This Christmas Season - Part 2

How is it that Christmas seems to sneak up on us every year? I don't mean that generally, I mean, us, the Hipps family, and me most of all. It's like I'm the only person on the planet who didn't have twelve months to come up with a plan.

In fairness to myself (or, more likely, as a way of making excuses), it seems to me that we did have a lot going on. To start, the cruise which I mentioned in the previous post came with a great deal of stress and mental effort in the form of getting Angie a passport. For this, she would need her birth certificate, which we found easily in the filing cabinet where my highly-organized wife keeps all of our important papers, and which was promptly mislaid and feared to have been accidentally thrown away. I mean, this puppy was missing for weeks. Angie was born in Hawaii, so we had to apply to Hawaii for a new copy and pray that a recent copy of a Hawaiian birth certificate would mean more to the folks in the passport office than it does to some people. A day or two before the replacement arrived, we did finally manage to find the birth certificate in a place it totally shouldn't have been, and Angie was able to make her rescheduled passport appointment. Hooray!

Our next pre-holiday hurdle was... the dishwasher. I was going to go into a lengthy explanation of this debacle, but in the interest of time, suffice to say that our dishwasher went to that great appliance service center in the sky. Actually, it died on us and went to rest against the side of our house where it currently resides while we wait for the yard gnomes to drag it to their underground lair or something; I've forgotten why I haven't taken it to the city dump already. Anyway, it shuffled off its heating coil and we had to buy a replacement. I realize you may say that we didn't have to buy a replacement, in that it's a modern convenience and we could just wash the dishes by hand. We tried this for over a week, but with the number of dishes we generate, we were spending all of our free time at the sink, to the point where the kids were having to come in there to say their prayers at night and, in the daytime, asking if they were really careful, could they please just drive the van themselves to a park or someplace just to get out of the house. So a replacement became a mental health requirement, and one was found and purchased at BrandsMart.

This was all well and good, except that a) in the interest of saving money, we installed it ourselves, which was a lot of hard and, at times, painful work, and b) it took up a sizable chunk of our would-be Christmas budget. Oh well.

We followed this up with Thanksgiving, for which Angie and the kids went to Columbus for the week and I arrived Thanksgiving Eve. The purpose here was to give Joshua a good long time to hang out with his Grandmama, since she'd be coming less than two weeks later to stay with us while Angie went cruising. The week after that we prepped for the cruise with meal-planning and whatnot, and the week after that was the cruise, which I believe I've covered enough. After a day or so for Angie to readjust to family life, we were finally able to buy our first Christmas presents on Thursday, December 17th. Today is Wednesday, December 23rd, two days before the blessed event, and I believe we're almost done with our shopping. Well, Angie's done, and I'm nearly done. Fortunately for me, there's hardly anybody out shopping this late in the season, so I should be able to wrap things up today. Actually, I probably won't have time to wrap until tomorrow. Or Saturday.

This Christmas Season - Part 1

So, the updates to the blog have been lacking. I'd like to say that's because life has been so busy and exciting that we just haven't had time to write about it. Some weeks that is true, but mostly we're just exhausted at the end of the day and don't get around to describing even the interesting events. I suspect this has a lot to do with a certain someone who tends to keep us on our toes.

Interesting events have happened, however, the most recent of which began last week. Last Wednesday, Angie and 5 of her friends went on a cruise to celebrate the 40th birthday of one of the friends. A great time was had by all until the last scheduled day of the cruise, when fog in the port kept them from being able to dock, and they had to spend another night at sea. I hear you saying, "oh, waa, an extra free night on a cruise ship; I feel so sorry for them," and I can see your point. However, these are (mostly) moms we're talking about here, and, to hear them tell it, once they'd switched into the mindset of "I'm going home to see my children," then the fun of being on the cruise ended and the anxiousness to get home began. Also, there was a loud and disturbingly violent fist-fight across the hall on the last actual night, which did nothing to soothe their anxiety. They did finally make it home safe and sound, however...

which is good, because while they were away, times at the Hipps household were a bit on the rough side. My wonderful mom came to stay with us while Angie was away, and I honestly don't think I'd have made it without her. Not that I couldn't handle the kids normally, you understand, for even days at a time; it's just that this was not normal. Maggie had a cold, which made her pitiful at first. Joshua seemed to be getting one when Angie left, and so for the first couple of days I treated it as such. He got a fever, I gave him Tylenol. He had trouble breathing, I put him on the nebulizer. Not the way I'd like to spend the Christmas season, but we were managing.

