Angel on High

The Bugs of Potty Training

For the last few months I've been ready to potty train Daniel, but I couldn't stick to it because it hurt my back too much to bend over the toilet while I was pregnant. I got home from the hospital with Benjamin on Saturday and Monday morning I pulled out the training pants for Daniel. Jim questioned my timing and my sanity; I was just so glad to be able to finally bend over.

With this new potty training quest, I needed some kind of incentive for Daniel. My babysitter took him to the toy store to choose something exciting. He came home with a box of plastic insects. After each successful potty, he would go to the box of insects and pick out the scariest looking bug he could find. Ick.

A Box, A Bag, and a Boy

James needed one of my shoe boxes for a project at school. I reluctantly gave it to him. I liked my box. He knew that I liked my box and decided to make me a new box out of wood scraps from the garage. When the box was finished, it just didn't seem right to put my shoes in it. I looked around and wondered what we should put in this little box. Earlier that week, I had found a bag full of leaves and such in James' school bag. I asked him what it was. His reply, "Oh, those. Just stuff I found on the mountain that I liked." I looked again into the bag. I tenderly sifted through the leaves in the bag, impressed that James noticed them and thought they were special. I couldn't help but feel thankful that he noticed them. His "collection" showed me a side of his little boy heart that I didn't know was there. I decided they were the perfect things to fill this new box.

Our Pumpkin Moonshine, 2011

Favorite Fall Reads (preschool books)

Pumpkin Moonshine, by Tasha Tudor and This is Not a Pumpkin, by Bob Staake

Ben's First Bath, Halloween 2011

Home Sweet Home

On October 29th I came home from the hospital. Jim had to work all day, but Miriam was there with me at the hospital and helped me get discharged. We rode a cab home and when I walked in the door the house was the cleanest I have seen it in ages. On my bed were my pajamas and on my night stand was a bowl of cream of broccoli soup and toast. Susan Grace had taken the younger children to the museum near our home and the house was quiet and sunny. I set the baby down next to my bed. My children had worked so hard and it felt so good to be home, I started to cry. Later that night, the branch had a trick or treating party for the primary. Jim was still working. Pulling out all of the costumes (along with face paint) and getting the kids out the door was very overwhelming. For the second time in one day, I felt the burning sensation of tears welling up in my eyes, this time for a different reason.
Oh, no, here I go on the postpartum rollercoaster of emotions.

Welcome Home Benjamin, October 29, 2011

A few hours later...October 28, 2011

Delivery Room, Severence Hospital, Seoul, Korea

A few months before Benjamin was born, I took Miriam to a prenatal appointment with me. Out of the blue, I found myself asking if my oldest daughters could come to the birth of our baby. I expected the doctor to give an emphatic, "No". I just about fell off my chair when she said, "I think that would be great."
Why did I ask? I wondered to myself, over and over again, but Miri, Miri lived each moment of the next few months strategizing how she could convince me that the doctor was right.
In the end, my two oldest daughters were there with Jim and me for the birth of Benjamin; my only child birth experience without pain medication.
Jim said he's never heard anyone scream inside a building as loudly as I did the last five minutes of delivery.
The reason I aquiesced to my daughters' desperate begging to see their baby brother be born? Because they have been so helpful during my pregnancy, it didn't seem fair to leave them out of the most exciting moment of all.

5:15 p.m., October 27, 2011

Benjamin Paul Oldroyd
3.87 kilograms (8 pounds, 8 ounces)
51.2 centimeters (20 inches)

After six weeks of sporadic bouts of false labor, Benjamin's due date came and went; still no baby. With the exception of Susan Grace (my first baby), I have gone into labor on or before my due date with all of my other children. Much to my disappointment, it looked like I was going to have to be induced with this baby. Bummer! Knowing what I knew about my previous birth experience in Korea, I faced the facts: induction without epidural. Yikes.

The Seoul Zoo

After I hit 39 weeks of pregnancy, we started trying desperately (and without success) to get my body to go into labor. One of the funnest things we did was go to the zoo.

38 Weeks

Oh, Brother!

In the beginning of my pregnancy, I was certain our baby would be a girl. I was so certain that I bought some "girl" fabrics to make a quilt. When I found out we were having a boy, I wondered what to do with the fabric. Gracie took the fabric to one of my friends to learn how to make a rag quilt. My friend added blues and stripes to the two fabrics and made the quilt boyish. Brilliant. Now the quilt is perfect for a baby brother.
Miriam liked the quilt so well that she wanted to learn how to make one. She decided that Daniel needed a similiar quilt. She made a cowboy quilt for him.

Awaiting the Baby

We spent most of the first weekend of October getting the house ready for our baby. We set up the crib, moved Daniel to a big bed, washed clothes, cleaned car seats and other baby equipment. The house now felt a little more full, but empty at the same time. We waited anxiously for our baby to arrive.

My Sugar Mold, Fall 2011

I got this antique sugar mold from Napa Style a few years ago. It makes flower arranging easy and fun.

Lemon Ice Cream

A few years ago, when we lived in Chicago, Jim gave me an ice cream maker for my birthday. We attempted, unsuccessfully, to make ice cream a few times. Soon thereafter we moved to Korea. I brought my ice cream maker with me but shoved it into a corner, resolving that if it was difficult to do in Chicago, it would be impossible here.
This summer, I noticed my ice cream maker sitting in the garage and I thought, "Why not try it again?". This time I read through the instruction manual and determined to take a scientific approach to our ice cream making. The first attempt of our ice cream making was for our Fourth of July party. It didn't turn out very good. I determined to try a few new recipes each Sunday during the summer months. A few more tries and our ice cream was delicious. Our favorite recipe is Lemon Ice Cream (a recipe Jim had growing up).

Lemon Ice Cream
6 quart freezer
5 1/2 C sugar
1 gallon whole milk
Heat milk until just bubbly, add sugar and dissolve over low heat.
Remove from heat. Add the juice of ten lemons.
Stir in one pint of whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of lemon extract.
Cool in refridgerator overnight.
Mix in ice cream freezer.

*This recipe actually makes two batches in our six quart machine.