noise maker at 6:15 in the morning would perhaps startle their sweetly sleeping baby brother and anger their exhausted mama...

Then when reminded that 6:15 is perhaps not the best time for blowing horns, they stopped...only to start again promptly at 7--mere minutes after their baby brother fell back asleep.

Then, once their noisemakers were taken away they STILL thought it was a good idea to sing at the top of their lungs as their mama attempted to quietly leave the baby's room to make breakfast.

Sigh.

Getting Active

We have always encouraged the kids to be involved in activities they are interested in--dance being most convenient since I teach Musical Theater and thus get free lessons for the kids. Honor and Ariana do Ballet and Musical Theater. Connor has done Tap Dance, Tumbling, and Hip Hop in the past. But Samuel has never wanted to do an activity until recently.

Shortly after Conan was born, Samuel asked if he could play baseball. Knowing that he loves playing it around the house, I talked to Daddy and he agreed it would be okay. I found a great team, but we had missed baseball season (for you northern folk, we actually can play year round here). However, the same league had soccer starting. I asked Samuel if that would be okay, knowing he likes that sport also. He enthusiastically said he would like  to play. Since Connor was also without an activity, I asked him if he wanted to play. He said, "Nah." (Honor REALLY wanted to play, but she already had two regular activities and wasn't willing to give up ballet for soccer.)

I went ahead and signed Samuel up. Last week was his first game. Since Samuel was getting a lot of attention in preparation for his first game, Connor decided to change his mind. I explained that it was too late for soccer, but when it's time for baseball I would sign him up for that. Two days later, we had the following conversation:

Connor: "Are you going to sign me up for baseball?"

Mommy: "In the spring, yes."

Connor: "Can I play tennis?"

Mommy: "I don't know, honey. I don't know where there are any courts around here."

Connor: "How about hockey? Can I play hockey?"

Mommy: "What? No. We live in Arizona...there are no ice skating rinks near our house."

Connor: "How about billiards?"

Sigh.

Hmm... That Explains It

For our Christmas Concert at the dance studio, I decided to combine my Musical Theater classes and choreograph a dance to "Do You Hear What I Hear."  My younger class will be acting out the song...one is the night wind, one is a little lamb, one is a star, one is a shepherd boy, Ariana is the mighty king, and another little girl is Mary holding baby Jesus.

In class today, I had the following conversation with the girl playing Mary (with input from my girls):

Mary: "Who am I again?"

Me: "Mary."

Mary: "And how does that fit the song again?"

Me: "She's baby Jesus' mommy."

Mary: "And will everyone else know that?"

Ariana: "Yeah! We saw it in a movie!"

Honor: "No, Ariana, it's in the Bible."

Ariana: "Yeah! It's in the Bible!"

Mary: "And she's important?"

Me: "Yes. The song is about baby Jesus and she's His mom."

Mary: "Oh. Okay!"


Turns out the child who's playing Mary is Jewish...

Geography Lesson

Connor: "We're learning about Hong Kong in History and Geography. I always thought Hong Kong was the made up name of a giant gorilla."

Learn something new every day...

Wake Up

Connor: "I'm tired. Samuel woke me up by knocking on our door this morning."

Ariana: "Yeah. I heard him! He said, 'trick or treat!'"

Samuel: "I didn't get any candy."

Baseball Practice

The kids were all outside playing baseball with a hot pink foam ball (well, Ariana was digging around the fire pit looking for spiders...).

Honor threw the ball. The ball bounced on the grass. Samuel attempted to hit it on the bounce and instead of hitting the bat, it hit his head, bounced off, and rolled about 10 feet away.

Connor: "You hit it! Run!"

Samuel: "I hit it with my FACE...that doesn't count."

At least they have some of the rules down...

Language Arts With Samuel

Assignment: Write a short story using words from the list below.



Samuel: "The title of my story is, 'Eight Wheels Saw a Boat'."

Mommy: "But wheels can't see..."

Samuel: "It's just a stor-y, Mom. Stories aren't real. Like horses can't really talk. And bunnies can't really do magic. In my story, wheels have eyes and can see boats."

Very logical.  I'm raising a fantasy author here.

The Sky's the Limit!

As part of her Language Arts assignment yesterday, Honor was asked to answer what she would like to do that she could never do (as an add on to a story about a kiwi bird with an active imagination).

She answered that there was nothing she could never do.

I'm doing something right here!

The Birds and Bees According to Honor

Honor: "Mommy! Conan is sooooo cute!  And just think, just a few months ago you didn't even know you were going to have him!"

Mommy: "A few months ago? Sure I did!"

Honor: "Okay, well a year ago you didn't. But then you and Daddy started kissssss-ing...and you got pregnant."

Yep. That's exactly how it happened...

Waiting on Weight

I hate scales! Without scales, we could go off the way a person looks to determine their health. We wouldn't be held hostage by some arbitrary number that some doctor made up as ideal. Body image issues would decline as women (and men), who would normally feel comfortable in their skin, stop using a number to decide their worth.

And, without a scale, no one would have thought there was anything wrong with Conan.

How on earth did women breast feed their babies before there was a scale to tell them they were doing it all wrong?

Conan was on the larger side when he was born and a lot of that was water weight, so it stands to reason that he would lose a lot of weight in the beginning. However, he was peeing a ton, very alert, and perfectly content. Then the doctor told me he lost too much weight and that if he didn't gain enough back by his next appointment, we would have to supplement...with formula if I couldn't pump extra milk (which I can't...I've never been good at pumping...)

Talk about stress! To tell a mom that she's not producing enough milk to make her son grow for whatever reason puts a ton of pressure on her...especially if that mom is a rule follower like me. And stress affects milk supply.  It's a self-fulfilling prophecy really.

