Baby Kids Club

merry christmas in january

This year we sent out New Years cards instead of Christmas cards. So in keeping with that way of thinking (always put off tomorrow what can be put off til tomorrow. or something like that) I am now going to do my Christmas post in January. I just know there are readers out there longing for the Christmas season again, so here you go.

A note about the above photo. I know it looks like a lot of presents. But here's my disclaimer : we have 18 people in our family when my oldest kids and their wives and little ones come over. So if each person - including little Macie, who will arrive in April - gets just 2 presents… do the math.

(That was your algebra problem for the day, kids. Do I have any readers who are kids? If so : you're welcome.)

Oh wait, that wasn't algebra.

Nevuh mind.

Next…

This is the moment of truth- when my children eye the stack of presents spread out on the living room floor, and the excitement on their faces reveals just how thrilled they are.

Lily is clearly impressed. Jack and Noah are eagerly anticipating opening an Eagle Town Castle, and the size of the box in front of them is boding glad tidings. Abigail is searching the stash before her, desperately hoping to see a rainbow-loom-shaped box somewhere in the midst of it all. Caleb didn't see a girlfriend under the tree, so he's quietly grieving on the sofa…

….okay, I jest. He's only 13. He is still promising me that he'll live with me forever. Because if he leaves, who will find all the missing objects in the house for me ????

Okay, all kidding aside- this was the best moment of the morning ….

Sam and I scored this kitchen set and all the food and dishes to go with it, as well as a little apron, chef's hat and potholders, on Craisglist -- for $40.

But the look on her face when she saw it -

…priceless.

She walked over to it and started turning knobs and opening doors as if she had owned a miniature wooden kitchen her whole life. She knew EXACTLY what to do with everything- she was in heaven.

And then we let her open the accessories that went with it…

Oh my heart. She played with it the entire day.

Today is the last day of January, and she is STILL playing with her kitchen for hours every day. Best investment ever, hands down.

Hayden loves her kitchen set too…

…well, he loves the food. Typical man.

He wasn't quite as thrilled with his presents (mostly clothes), but he had fun eating the wrapping paper. Which is traditional at this age, right ?

If I were on Instagram I would hashtag that last sentence #canigetanamen.

Abigail has become quite the baker these days, so pretty much every gift she received had to do with her newfound passion. She got: a book called Hello, Cupcake, piping bags and tips, flavors to add to frostings, a special pouring thingamabobby that helps her distribute the batter evenly into the cupcake pan, cupcake liners, cake mix, and this darling cupcake apron. We don't have a tv, but Abbi has watched a host of Cupcake Wars episodes on youtube in an effort to improve her culinary skills. She narrates her own show as she bakes, as a result. For reals. I'll walk past her doing her thing in the kitchen and overhear her explaining the process to an imaginary panel of judges … "So what we tried to do here, is combine savory and sweet into one fabulous cupcake by infusing the batter with essence of basil and a little agave, giving this dessert a lovely combination sure to wow your palates."

Or something like that.

Anyhoot, look for her on the covers of future baking magazines, I'm sure she'll be wowing palates nationwide in the days ahead.

That is my hunk of a husband. The Santa hat is a must every Christmas morning. It gives him the sense that he took part in all the preparations - the gift buying, the wrapping, the careful analysis of Christmas lists to make this all happen… not that I'm bitter or anything. Mrs. Claus has always been the force behind the scenes that makes everything come together, since time immemorial, hasn't she ?

But he did pay for it all.

So there's that.

hashtag #lololololololololol.

This rather flattering picture of Mackenzie flipping her hair around, Naomi hiding behind Jason, and Jason ripping into his packaged scrubs (wrong size, dangit!) is only meant to demonstrate that our older children were present for the present opening ceremonies. They just aren't as cute to capture on film as Lily and Hayden, you know ? Wait a minute- did I just say film ?? #datingmyself

That's Caleb modeling his new sweatshirt from us, and his jammies from Grammi. Back off, ladies- he's mine for the next 45 years.

These next three photos are the epitome of Christmas morning for our little boys.. I think every one of our gang has some memory of "the year they got such and such for Christmas." As I mentioned before, this was the year of Eagle Town Castle. Not quite as cute and vintage-y as Lily's kitchen, but right up there with play-with-this-thing-every-day as far as longevity goes. Worth every penny of the $45 steal I got it for on Amazon's day-after-Thanksgiving-sales.