By Saturday, however, things had not improved. In fact, he'd been waking up every hour or so and just screaming every night. The post linked above mentions that Joshua had "yet to discover just how wonderful his grandmama is," but brother, I believe he knows it now! She would get up and rock him or hold him and he would sleep kind of upright in her arms for a couple of hours in the night. Much Diet Coke (and a little wine) was consumed during the daytime to keep us awake and ease the stress of screaming baby. He was never his usual bright, sunny self, and although he actually slept really well Saturday night (I even thought his breathing sounded better when I woke up Sunday), he pretty much slept for the entire day Sunday. He was incredibly clingy, and just really pitiful. On Monday, the doctor pronounced that he had RSV and an ear infection, which explained the fever and screaming. He perked up a little after the first round of antibiotics, but the biggest improvement came the next day with the return of Mommy! The change was just astounding! He went from listless and pitiful to energetic and happy in about 6 minutes. All of a sudden he was babbling and cooing, crawling around the whole house with a smile on his face as if all was right with the world! I felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief for him at last, and it started to feel like Christmas around here again.

In Part 2 of This Christmas Season, I'll be discussing why it is that we just bought our first Christmas presents yesterday, December 17th...

Fatherhood

...a long, serious post after a seriously long break...

A few weeks ago our church had its first service in its new, permanent building, and it was, quite frankly, amazing in every way. Pastor Tony spoke about where we've been as a church, and pumped up the excitement about where we're going. And while there were several points that made me think, the one that stuck in my mind the most in the days that followed was actually just an aside. He mentioned that he occasionally ("every Monday morning," was the exact phrase, if I recall) felt overwhelmed and frustrated about being a pastor, and, as an aside, he invited those of us who are parents to "be honest" and admit that we've occasionally had similar feelings.

That got me thinking a great deal about my experience as a father. Actually, it was that and a few other events that took place around that time. For one, I found out that afternoon that my brother's college roommate had been killed in a car wreck the night before. This was a guy I'd known since elementary school, when he and Bennett had first become friends. I think we may have even been in a chorus together. Incidentally, I found out about the accident through Facebook, which was a surreal experience that I may have to write about some other time. As if this wasn't sobering enough, when I called my brother to give him the news, he informed me that he himself had been in a wreck earlier in the week - that his car had been hit by a bus, in fact! Just the idea that someone I love had been involved in a situation so closely linked with death in my mind at the moment was heart-wrenching, terrifying. As I say, it got me thinking a lot about my time with those closest to me, and especially about my experience as a father.

More often than I will admit to anyone in person (the expressionless face of a blog can provide a great ear for embarrassing secrets), I have put off doing things with my children because of what I call tiredness, which really boils down to a lazy selfishness. I don't want to exert the energy, I just want to read a book, I just want to veg out in front of the TV or Internet, me, me, me! Certainly, there are times when it's good to be alone, but these years when the children actually want me to do things with them, as opposed to being mortified that I am related to them, are not going to last that long. I know this from the older parents who've told me, and I've seen it first-hand in my own life, as Daniel and Maggie develop dad-less interests by which I've never been enticed. Maggie is a great artist, and while I can be creative, and I enjoy writing and music, I've never been much for drawing or painting. She can't get enough of it. Daniel has developed a love of all things Pokemon, which may be simultaneously the most unusual and least interesting series of games / cards I've ever come across. I'd rather watch golf, for crying out loud!

All that to say, I intend to start doing my best to focus on enjoying my children while they're young. I think I do an OK job at this now, but, as I alluded above, there are times when being a father can be overwhelming and frustrating, usually when I'm already tired or feeling self-focused. So I will be making a more concerted effort in hopes that later in life I won't regret not having done so. Who knows? Maybe it will even head off the whole mortification thing. For the record, I don't believe I have ever been mortified to be related to my own father, and I hope to live up to the example he set.