So, for the first month of Conan's life, we were in and out of the doctor and lactation specialist's office twice a week...causing further stress. And every time he was weighed, I expected a massive weight gain because he acted healthy, was very content, and looked bigger...plus he ate ALL the time! I followed all the rules: fed him on demand (and then some!), drank plenty of water, but not TOO much, ate healthy, didn't diet, rested when he rested, and took milk boosting supplements. The    lactation consultant said it looked like he latched on correctly to nurse and it was completely pain  free--both signs that he should have been getting enough milk. Plus there is the fact that all of my biological children are tall and skinny--formula fed or not--Honor didn't reach 20 pounds until she was two!

But the scale said he had not gained an ounce since he was 4 days old. And the scale wins.

The doctor (who I trust completely) said that because  my milk didn't come in immediately, Conan was using all the nutrients he was getting to maintain his weight. If he didn't get an extra boost to help him over the hurdle, he would no longer be able to keep up and he could start having real health concerns. The plan was to supplement for only a few weeks, just to get him back on track.

With the help of a supplemental nursing system (a tube attached to a bottle so that he got the formula  while still nursing), Conan eventually gained weight and at his last doctor visit (1 month), all the hard work paid off. I was told he could wean himself off the formula. If you knew what a pain it was to  hook up the SNS, you would understand the little victory dance I did in the parking lot.

I find myself still a slave to the scale. Is he gaining weight now that he is no longer taking formula? My doctor warned me not to weigh him too often as daily there will be fluctuations, but I find myself fighting the urge to call the lactation consultant to do a weight check. I told myself I would only go in during the bi-weekly breast feeding support group. I'm sticking to it, but the pull t o weigh him is strong...

And that is why I hate scales.

Preparation

Mommy: "Samuel, stop humming and distracting everybody and get back to work!"

Samuel: "I'm just practicing my Happy Birthday song so I'm ready next time someone has a birthday party."

Ariana: "Yeah, like me."

Her birthday is November 26th.

She has been preparing for it since Easter.

So glad Samuel will be ready to sing his Happy Birthday song when the time comes...

A Birth Story

Once upon a time, there was a mom of four beautiful children, who decided that her family just didn't quite feel complete. Bible verses about large families kept appearing in her daily devotionals (yes, larger than her own). She had dreams of nursing another infant; of little arms tucked tightly around her neck as she carried a sleeping child through a darkened house. Her children were getting older and she missed those days where they still depended on her for everything.

She discussed this longing with her husband. It wasn't difficult to bring him on board--he always loved the baby stage. And besides, they made really adorable children--it would be a shame to deprive the world of such magnificence. His only concern was her health. With her previous pregnancies, the mom had suffered from high blood pressure and there was a real concern for a stroke. The husband and wife decided to pray and allow God to determine if another child was in their future or not.

They waited.

A year went by and the mother found herself pregnant. Her husband was overjoyed and couldn't wait to tell everyone, including their four children--who DID tell everyone. But that baby wouldn't be held in her arms. Nine weeks into the pregnancy, the baby was taken to Heaven via a miscarriage.

The mom was more devastated than she thought she would be; after all, she already had four blessings to call her own. She felt greedy, which only added to the grief. Her children comforted her as they knew best: thanking God that they had a little brother or sister in Heaven waiting for them. And she was comforted.

Three months later, her sister-in-law called with some wonderful news: she was pregnant. What a blessing! They had been trying for another little one for three years and God had responded in the affirmative. Prayers for safety for that little one immediately began. 

A week later, the mother of four found out she too was pregnant.  Her due date was only two days after that of her sister-in-law.  They would get to share this joyous experience together. What a blessing!

Nine months went by in the slow blur that only an expectant mother would understand. It seemed like the end would never come, and yet it came all too soon.  Two weeks before their due date, the sister-in-law gave birth to a handsome, healthy baby boy.

And the waiting game began.

The mom of four could not make a phone call without the responder asking "is it time?" Thankfully her health was much improved for this pregnancy and aside from the normal swelling and aches, she was fairly comfortable. Which worked out in her favor as the baby was late.

Five days late, to be exact.

After repeated visits to the OB, it was determined that it would be in both of their best interests to be induced. The mom's blood pressure was finally increasing and they did not want to risk it getting any higher. The mom was scared of an induction. She had been induced with her first child and remembered how painful the contractions were--how she couldn't breathe until they placed in an epidural that she hadn't originally wanted. She worried about how the strong contractions would affect her baby that she had grown to love already within her womb. She prayed that God would make it go as smoothly as possible.

One of her concerns was the epidural itself. The mom had resigned herself to needing it if she was going to be induced, but she didn't want to have to hold still while she was in pain. She wanted it ready to go beforehand and prayed for that.  The nurse said that was not typical procedure, but the anesthesiologist said it wouldn't be a problem to put the port in prior to the induction and wait to put in the medicine until she needed it. They also wouldn't put in much--only what she needed. Another answered prayer.

The anesthesiologist said the reason they typically waited until later was because most moms complained that the epidural hurt a lot. They reasoned that they wouldn't think it hurt as much when they were in the throws of contractions. The mom barely flinched when she put the port in. At one point the mom was asked if it hurt. She truthfully responded that she felt it, but that it didn't hurt.  Should it?  The anesthesiologist commented that she was probably tougher than the average bear. The mom felt proud.

They began the induction at a level of 2. The contractions started. She was informed that they would be increasing it by 2 every 30 minutes until the contractions began opening the cervix. By the time they got to 6, the mom was calling for an epidural. It took the anesthesiologist 10 minutes to get there, during which the mom was in a lot of pain. Her husband gently held her hand and stroked her hair, trying his best to take away what little pain he could--wishing there was more that he could do. Finally the epidural began working.  The nurse told them that they reduced the levels back down to 2 since at a 6 the contractions were coming right on top of each other.  Another answer to prayer.