Can't you just hear the screams ?

Thank you Bank of Sam for funding this moment.

And lastly…the best Christmas present ever…

…knowing this little guy gets to stay in our family forever.

Although this post has been rather lighthearted, I am teary eyed typing this. Last Christmas we thought we were losing our grandson. Jason and Naomi brought him home from the hospital, and although his birth parents loved him very much, they were unable to care for him. If you haven't followed, it's a long story… but in a nutshell, if you are a foster parent, you forever have my utmost respect and awe. Knitting your heart with a child, investing love and time and tears into someone that you may have to say goodbye to forever, is an incredible act of sacrifice. I've watched my adult children pour their lives into the little ones who have come into their home, and I know for a fact I could not do that. I know I am not strong enough. I honestly don't know how we would have made it through losing Baby K if that had happened. Last Christmas was one of the hardest Christmases we've gone through, wondering if the little boy who called us Nana and Papa was going to move across the United States from us, probably never to be heard from again.

But God.

Don't you love those two little words ??

God moved on hearts, and in just a month or two Baby K will be a Rice forever. And the best part ? His birth parents are all for it. In fact, his birth daddy sent him gifts and a card for Christmas, as well as a text message to Jason and Naomi, sending them "a hug from a thousand miles away" for raising his son.

I'll stop here, because now I'm a big puddle of tears sitting at the computer desk.

Merry Christmas to all….. in January.

New Born Baby

For Maura and Luke

Kids Club 10:38

This morning I read a blogpost that impacted me in such a profound way… probably because of the similarities in this family's story and mine.

You can read about Maura HERE.

Many of you are already familiar with Reece's Rainbow… it is an organization dedicated to finding families for children with special needs. Today, as an act to honor Maura, I am donating to this little boy's grant fund on reecesrainbow.org

Right now little Luke has a family that is earnestly pursuing adopting him. They are fundraising privately for agency fees, homestudy fees, etc. I would love to help them adopt Luke by rallying Lily's readers to donate to Luke's grant fund today.

I can't imagine our family without Lily…reading Maura's story so touched my heart, and I want that to translate to action.

Will you help me honor Maura's memory today ? Whether that's donating to Luke or bringing a teacher flowers or paying for coffee for the person in line behind you at the drive-thru…will you find a way to honor Maura today ?

If you're on Instagram, take a photo of your small act of kindness and hashtag it #honoringmaura.

I'd also love to hear about your purposeful acts of generosity and love in the comment section below…

Happy Wednesday. xo

New Born Baby

three things

Kids Club 16:32

Don't fall over, but I'm posting for the second time in two days.

It's raining out and my sweet husband just dropped off a soy decaf white mocha and I'm scrapbooking in between loads of laundry.

Those three things are bringing me joy right now.

Your turn … what three things are bringing you JOY right now ??

New Born Baby

free smiles here

Kids Club 11:12

It's Monday…and things are moving verrrrry slowly at The Rice Ranch. I have one kid down with the yucky virus that has been sweeping through our household, and two kids on the mend. We have weekend laundry to catch up on... wait, who am I kidding- we never get our laundry all the way caught up. Okay, I have a lifetime of laundry to attend to…and five kids to homeschool (Tyler just left for work.)

So all of that to say - this will be a hodgepodge post. Meaning I'm throwing pictures up… well, not throwing them up, but throwing them up onto the blog …and adding some quick thoughts to go with them.

All of this is designed to bring a smile to your face, and alleviate any guilt I have about not blogging much lately. (Which is silly- I mean, nobody makes me feel guilty for that…but I still suffer from blogger-guilt if I leave this place unattended for awhile. Just ignore this little confession here, if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

Ahem. Where was I ?

Oh yes, a smile to your face …

…Lily was in a dance competition on Instagram. We submitted five 15 second videos of her dancing over the course of one week…and she won. The prizes have just started arriving - various items from the sweetest IG shops - and it's like Christmas every day here. The gorgeous mustard yellow cowl above was knit by @sunshinejlr on Instagram. Kenzie had a cowl that she bought from Target, and she decided to be Lily's twin for church yesterday - matching top-knots were the cherry on the proverbial ice cream, if you will. Or is that sugar on top ? Cherry on top…sugar on top of the cherry…. okay, clearly I have no idea how the saying goes. But they were DARN CUTE is what I'm trying to say.

More smile material….