Graduation

Now that Joshua is 7 months old and sitting up unassisted he has graduated to bathtime in the bathtub instead of the kitchen sink. It's not as easy on the knees and back for mommy, but at least I don't end up soaked.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. Considering that I met my husband when I was 15 and my mom died when I was 17 she is much more like an actual mother to me than a mother-in-law. She is a remarkable woman. She is gracious, caring, gentle, loving, wise, humble, generous, hospitable and a wonderful cook! On top of being a fantastic mother-in-law, she is the best grandmother! Our kids love her. She always stocks the pantry with our kids' favorite foods before we visit, she has toys, books, and movies for the kids at the grandparents' house. She lets them play the piano in their living room. She will light saber fight with Daniel and play tea with Maggie in the same hour. She reads, plays, bathes, feeds, rocks and spoils her grandbabies (in a good way). Joshua has yet to discover just how wonderful his grandmama (that's what we call her) is, but I know that it won't take long. Just one of the fond memories I have of my mother-in-law is when she came to stay with us right after Daniel was born (she arrived at the hospital a few minutes after Daniel was born). Not only did she tidy up the house while we were at the hospital, she went grocery shopping and prepared a meal for us. Then one night when I was up in the middle of the night with a screaming new born she came to my rescue. I couldn't get him to breastfeed or calm down. I was on the verge of a melt down when she came and took him to the nursery/guest bedroom and sang and rocked him until he went to sleep. I was able to get a couple hours of sleep and it made all the difference in the world. She was also there to encourage me (along with Davis) when breastfeeding was a struggle and we had to go to a lactation consultant. I honestly don't know if I can say enough about my mother-in-law. She is truly a blessing and I am so very thankful for her. She raised a great son (two actually) that has become a wonderful husband and father. I love her more than I can say so that is why I wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday on our blog today! I'm extremely grateful that she was born. I love you, Mom, and I hope you have a great day!

Never leave your camera

This weekend I went to a lovely baby shower for a church friend. I took my digital camera with every intention of taking some pictures of the event and of our friends. However, I was asked to take some pictures of the shower for the mother-to-be with her digital camera so I left my camera sitting on a table. It wasn't until after I was home from the shower and leaving to go out with my family that I discovered that my digital camera wasn't in my purse. I then called the hostess of the shower and asked her if I had left it at her home. She said that I had, and sent it home with another friend that would give it back to me at church the next day. I retrieved said camera at church the next day without incident. Then lo and behold when I uploaded the pictures from my camera onto the computer I found this gem.

So let this be a lesson to never leave your camera unattended; you never know what you might find.

And he just keeps growing

It's official, Joshua is now half a year old. That's right, six whole months. People aren't kidding when they say the time flies. It's hard to believe when you are sleep deprived and the house is a wreck that babies grow quickly and it won't be this way forever, but Joshua turning six months old is greater confirmation of this adage. Some of his recent developments are that he has sprouted his two bottom teeth, is rolling both ways, and is doing the pre-crawling sky diver position. He also has tried baby cereal, apple sauce, green beans and sweet potatoes. Oddly enough he doesn't seem to care for applesauce. As you can see from the picture he can sit up unassisted for a short amount of time. Today I took him in for his check-up and he now weighs 19 pounds and is approximately 26" tall (squirmy babies don't make for easy measuring). He weighs less than Daniel but more than Maggie did at that age. He is a very sweet boy who is just taking it all in and starting to develop a sense of humor. While I was at book club last night, Daniel was able to crack his baby brother up by making raspberries with his mouth, which was repeated ad nauseum until Joshua was tired of laughing. At times like these it is easy to see why children are a gift from the Lord. I look forward to what the next 6 months hold for our baby boy as well as for our family.