The mom's blood pressure had begun to rise significantly at this point. She was forced to lie on her side. But as her blood pressure rose, her heart rate decreased.  It was puzzling to the nurse on duty to see a heart rate of only 50 bpm.  At one point, the anesthesiologist returned to the room and asked the mom if she was a runner. She tried not to laugh too hard as she responded no.  She was told not to worry about her low heart rate--she was fairly active and some people just have low heart rates.

Less than 30 minutes later, the mom was telling the nurses that she thought it was time.  She was right.  The doctor was called in and they prepped for the pushing. The nurse asked the mom if she would like to practice pushing before the doctor arrived since sometimes it is difficult to push while being numbed by the epidural. The mom declined, worried that she would push the baby out immediately before the doctor arrived. The nurse didn't think she would, but didn't argue.

When the doctor arrived, she asked the mom if she would like to practice pushing. The mom repeated that she didn't think that was a good idea, but went ahead and pushed.  Much to the doctor's surprise, the baby's head crowned. The doctor quickly dressed in preparation, and the pushing commenced.  Two contractions later, the baby was born. The husband cut the cord and the baby was handed to his mother--who was terrified by his appearance. He hadn't cried yet and he was bruised from head to toe by his quick delivery. The mom almost started crying, scared that he was still born.  But seconds later, her newest son let forth a battle cry. Color returned to his limbs immediately and the nurses took him to clean him up. 

The baby boy surprised everyone by being almost 2 pounds larger than the ultrasounds had predicted. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He was immediately pronounced healthy and returned to his mother's waiting arms.

The newly official mom of five clung to her baby that she had waited to meet for nine long months and as she nursed her little child, the mom felt like her family was complete.


...for now.

Waiting...

I should be going in to the hospital any time now to be induced to give birth to my little Conan.  I'm not a huge fan of induction, but my blood pressure is starting to go up and my feet are swollen 90% of the time making it at times painful to just sit. Not to mention the carpel tunnel that has been there for a few months that I am ready to be rid of...

Anyway...

The hospital has been busy today so the induction has been pushed back, which is an answer to prayer as I asked God to push it back if my body wasn't ready.  We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, this song has been running through my head:





This verse in particular has special meaning for me today:

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Organizational Skills

Ariana loves to organize.  She doesn't like to organize her own stuff (you know, clean her room), but she loves to clean the bathroom, and who am I to argue with that?  She will happily sort through all the hair pretties, placing small bands in one bag, large bands in another, barrettes in another, and fancy ribbons in another. Bobby pins are placed neatly in rows on their original cardboard. Brushes and combs are sorted by size. When she is done, the "pretty drawer" looks fantastic.

Until yesterday, I thought she did this simply to give her something to do while she waited for me to finish my shower. Both girls think Mommy's shower time is an ideal time to trap her and discuss everything from the upcoming "sting" of Conan's birth (yes, Ariana is very worried about me giving birth because it is going to sting...A LOT), hormones, shaving, why boys call girls names, and everything in between. I will be honest and admit that I enjoy talking to the girls during my shower even if it is not the most appropriate of venues.

But I digress...

Until yesterday, I thought she only organized out of boredom. But last night, after dinner, my darling daughter decided to clean out the most disgusting drawer in the entire hall bathroom...the children's teeth brushing drawer.  Disgusting really doesn't fit...more like disastrous. See, the kids don't think there's anything wrong with not putting the lid back on the toothpaste, nor is there a problem with toothpaste smeared on the inside of the drawer and left to dry. I have four children, yet there are at least 9 toothbrushes and multitudes of little teeth flosser tools. And each child requires their own toothpaste (or at least the dentist thinks so and the kids usually find a way to get the toothpaste that I've hidden away back into their drawer...).   That drawer bothered me to no end, but since it isn't one that I use...at all...I figured I would let it go until I really got fed up.

But Ariana beat me to it.

Last night she joyfully conquered the drawer (and straightened up the rest of the room) even going so far as to remove all the dried on toothpaste, put lids on all the toothpaste containers, and sort through all the toothbrushes and flossers until they were all lined up neatly at the bottom of the drawer.  Tonight, after everyone had completed their brushing rituals, she remained to tidy up her drawer.

Have I mentioned that I love my daughter????

Jumpy

Earlier today, Ariana discovered a cute little gecko in with the chickens. She "saved" it in a 5 gallon bucket and asked us if she could keep it.  Daddy said she could keep it for today, but she would have to let it go tonight.  She happily set to work making a temporary terrarium for the little guy.

A few minutes later she came in and told us that "Geckora" had lost her tail.  We knew immediately that she had attempted to pick the gecko up and it had gotten scared, releasing its tail. Daddy told her that she had to put it in the brush pile immediately.

Heartbroken over her new lost friend, Ariana cried for about 30 minutes, until I finally got through to her that wild animals are meant to stay wild and her gecko is happier in the brush pile; that no matter how nice she is to a wild animal, they will never understand that she isn't going to eat them or hurt them in some other way.  She was still quite upset, but the crying stopped.

This evening we were all playing outside when Ariana brought over her new "friend".

"Her name is Jumpy!  Come on Jumpy!" she called as she began walking over to me.

As she came closer, I realized that whatever she was wanting to show me was following her in mid-air.  "What do you have there?" I asked.

"Jumpy.  She's a jumping spider.  Isn't she cute?"

It was then that she finally reached me, holding on tightly to a thin strand of spider web hanging from Jumpy's spinnerets. She placed her hand under Jumpy and the spider sat there for a moment. Then Ariana happily grabbed another piece of web and let Jumpy down like a yo-yo.  She played with Jumpy until the spider no longer produced web for her to grab. Losing interest, Ariana ran to play on the homemade obstacle course with the rest of the kids, leaving Jumpy on a nearby tree.

She is so much like me sometimes it is scary... 

