important dates in may (and the story of ryan's birth)

today is my youngest son's birthday. he is 5 and my little 'artist' (he draws on anything - himself, his sheets, the desk, basically everything but paper). it drives me crazy, so we bought him an easel and hopefully we can confine it to there and the wall chalkboard. i think he is going to love it. :)

may is a huge month for important dates. my dad's birthday. my maternal grandpa's death (may 6). ryan's birthday. memorial day. graduations.

thinking of ryan's birthday makes me think of my grandpa, glen. he died right before ryan was born. i was in pre-term labor, so i couldn't go to the funeral. it still kind of haunts me to this day. :( i know he would have been the first visitor in the hospital after i had ryan; he loved babies. he and grandma laura were the first ones to visit evan after he was born. evan was by no means a small baby at 7 pounds 14 ounces, but in my grandpa hands, he looked so tiny. i wish that he could have held ryan just once. he was a great man.

actually, when ryan was born, my parents were down here (scheduled c-section) to help put in a new bathroom for us (we had a leak through the ceiling). we had some friends, nili and jeff, ask to take evan for us during the surgery and few days after. of course, we said yes. lol. my dad and paul had to take out the shower and tile, and put in a new one while i was in the hospital recovering. i wish i could tell the story as well as paul, it is hilarious. but i can't. so suffice it to say that there was lots of pushing and grunting and cussing trying to put the new tub in place. :) it is a story that makes me laugh whenever paul tells it.

ryan was born at 12:06 p.m. he was supposed to be born at 6:00 a.m., but my surgery kept being pushed back because of a rash of emergencies. it was not an enjoyable wait as i was having contractions and couldn't drink anything and hadn't eaten since 7 the night before. i was tired, hungry, thirsty, cranky, and in pain (and nothing to do to keep my mind off the pain except lie there). lol. and giving us that much time was not good for our peace of mind - we kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong. finally it was our turn. paul and i were escorted in and i was numbed up. the music was cranked up in the o.r. cut, pressure, baby's out and crying. blood loss and complications to the medicine. start shaking and pass out. wake up 3 hours later in recovery. get to see paul and i am so grateful. he asks if i want to see the baby, but i don't have any strength or energy so i say later and drift back into nothingness. wake up 10 hours later and ask to see ryan. i can tell paul is relieved that i woke up. :) mom and dad are also there. ryan is covered with dark black hair. paul stays the night and mom and dad go back to the house. the next day, mom comes to the hospital, and dad and paul do the tub. i am glad my friends have evan, and that mom is there to help me with ryan. four days later, i am pronounced well and get to go home. :) i get to see my new bathroom (cause they had to put in a new floor and repaint too) for the first time.

ryan was not a good baby. he cried constantly. he drove me insane. but it could have turned out so much differently and so i just wanted to say 'thank you' to my God. you are so faithful and merciful, even to the undeserving.

happy fifth birthday son!

mother's day musings

so mother's day was this weekend. my parents were supposed to try to make it down, but couldn't. dad was too sick and in too much pain. we opted not to go up because of all the travel we have already done and will do (did i mention we bought a new [to us] car to get better gas mileage? four vehicles for two drivers seems a little ridiculous, and the only thing i can say in our defense is that we never take out a loan to buy a car, it is always paid for from savings. anyway, back to the point.). it was a disappointment, but in the end it worked out just fine. so what did we do to celebrate this fantastic holiday? a whole lot of nothing. and it was soooo nice!

on friday, played cards with the boys. evan was the winner. yay! went to bed early.

on saturday, the boys played with the neighborhood kids and we rented a movie - 'charlie wilson's war'. the acting was superb and the dialogue witty and brilliant. it is probably a movie i would consider buying if we were the type of people to watch a movie more than once. called and talked with my mom and sister for an hour. went to bed early.

on sunday, we made a huge family breakfast, then i got to take a mid-morning nap (no, we did not go to church - i know; bad!). :) went to the park and taught the boys how to hit a baseball, went to the dollar theater and watched 'spiderwick chronicles' at 3:45 and then out to eat at a mexican restaurant for supper. went home and opened presents. can you believe that both boys got me books? well, probably yes. but can you believe both boys got me books i have never read before? evan got me a comedy, 'just a taste' by deirdre martin and ryan got me a paranormal, 'witch blood' by anya bast. paul said he did not help them at all. i think the books they chose are kind of indicative of their personalities. evan is light and happy and ryan a little bit more somber and dark. :) paul got me an electronic photo frame. it holds up to 2000 pictures. i love it! went to bed early. all in all, a wonderful day.

i think i read somewhere that this mother's day was the hundredth year that mother's day had been celebrated. a neat little factoid. today, i am thankful that there is a day to celebrate motherhood. it makes me think of all the people that have come before me and will be here after me. and of course, the one special mother 2000 years ago that gave birth to our savior.
dawn

happy birthday dad

today you are 57. i pray for you to have a happy, healthy and busy year with us. i love you.