… this is a family favorite. I got the recipe a few years ago from Heidi Darwish's blog, and we have had it approximately 547 times since then. My kids even prefer it over pepperoni, no joke. Since posting about this on Instagram, I have been informed that pizza stones take the level of pizza perfection up a few notches, but I have a secret phobia: scratchy feeling pizza stones. I cannot handle the feel of a pizza stone in my hands. It feels like nails on a chalkboard to me, and it give me the willies. This takes all the fun out of pizza making for me. Which is normally almost a spiritual experience- the stretching of the dough, and the smell of fresh basil, the sense of accomplishment as I layer fresh roma tomatoes and basil and mozzarella into a perfectly symmetrical pattern on my garlic and olive oil slathered dough. It's heavenly. So why would I want to ruin that experience with a scratchy feeling pizza stone ?

(Please don't tell my husband - I'm sure he paid good money for the aforementioned stone.)

Anyhooot… if you want to use a scratchy feeling pizza stone, I promise not to hold it against you next time I see you. But as for me and my house- we shall use a nonstick pizza pan.

World without end, amen.

See that beautiful vintage quilt right there ? The one with the delicious slobbery baby sleeping contentedly on it ? It was my great (I think) grandmother Kopp's.

She may be rolling over in her grave right now, knowing I am placing my slobbery babies to sleep on it.

But listen- vintage quilts were made to be enjoyed.

Trust me on this.

I was actually given this quilt by my aunt, with the instructions to never use it. I was supposed to keep this quilt carefully stored in my hope chest, so that it is preserved for future generations. Only…I just want to enjoy it myself. And if future generations keep storing it carefully in hope chests, only to be preserved for their future children and grandchildren - I mean, where does it end? Nobody will get to enjoy the loveliness of this heirloom quilt if we all just keep storing it, right ? And besides, my aunt has passed on into eternity, and so has my grandma, so what they don't know won't hurt them, right ?

(Does anyone else do this with their vintage heirloom quilts?? Obviously I have a little quilt-guilt mixed in with my blogger-guilt today. Oh dear, and my pizza-stone-guilt. Yikes.)

Two more items to bring a smile to your face today…

Seriously ?? I dare you not to smile after looking at that picture.

And last, but not least… Sunday morning giggles. Oh gosh.

Happy Monday !!

Now go take on the day.

New Born Baby

instagram meet-up

Kids Club 22:14

Back in December I had the opportunity to meet a friend from online…Instagram, actually… and it was one of those occasions when you feel like you've known someone all your life, rather than just less than a year. I don't know if you've had an experience like that, but it was pretty cool. And honestly, I don't know if this particular connection was felt more strongly because of our mutual love for all things Down syndrome, or because we share similar experiences (babies late in life, etc.) but meeting my friend Kelly from IG was just like I thought it would be - we laughed, we cried, and we vowed to make it all happen again soon.

Kelly's daughter, Nora, shares Lily's extra chromosome. She also shares : her love for dancing, her spunky personality, her passion for shopping and tea (see photos below) and her taste in fashion.

While Kelly and I embraced immediately, it took our shy girls just a tad longer to warm up to each other. In just a few minutes though, they were sharing shopping secrets and posing for photo shoots together like long lost sisters…

We met each other at AC Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem ... this quaint children's museum was the perfect place for the kids to play and have fun while Mackenzie and Kelly and I chatted away. Kelly's kind husband got us a group rate (their boys and Abigail brought our total up to ten) and we joked that he and Sam would hit it off in real life as well… (anyone who knows my husband is familiar with his uncanny ability to never pay full price for anything. "I've got eleven kids here, what kinda deal can ya swing me??")

Lily comparing coupons with Nora

We moved through the museum slowly and leisurely, taking pictures and discussing everything from birth stories to mutual IG friends to our faith in Jesus - it was such a treat to talk to another mom in real life who went through a (somewhat) surprise diagnosis for Down syndrome. Although we both fell head over heels in love with our girls the moment they were placed in our arms, it took time for us to reconcile those feelings with worries that can accompany a diagnosis of special needs. We talked about how very normal things are today, and how we wished we could have known then what we know now.

In spite of all the similarities between Kelly and I, we quickly realized how different our girls are. Lily is shy and very clingy, whereas Nora is outgoing and vocal and very independent. It was so interesting to watch these two little pixies together, with all their differences - Nora took center stage in the puppet show room, dancing and singing for all of us to enjoy, while Lily watched quietly from the sidelines. Lily primped and posed for photos, while Nora determinedly played the photographer, snapping and editing photos like a seasoned pro.

editing for Instagram

I was so thankful to have Mackenzie there to capture these moments on her camera - I could have talked for five more days with Kelly and still not gotten my fill.