That's a Tough One...

Tonight, for our story time, I read about a boy who had to choose between doing the wrong thing in order to get into a special club, and doing the right thing and possibly being ostracized from his friends. In the end, he chose to stand up for the right thing and that is actually what his friends had wanted and he got into the club.  At the end of the story, there were two discussion questions. The first basically asked how we know the right thing from the wrong thing. We were able to discuss how the Holy Spirit guides us and the kids pretty much all understood that one. 

The second question was: "What is the toughest decision you have ever made?"

Connor and Ariana quickly told stories about when they had to choose to do what was right and they did. 

And then Samuel spoke:

"Sometimes, when I am playing Mario Kart, there are shortcuts and holes that you can drive through and I have to make a tough decision about whether I should stay on the path or go through the shortcut.  That is a hard decision."

Yes it is. 

And I sure hope that is the hardest decision he ever has to make...

New Nephew=New Pregnancy Problem

My beautiful sister-in-law, Steph, gave birth to my newest nephew, Abel, on Friday.  He is a handsome little guy. I am so thankful that everything worked out well with his delivery and subsequent release from the hospital/arrival home.

That being said, now the heat is on me, so to speak.  Since I was officially due two days after her, Conan could arrive any day now.  I am certain things are working in that direction, but every time I make a phone call, the person on the other end assumes I am calling to announce my imminent labor...which of course reminds me that I am NOT in labor, yet. We are both left disappointed.

Oh well...he'll be here when he gets here! 

Race Car Drivers In Love

I love how Samuel randomly declares his future life:

"I will live with you forever...until I become a race car driver and find the girl that I love...then I will come visit you.  I will never ever forget you, Mommy."

I will never forget you either, Baby Boy.

List Done

I mentioned a few posts back that I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish before Conan arrives...well here is the list:

Clean my side of the bedroom so I have a nice place to set up the rocking chair and bassinet--DONE
Clean my bathroom... because it was gross--DONE
Clean out my junk drawer--DONE
Clean out and organize Conan's eventual room--DONE
Write thank you notes for gifts already received--DONE (I think...)
Sort through baby clothes--DONE
Wash all baby toys that the big kids no longer play with--DONE
Clean out the hall closet so I can easily fit my vacuum inside--DONE
Clean up my kitchen--DONE
Keep up on laundry, dishes, sweeping, dusting--DONE
Clean up and vacuum my office floor (otherwise known as the cat room)--DONE
Vacuum the couch--DONE
Submit my newest article for my writing class--DONE
Write letters to Honor and Connor for their 9th birthday--DONE
Prepare and wrap gifts for the kiddos from Conan for when I go into the hospital--DONE
Finish the chapter on the Skeletal System with the kiddos for science--DONE
Find a new place for all of Connor and Honor's new toys--DONE


I think that my list of things is complete.  You will no longer find rooms of hidden junk anywhere in the house (well, except on Daddy's side of the bed because I don't know what to do with all that stuff). Yes, there is more that I could do, but these were the things that I absolutely wanted accomplished first.  And they are. 

So bring on the kiddo!!!

Toenail Biting

Yep. It's disgusting.  But I have seen my boys chew their toenails.

It is NOT encouraged.

And now we have a new reason to use (since "it is disgusting" and "think of all the icky germs on your feet" don't seem to work).  "Stop chewing your nails or you will get an ingrown toenail and have to go to Urgent Care." 

Well, maybe that's not the best answer. Samuel had an fairly good time at Urgent Care and they didn't have to cut open his skin. They just gave him antibiotics and told us to soak it in Epsom Salts twice a day for a week. If it doesn't get better by Friday, THEN they will cut it open. But the doctor did corroborate my story that he should stop chewing his toenails or he will get another ingrown toenail...

When asked why he chooses to follow this method of nail trimming, here was his response:

"Sometimes I get hungry because Mom doesn't give me my snack in time and so I chew my nails so that I'm not so hungry."

Poor starving children...

Pregnancy Post

Things that I don't necessarily love about being pregnant:

• My feet and hands swelling. I miss my wedding ring. And my shoes.
• Carpel tunnel.
• I miss playing with my animals. And I'm pretty sure they miss me too.  I know my horse does...
• I am typically a fast mover.  Slowing down is not easy for me...but it is good for me.
• The other day I went to a restaurant with Daddy and had to use the restroom.  As I was walking, a waitress came down the same aisle carrying a tray.  I turned sideways as I would normally do to make room for her...then realized I was wider sideways than I was facing front.  
• I hit my belly on counters, chairs, tables...all sorts of inanimate objects and people, really...constantly.
• I'm running out of clothes that fit. Even maternity ones.
• I can no longer bend over and breathe at the same time.  Honor must help me put on my shoes for church.
• Today I dropped the soap in the shower...and couldn't find it to pick it back up.
• The knowledge that soon Conan will be making his arrival in a very painful way...and only God knows when exactly that will be.
• I'm running out of patience to actually SEE the little guy that makes himself known to me any time I take the opportunity to rest.

 Things I love about being pregnant (Really...love):

• Knowing Conan is about as safe as I can make him. He's not going to be running out in front of a car, swallowing small objects, or drowning in an inch of water. 
• Each little kick, punch, and turn is a miracle that only he and I share...unless you happen to be looking at my belly or touching my belly (which honestly doesn't bother me at all).
• I do not have to change diapers, decipher cries or lose sleep to feed him.
• My sister-in-law is pregnant with me. Actually, I have several friends who have shared this pregnancy timeline with me and it feels like we are our own little community.  However, having Steph going through every stage at pretty much the exact same time has been a special blessing. It is nice to have one of my bestest friends to commiserate share this blessing with.
• Surprisingly, this time around I feel very feminine.  This was not the case for Honor or Samuel.
• My family is being VERY supportive.  A little obsessively so.  The children are very protective of Mommy...and Daddy forces me to take a nap every afternoon.  He threatened to carry me into bed on Sunday...even setting his IPad on the table and moving towards me when I didn't move fast enough...
• My kiddos are learning first hand how a baby grows within. I share all the baby center videos with them.  It has made Ariana think twice about how quickly she wants to have a baby...
• I am feeling very supported by the community in general. Doors are opened with smiles. Random people ask to carry things for me. I'm feeling quite pampered, really.
• Listening to Daddy and the kids talk to Conan through my belly. And having Daddy rest his head on my belly just to make Conan kick. He really is very sweet about the whole thing.

No matter what...the best thing about being pregnant is the knowledge that God has entrusted me with another little life for as long as He determines I should have him.  What an AMAZING blessing!

Rainy Days

7 a.m.

Honor: "Mom, did I wake you up?"
 
Mommy: "Yes."
 
Honor: "Oh. Sorry. Can we play in the rain? There's no lightning."
 
Mommy: "It's raining?"
 
Honor: "Yes!!!"
 
Mommy: "Oh good! Then it's a good day to sleep in... Go away."


(Just so you know, I was out of bed ten minutes later and the kids played outside for at least 45 minutes....I have it on video...)

Only for a Little While

My eldest daughter fell off a chair and began crying hard. She wanted me to comfort her. So I did. I pulled the chair up and had her sit in my lap and cuddled her for all I was worth. 

About 10 seconds into the cuddling, I decided I didn't want to let her go.

See, she will be 9 years old in less than two weeks.  It will only be a short while before she is a teenager.  How long will she still WANT me to cuddle her? 

So I am grateful for every chance I have to pull her into my arms and let her know that for at least a little while, she is safe and her mama can still make her feel better.

Because I have no idea how long I have before she no longer needs me...

Cheap College

One of my favorite quotes of the day:

Mommy: "College is very expensive."

Honor: "Yeah! Like two HUNDRED dollars!"

I wish...

Annoyed

There's a joke that Brian Regan does about how people think the world revolves around them.  Whenever anyone cuts in line or does something inconsiderate, Daddy will quote it.  

Here it is for your reference:

http://youtu.be/NV_V3aDERrE?t=3m46s

It is surprising to me how often people think the world revolves around them.  I am not quite as annoyed by the people who are blind to the others around them (because sometimes people have a lot on their mind) as much as I am bothered by people who complain at the drop of a hat.

Today at McDonalds, I was bothered.

As Connor and I walked in, we noticed a little girl--probably around Samuel's age--running over to the drink machine. She failed to notice the water on the floor and fell on her rear end.  She immediately began crying, but otherwise was unhurt.  No more than 30 seconds later, the employee, who already walked by with a mop, returned with a "Caution, Wet Floor" sign.  It was obvious that she had already been in the process of cleaning up the mess, but had been slowed down by the crowd of people waiting in line.

Another 30 seconds later, another woman appeared and saw the girl crying. 

"What happened?" she asked the child's mom.

"She fell on the water on the floor. They didn't have a sign out here or anything!" The mom explained irately.

Pointing to the sign, "you didn't see this sign?"

"It wasn't there! They just now put it up." (less than a minute later in a crowded restaurant...)

So, the woman immediately marched up in front of the line of people and demanded to speak to the manager.  The manager came over right away and the woman announced in a nasty voice, "my granddaughter just fell over by the drink machine because you didn't put up your sign soon enough!"

I have no idea how the manager replied because there were too many people between me and the woman, but I was irritated enough at that point to want to speak some common sense to the woman (I'm 9 months pregnant and perhaps my emotions are a bit on edge...).

What I wanted to say was:


"Excuse me, Ma'am, but I witnessed the fall and subsequent sign distribution.  It is obvious to me that the McDonald's employee was in the process of cleaning up the mess and placing a sign there as a warning when your granddaughter slipped and fell. Unfortunately, the employee is not God and therefore is not omniscient.  She could only clean up the mess once she learned of it and had no idea your granddaughter would go running across the restaurant before she had the opportunity to place up her sign.  Since you are psychic and can predict the future, please feel free to inform the employee beforehand next time because by definition, an accident means that it was unexpected and unintentional.  Your granddaughter did not even bruise her tailbone.  Please go back to your business and encourage your granddaughter to be more cautious when walking and stop wasting everyone else's time. Thank you."

I am sure my facial expression would have done the trick had they bothered to notice anyone else around them...

Another Reason to Love Homeschooling...

Connor was in need of new shoes. Forgetting momentarily that this is back-to-school shopping time, we decided to go into the shoe aisle of Target (because we were already there for another reason).  Shoes were thrown haphazardly all over the aisle. Boxes that claimed to be his size were left empty on the shelves. The remaining selection was pathetic.

But, BOY I love my son!

As we were sifting through the remains, another mother came down the aisle with her son who was roughly the same age as Connor.  Having larger feet than my son, the boy pretty much had his pick of shoes.  The mother kept asking him to hurry up and pick a pair of shoes and he kept whining at her that he didn't like any of the shoes.  His overall grumpy demeanor was quite annoying.

Since we were not in a hurry, Connor and I stepped back so that they could look, his little eyes studying each tag carefully to make sure he didn't miss any that were his size.

Finally the mother and son found one pair of shoes that he tolerated and they left the aisle.

Mommy: "So, have you found a pair you like, Sonshine?"

Connor: "I don't really care what they look like as long as they fit and they aren't too expensive."

He ended up getting 3 of the 5 pairs of shoes they had in his size.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE my son????

Hide and Cheat

Being forced to lie down for an undetermined amount of time every afternoon to avoid swelling is quite frustrating for someone who has a list of things she wants to accomplish in the next few weeks.