One of my favorite rooms at AC Gilbert's is the "China"room. Our girls had so much fun pouring make-believe-tea and pretending to sip their soup from tiny bowls. Nora was the more spiritual of the two, saying grace before their meal, while Lily just slurped her soup noisily across the table.

The afternoon ended too soon, with Kelly and I making plans to get the rest of our families together in the future… she and her husband live just one state over, and we promised each other a longer visit the next time they come to Oregon.

Kelly, if you're reading - thank you for a lovely day of sweet conversation and friendship.

We're looking forward to many more moments like these in the days to come :)

New Born Baby

coming soon

Kids Club 22:37

Hey, guess what ? I was just going through old pics in lightroom (editing software) and I found THE CUTEST photos, that I never had time to blog about. I mean THE CUTEST.

But I don't have time to blog about them tonight either, because Hayden was up crying the entire night last night, and I am going to bed now. And I'm praying we don't do a repeat of last night.

Apparently I didn't have a lingering sinus infection last week, I had the flu. Or some other nasty virus.
Because now Hayden has it, and he looks like I felt - only he gets to scream about it all night, whereas all I could do was wake Sam up 45 times throughout the night to tell him I "was dying" and could he "please get me tylenol, water and a back rub in that order, stat."

"It's almost morning and who is going to rub my legs and back when you go to work??" was what I told him last week. He was laughing, but I wasn't kidding.

And poor little Hayden- I'm pretty sure that's what his pathetic crying all night could have been translated as - "Who is going to pace the floors with me if you guys fall asleep ? WAAAAHHHH!"

Anyhoot….I'm beat. So you don't get a post, you get a tease to a post.

Here it is….

See what I mean ???

Cuteness, coming soon….

New Born Baby

mommy guilt, and how to cure it

Kids Club 16:15

It's Saturday … I'm on day four of antibiotics for a nasty sinus infection that has been lingering since Thanksgiving, and I am sloooowly starting to feel better.

I spent Lily's birthday, for the most part, in bed. I haven't been that sick in a long time, and I hope I don't get that sick again any time soon. Note to self: go to the doctor after something has been lingering for two weeks, not two months. Thank you. You're welcome.

Okay, self-talk aside…I just got the pics from Lily's birthday party off the camera and I want to cry.

Not because they were terrible - to the contrary.

It was perhaps THE simplest little party that was ever thrown for a four year old. I had some bigger plans…maybe a small dinner for friends and a themed cake, etc…but I might have ended up in the hospital if I put forth the effort to make that happen. The pre-holiday rush to get everything done, combined with Christmas itself, and then followed up by a move two days later (I kid you not- we did not have one box packed the day after Christmas, and somehow evacuated our house the next day) …ANYHOOT - all of that, on top of an already run down mama trying to ignore a sinus infection….well, it all came crashing down on me the day before Lily's birthday.

More accurately, it all came crashing down on me in the car, as Sam was driving me to the doctor. I was having a major attack of mommy guilt, and the result was a flood of tears and a sobbing confession that went something like this : "I feel like such a failure as a mom because of the sucky party I'm going to throw for Lily tomorrow and I don't even know how I'm going to make her a sucky cake let alone throw a sucky party and …….."

You get the drift.

My daughter-in-love and her sister threw their sons the most amazing birthday party last summer. Everything was themed, right down to the vegetable tray, decorated like Elmo. One of my best friends makes the most amazing cakes for every child's birthday - a castle, a football field, a revolving merry-go-round… (okay, I jest. Almost.) Two years ago I did a pink and green themed party for Lily and coordinated her outfit to match the party- I even hot glue gunned hair bows for her with pink and green curlie-cues to match the ribbons on the tables.

And admittedly- I LOVE doing things like that. I love when my creative juices are flowing, I love how it feels to watch everything come together, and to see the excitement on my kids' faces when it does. I do love being that kind of mom.

And thus the tears.

Sam - my ever-encouraging optimist of a husband - reached across the car, put his tender hand on my knee, and smiled. "Relax, Mama. Lily is not going to know any different. She is happy, she is loved, and she does not care what kind of party you are or aren't giving her."

Which made sense, and did encourage me, and for a little while it stopped the tears.