However, leaving the kids alone in the other room allows me to overhear gems like this:

Connor: "5...6...7...8...9...10.  Ready or not, here I come!"

Samuel:  "I can't move! You're on my legs!"

Wasn't expecting that one...

One Month...

Wow!  I just looked over at the left side of my blog and saw my little counter say: "about 32 days to go".  When it puts it that way, itdoesn't seem very long at all!  Especially considering I typically go a little early...

Big Helpers

Connor: "I had a great time helping you today.  I think I will help you tomorrow too!"

Mommy: "Well, I'm not sure I will need anything moved around tomorrow, but that was sweet of you to offer."

Connor: "Then I will clean the basement and my bedroom."

Mommy: "That would be fantastic! And you know what? If you clean it every day right when you wake up, it will only take you five minutes to get it all done."

Connor: "Yeah. That's the plan."

Samuel: "Are you going to do it ALL by YOURSELF????"

Mommy: "Well, unless you know someone who wants to be a big helper to his big brother?"

Samuel contemplates this idea for a moment or two, then shrugs.

Samuel: "Nah. No thanks."

Tucking the boys in at night makes me smile...

5 am Wake Up Call

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

At the first sounds of the scream, I grabbed my pregnant belly and ran down the stairs as fast as I could waddle. I was thinking bloody nose, or at least vomit.

That was not the case.

Mommy: "What's wrong, Honey?"

Honor: "There..... was a.... scratchy noise..... over in the corner....by my desk."


We live on a farm.  It is a well known fact that farms are hosts to all sorts of wildlife from insects to various reptiles and mice.  We have mice.  We've had them out in the tack shed, milking shed, and chicken coop for a while. Honor was startled by one as she attempted to feed the horses their dinner one night and has since had quite the fear of the little creatures.  It took two days to get her to go back in the tack shed and then only after mouse traps had been set with her watching. Now she will only go if someone else is with her. About a month ago we started finding them in the garage--she refused to go in there without a sibling.  A few days ago we started noticing signs that they are now moving in the house.

I went out and bought 20 mousetraps.

Back to the story...

Ariana (quite angry):  "There wasn't any noise! I want to go to sleep!"

Honor: "Yes there was a noise! A chewing noise on my desk. And the balloon!"

Daddy walked in at that point and thought he would be helpful.

Daddy: "The balloon string IS really short. Maybe a mouse chewed through it."

Thanks, Daddy.

Mommy (Digging through all the papers and searching around the desk for chew marks): "No, the balloon string was that short last night. No mouse could reach it on the ceiling.  There is nothing over here by the desk.  Everything is just fine, Honor. I don't think there is a mouse in your room."

Honor: "I KNOW I heard scratching!  And I saw a shadow!"

Mommy: "Well, I really don't see any evidence of a mouse, Honey.  I think you were dreaming."

Honor: "No!  There was a mouse!  Or a bandit!"


Which confirmed for me that Honor suffers from waking dreams like her Mommy.
Poor Honor!

Husband Shopping

Occasionally the girls and I have discussions about what to look for in a future husband.  They know that first and foremost, he must be a Christian and love God with all his heart so that he can love them the way God intended.

Honor: "But how do you know if he is a Christian?"

Mommy: "Well, he'll know that the only way to Heaven is through faith in Christ alone."

Honor: "But how do you know he loves God with all his heart?"

Mommy: "He'll demonstrate it. And he'll want to know what the Bible says and follow it."

Honor: "Oh! I know!  I'll ask him if he knows who Bartholomew is!"

Well, that's one test I suppose.


...

We also decided that her future husband must be handy like her daddy and able to fix things..."Otherwise I will have to do everything myself!"

...


Later I was told that Honor will just let me choose her husband and then she will decide if she likes him or not.  I'm perfectly fine with that!

(Note to self: must tag this post to show her when she's in her teenage years...)

Fairies

Ariana lost ANOTHER tooth last week.  She sure keeps the Tooth Fairy busy!  I think I need to get her another job other than losing teeth...

The following morning, Daddy commented on how the dishes fairy and the clothes fairy came in the night also.

Connor: "Daaad!  Mom does the dishes and the laundry!"

Daddy: "Nope. I'm pretty sure that the Dishes Fairy and the Clothes Fairy does.  I leave my dishes on the entertainment center and my socks on the floor and, in the morning, they have all disappeared and have reappeared in the cupboard and dresser."

Connor: "But MOM does that!"

Daddy: "Nope. There's a Dishes Fairy and a Clothes Fairy just like the Tooth Fairy.  I'm sure of it."

Connor: "Mom does the dishes and the laundry...but the Tooth Fairy is real."

Way to clarify, Sunshine.

Mr. Cool

My son has a hickey in the middle of his forehead.

Yep.  So proud.

This came about because he was given a bow and arrow set with suction cup tips. Connor can't just play with a toy the way it is intended...that would just be too conventional.  No, he must come up with new and inventive ways to use the same old toys.  Like becoming "Suction Cup Forehead Man," where he jabs a wet suction cup as hard as he can against his head, resulting in a reddish bruise smack dab in the middle of his forehead when it is pulled off. A third eye, if you will. 

A few days after placing this beauty mark for all the world to see, Connor returned from staring at in the bathroom mirror and engaged in the following conversation:

Connor: "Mom, I do not like having a big bruise on my head."

Mommy: "I don't like it either."

Connor: "It ruins my style."

Mommy: "Your style? I didn't know you had a style."

Connor: "Yeah. To look cool!"

Yep. So proud.

Samuel Avenger Quotes

Sometimes Samuel just says the funniest things. A little while ago, the family cuddled on the couch to watch a superhero movie: The Avengers. During the final battle, Samuel was cracking me up! Here are three quotes that I actually took the time to write down...following the section of the movie where the quote was said...



http://youtu.be/_ThQ2lBpHVM?t=1m15s

"Why are they hurting all those wonderful cars???"




http://youtu.be/xemvuM-uav0?t=3m8s  (This was the best I could do for this clip...the person was chopping together a bunch of clips and just barely caught the part where he quoted...it's the first 15 seconds of this clip if you want to understand where we were in the movie...)



"Mom, if I was there when the hotdog stand was broken, I would eat them all!"





http://youtu.be/KSXld_syVhs?t=25s

"They can't kill him because he's green."




Boy I need to get his voice recorded because the little voice is what makes it so funny!

Game Week

I recently moved several of the younger kid games and puzzles out into a cabinet in the living room.  The children have spent the last couple of days rediscovering their old favorites.  Samuel is learning some of them for the first time...like checkers.

Samuel:

"Mom, Connor has made this week game week, but I am taking myself out of it.  I'm only going to play checkers with someone who is not smart."


Good luck with that.

Removing a Symbol

This morning I did something that I haven't done in over eleven years...I removed my wedding ring.  Yes, I have taken it off periodically to clean it, but those times never lasted for more than an hour and it was returned as soon as possible to its rightful place on the ring finger on my left hand. I hate taking it off. I actually cried this morning.  Really. 

It could have something to do with my pregnancy hormones though...

I have never been much of a ring person. My fingers are short and stumpy and I always felt rings accentuated that fact.  That was, until my husband gave me my engagement ring. It was perfect. It made me feel special. I had been chosen. I am loved. Yes, I know, God chose me and loved me first--I'm not trying to minimize that--but being the wife of my husband has always been a source of pride for me (and I mean that in the non-bragging, "I adore him" way). I think my husband is amazing and I am so thankful that he thinks similar loving thoughts about me.  The engagement/wedding ring he gave me symbolizes that love without end--that no matter how rough life gets, no matter how many arguments we have, no matter what is going on around us, our love will continue on. And I had to take it off.

I didn't have to take it off with Honor.  I swelled, but mostly the swelling was kept in my ankles and only happened in the last few weeks. 

I didn't have to take if off with Samuel.  I don't think I had any swelling with him at all--if so, it was minimal.

But with both of my other pregnancies, the summer temperatures didn't get up past 110* EVERY DAY.  I wasn't doing farm chores, taking kids to swimming lessons, dancing lessons, and still trying to maintain a semblance of a clean home.  With the other two, I wasn't drinking over 100 ounces of water a day and still feeling thirsty when I went to bed at night. No matter how hard I try, I just can't keep up with the liquid demands this summer is putting on my body.

Last Sunday I wore dress socks to church.  It was the first time I'd noticed the swelling. On the drive home I decided that my feet and legs were uncomfortable, so I took my shoes and socks off.  Over 30 minutes later, I laid down for a nap and scratched my ankle. There were deep gouges in my legs where the tops of my socks had been.  You know, the type of gouges you get when you wrap a rubber band around your wrist too tightly...only deeper. My legs had swelled. They weren't cankles, but they were noticeably thicker.

Last night my hands started to hurt.  I didn't tell my husband, but I noticed that my ring was extremely tight. I quickly went to bed to cool off my body.  This morning I made the difficult decision to remove the ring. I had to do it before getting out of bed because even a few minutes of being up and about would make it tighten to the point where I wouldn't be able to get it off for the rest of the day. By the time Conan is born, that finger will lose its tell-tale ring line and it will be as if there was never a ring there.  I hate that.  HATE. IT. 

My husband understands.  He, very logically, stated that it is better to take it off than to have to cut it off later. Which, of course, is why I did it.  But I feel naked without it. 

I will make the most of this time by getting it cleaned, and the prongs built up and tightened, but I don't have to enjoy it.

I miss my ring.

Husband Quote

"I need you to keep Sophie and Oscar in the computer room with you and shut the door tonight. It's not funny when you are playing a scary video game and a black cat comes running from the shadows to jump up on your shoulder."

I don't know why, but visualizing my husband being scared by our female kitten on multiple occasions made me laugh for a good five minutes straight.

Summer "Vacation"

What does Ariana do on her summer vacation?  She chooses a book about vultures from the library, then dedicates a notebook to be "Ariana's Vulture Gernal" and proceeds to take notes from the book into her journal.  Without being asked to do so. Ever.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love her???

So, THAT'S Why She's Not Moving...

My darling children wanted a pet in a fish tank that they could actually play with.  Having had hermit crabs before, I convinced them that these pets were ideal.  Back in January, we acquired four hermit crabs.  Honor, Connor, and Ariana loved playing with their crabs...Samuel not so much.  Actually, not once.

His was the first to die.

About a month later, Connor's hermit crab decided to molt.  Unfortunately there weren't any shells that the crab felt comfortable in.  Connor was quite heartbroken when I found his hermit crab hanging from its shell one morning...until I allowed him to study its body.  My naturally curious son found that fascinating.

We all grieve in different ways.

A couple of months later, Honor's crab succumbed to the same fate as Connor's crab.  She was equally upset, however, her curiosity was satiated simply by seeing its limp body hanging from the shell.

Ariana's crab hung on for quite a while.  And Ariana was a good crab mommy.  She made sure her water and food was kept full and periodically misted the tank.  Whenever allowed, she would take her crab out and let her climb around for exercise.

Which is what she thought she was doing this morning.

Ariana: "Mommy, my crab's out!  Can I play with her?"

As I was checking the other children's schoolwork, I wasn't truly focused in on what she was saying. I simply nodded my head and went back to work.

With a Cheshire grin, Ariana grabbed her crab and sat at the lego table to play with her.  She happily set the crab on the table and waited for her to fully emerge. Five minutes of smiling ensued.

Then the tears began.

Mommy: "Ariana!  What's the matter???"

Ariana: "MY HERMIT CRAB IS DEAAADDD!"

Mommy: "What???"