We visited my doctor, got a prescription for antibiotics, hit the pharmacy, and raced home for a quick dinner of pizza. Sam took the children to church, and Lily and Hayden and I remained at home. I wanted to be in bed, but Hayden wasn't in the mood to snuggle peacefully beside me, and neither was Lily. So I made a feeble attempt at wrapping one of her presents for the next day, but Hayden (teething) screamed pitifully when I tried to leave the room in search of wrapping paper and tape.

At this point, all the mommy guilt that had been assaulting me in the car before, decided to come back with a vengeance - am I the only one who always feels a little bit oppressed when I'm battling sickness ? It's like I can't just be sick, I have to feel guilty on top of feeling cruddy, because I am not able to do all the typical things I do as a mom (make dinner, get kids to church, wrap birthday presents, throw parties….)

So what's a mama to do ? When she's stuck in bed or on the couch, and everything in her is screaming you're a loser and your poor kids are all suffering because of it, when she looks at her pathetic plan for her almost-four-year-old's big day less than 24 hours away and wants to cry, and yet she doesn't even have an ounce of energy to change one thing about that plan….what's a mama to do ?

I'll tell you what I did.

I took my husband's advice.

Relax.

That's what I did.

re·lax

riˈlaks/

verb

1.
make or become less tense or anxious.
"he relaxed and smiled confidently"
synonyms: become less tense, loosen, slacken, unknot
2.
make (a rule or restriction) less strict while not abolishing it.

I am very prone to anxiety. I've blogged about it here many times but anxiety and I can be best friends if I'm not careful. We get each other. Anxiety and I are so well acquainted, that often times I can't tell his voice from mine. His best friend guilt does the same thing to me. And if you're anything like me, when these voices start speaking their ugly lies to me - everything gets tainted. My view of my life, my view of the future, my views about the people around me - everything is skewed. And I have a hard time living in reality. Because I am too consumed with how I am just not measuring up, and I am too upset about what everyone thinks about me (because don't you know, everyone just spends all their time thinking about ME, right ? How I'm such a loser mom, etc. etc.) and that starts to bleed out into the rest of my life.

But that little word up there ?? The one I stole from good ole Webster to make my point ? It changes everything.

Relax.

And did you notice it's a verb ? Which means it's an action word. It's not a noun - in other words, it's not something that I am. It's something I have to DO.

Relax.

Chill.

Or as my kids like to say…

Chillax.

I have to personally take responsibility for the barrage of guilt and angst and negativity warring against my soul and turn.it.OFF.

I like what Peter has to say about this:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Him - meaning God.

Isn't that simple ??

I like simple. I'm a pretty simple gal. And when I'm sick and worn down, and I really don't have the brain power to get all theological, I just need simple.

Chillax. Cast my anxiety on God- give it Him and leave it there.

Simple.

So I did- I prayed and asked God to help me feel better soon, to help me to stop feeling guilty about everything, and to help me to be the best mom that I could be, given my current condition.

And here's what we got as a result….

… Tyler wrapped Lily's birthday presents, Caleb and Abigail made cupcakes, Monique and Naomi came over to celebrate, and Lily was as happy as could be. I stayed on the couch, wrapped up in a warm blanket, Mackenzie took pictures, Koa opened Lily's gifts (at HER request - she smiled shyly every time Daddy handed her a present and handed it to Koa) …

…and somehow the world didn't end.

We sang Happy Birthday To You, we helped Lily blow out her candle, we ate funfetti cupcakes with bubblegum frosting, and we called it a night.

And maybe next year I will throw a wonderful, this-is-how-I-want-to-do-every-party kind of party for my girl. I am already dreaming of how fun it will be do so, and I know Lily will be that much older to enjoy everything just a little bit more.

But going back to the beginning of the post - I just uploaded the party pictures for this post and I wanted to cry. Because although they are devoid of any party decorations, elaborate cake, hoopla, or what-have-you - they are oozing with love. The look in Sam's eyes as Lily shares a secret with him…the smile on Lily's face as she watches Koa open her presents for her…the joy in Koa's expression as he happily complies with her request to do so…even little Norah's look of wonder, as she watches those she loves around her… There is so much love and joy in these pictures, it makes me cry.

baby Macie in Monique's, belly, and Norah

Don't get me wrong- I love our big and special and detailed festivities too - but I'm grateful for these special moments, stripped of any hint of glamor, that are only decorated in love.