I rushed to her side and picked up the shell.  Sure enough, her hermit crab was hanging there as limp as could be.  Had I been paying attention, I would have noticed it much sooner.  I felt horrible for letting her play with a dead animal for five minutes.

Then she made it worse.

Ariana: "I knew she was dead when her claw fell off onto my chair!"

Yep.  That's a pretty clear sign.

Good Housekeeping

My faithful fan that I've had for several years now finally broke last week. I loved my fan and really wanted another one, especially before Conan comes because we use box fans for white noise regardless of the season.  (By the way, some of the questions on this Walmart answers page about this fan REALLY make me glad I homeschool...)

Daddy went to the store and bought me a new fan the day it broke. It is the exact same fan, which caused the children some confusion because Daddy put the old fan back in the new fan's box and they couldn't figure out why we had two fans and they couldn't play with the box.  Really.  They questioned this for two days at varying times until I finally just threw the thing into the dumpster. (We ran out of trash bags and I wasn't able to go to the store.  I was cleaning out my closet, so I had a pile of holey jeans that needed to be thrown away and I am the type of person that only likes to make one trip so I waited until I had trash bags to take the fan out...you may call me lazy now, but that's why the garbage sat in my room for two days. But I digress...)

Ariana came into my room this morning and began raving about the new fan. "It's so beautiful!  The old one was not nearly as pretty.  It was covered in dust!"

Sadly, I had to clarify. "That's because we never dusted it."

"Oh."

Apparently dust is considered a decoration in my home...

Pregnancy Dreams

I've been having very vivid dreams this pregnancy.  There was one a few weeks ago where I dreamed I went to visit Steph at the hospital and the doctors wouldn't let her take her baby home because they wanted to make sure that she and her husband liked the name Abel (the name of their baby due the same time as ours).  I woke up quite angry from that dream. 

This morning I had a very involved dream where I was building a house with some organization like Habitat for Humanity with a bunch of twenty-somethings (and yes, I was as pregnant as I am now).  After working all day, the group decided to go to a club. All 30 of us packed into a small car, drove through McDonalds so the driver could get a shake, and then drove to the club, which was still being furnished.  Before the club owner would let me in (my lockermate from high school), she forced me to eat an apple slice with some sort of spicy, sugary dip on it, claiming that I would love it.  I didn't.  But I smiled and said thank you anyway.

I searched through the crowd and finally found my husband sitting in Steph's overstuffed chair in the back of the club talking to a group of guys. I immediately went and sat in his lap and cuddled up to him. It was the best feeling in the world, snuggling up to my husband. I had missed him! All was right in the world. He cuddled me back, but kept up the conversation he was having with the guys about some remodeling needed on the club.  Then Thor got up and took his hammer to some nails sticking out of the floor, leaving a large tube sticking out of the floor. My husband pointed out that he (my husband) was going to sink the light in the floor so people wouldn't trip on it and not to worry about it.

Then Samuel yell-whispered "Happy Birthday!" in my ear and told me to come play with the birthday present he gave me.  Although my husband was lying right next to me, it still felt horrible uncuddling from him and coming back to the real world. But one look at my sweet son's face and I melted. Waking up to children who are excited to see you just because they love you is the best feeling in the world!

I love my children...

That's it.  I just love my children. They sure do make me smile!

What's In A Name?

William

Ian

Elias

Liam

Ezekial

Nathaniel

Josiah

Timothy

Simeon

Alexander

Judah 

 All of these are great names with excellent meanings ranging from "strong-willed protector" to "the LORD saves" to "Praise, Thanksgiving"...great meanings. Most of these names (I thought) also met my husband's criteria of an "uncommon" name. But alas, each of these names were rejected in the search for the perfect name for our newest baby boy.

Instead, my darling husband was seriously choosing names such as:

Jakob
Buckster
And names with apostrophes. 

No.

So, finally, my husband and I sat down at a baby name website and entered in the search criteria: "boy names", "Welsh, Irish, or Gaelic," "must have origin" and "must have a meaning."

Daddy: "How about Aodhan?"

Mommy: "no"

Daddy: "Bartley?"

Mommy: "no"

Daddy: "Braendan?"

Mommy: "no"

Daddy: "Aiden?"

Mommy: "Okay."

Daddy: "No. That's too common. ...  How about Aodan?"

Mommy: "no"

Daddy: "How about Banan?  No...that means 'white'...  How about Bleddyn?"

Mommy: "no"

Daddy: "Cathaoir?  It means 'guard'..."

Mommy: "no"

Daddy: (getting excited) "Conan!"

Mommy: "Like the barbarian?"

Daddy: "Yeeaahhh!"

silence

Daddy: "If he ends up as big as Samuel, that will be a perfect name for him!"





silence

Daddy: "That's not a 'no.'"

Mommy: "What does it mean?"

Daddy: "Intelligent, swift-footed warrior.  Or wolf-lover."

Mommy: "I like that first meaning..."

Daddy: "Let's just try it out for a while and see."


And that is how our baby came to be named Conan Lester  (Lester after both of our maternal grandfathers).

Surprisingly enough, most people we tell the name to really like it. Especially men. Many have already decided when he becomes of age they will call him Conan the Destroyer. 

My mom was not a huge fan of the name because it immediately brought to mind Conan O'Brian (who I think is pretty funny as far as late night talk show hosts go).  She thinks he is funny looking, but I don't think he's that bad...I used to have a crush on him in high school ;-). 

 

But my first thought was always Conan the Barbarian (you can think my dad for the many "man" movies I watched growing up).   Although, to be clear, it will be pronounced "Co-NUN", not "Co-NAN". 

And as my friend, Amber, pointed out...what little guy wouldn't want to be named after Conan the Barbarian?

(I had to find a foreign DVD cover just to get one where he was decently clothed...such a barbarian!)