Vacation Leaves Us Tired

Just a quick post-vacation update: As I mentioned, everyone except me was sick with coughing, sniffling, and nose-running on Sunday after we got back from the glorious beach vacation. Angie, Daniel, and Maggie now seem to be completely well, and Joshua is much, much better. Saturday and Sunday night he was so stopped up that we had to wake up several times in the night to aspirate him (for the uninitiated: babies can't blow their noses, so you have to stick a bulb syringe up their noses and suck out the grossness). Monday night was better, only requiring this procedure once or twice, and so far tonight he's slept peacefully as well. Unfortunately for him, Joshua has to go to the doctor tomorrow for his 6-month tune-up, which means shots, which means more trouble sleeping. *sigh*

Beach Vacation 2009, Day Seven and Epilogue

Day Seven began with our customary Saturday morning pancakes and bacon, then our very sad and not at all customary packing to leave the beach. Once the packing of the bags was accomplished, I began loading them into and onto the van while Angie and the older kids went down to the beach one last time to get their feet wet and play with the souvenirs they bought at the Naval Aviation Museum and the Octopus souvenir store. While there, they had a friendly chat with a local bird.

And, of course, after that, the inevitable moment had come. We loaded our few remaining possessions into the van (minus 1 teether and Maggie's sunglasses, as it turned out) and struck out on the open road again for home. Or at least lunch. It turns out that A LOT of people go out to eat in the Gulf Shores area of a Saturday, and so we had something of a wait in the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru line. After that, we struck out on the open road again for home... again. The trip home added further proof (if any was still needed) for my theory that travel with a baby takes one and a half times as long as travel without a baby, or TWaB = 1.5 x TWOaB. The supposedly 6-hour trip took us right at 9 hours with our various stops for feedings and whatnot. We stopped once at the Russell Stover Candy Store in Greenville, AL, and later we had dinner at Wendy's in Hogansville, GA.
When we finally got home, we unloaded the van as quickly as possible and everyone collapsed into bed. The kids woke up the next morning sniffling and coughing, even Joshua, so we stayed home from church for the sake of our friends and spent a relaxing, yes, lazy last day of vacation in our house. I ventured out for food once or twice, but otherwise, we stayed indoors. I wouldn't have wanted my vacation to end any other way than at home for a full day with my family. Overall, it was a fantastic week, and we can't wait to do it again next year! Assuming they'll have us back...

Beach Vacation 2009, Day Six

On Day Six, after breakfast, after blogging, after lunch, and after Joshua's nap, we finally made it out to Pirate's Island Adventure Golf in Gulf Shores, which we'd been talking about all week.

This time we went on the Blackbeard course, which was reported to be more "stroller-friendly."
It was a great time, though towards the end the kids started to get hot and tired.
After the vigorous exercise of the golf game, the grandparents went to pick up some shrimp and other goodies for the evening meal, and we took the kids to one of the many, many souvenir shops in town, which I believe was called the Purple Octopus, presumably because of the many-tentacled ways they have of extracting your money from you.
Daniel bought himself some pirate-y things, while Maggie got a professional hair braiding with beads.
After the kids had been relieved of most of their money, we went to a nearby ice cream place for a snack.

The evening was capped off with a truly fantastic meal of the aforementioned shrimp (boiled), salad, and the best hush puppies I've ever had, followed by a walk on the beach for Angie and me after the kids were in bed under grandparental supervision. It was beautiful out there alone on the beach under the stars, and very nice to have some brief time to ourselves for the second time in a week!

Beach Vacation 2009, Day Five

Angie mentioned in the comments for Day 3 that I forgot to thank Bennett for the wonderful cheesesteaks he made for us, and she's right, they were excellent. I also failed to mention that in between LuLu's and "You've Been Sentenced" there was a birthday celebration for your truly! My birthday isn't technically until next Friday, but as it was the last night with everyone together, we went ahead and celebrated then with caramel cake, vanilla ice cream, and presents - the customary dollar-for-every-year-of-life from my parents, and a really cool Xbox game from Bennett and Lynley!

Day 5 began with Angie and the kids heading down to the beach again while I worked on the Day Two blog post, followed by lunch (I got up pretty late). After lunch, Angie needed a nap, so I sat on the balcony reading my book, which I was able to finish! In the evening we headed to the top-secret Perdido Kids Park, which has an extremely unassuming entrance with a small wooden sign and a dirt road into the park. The park itself, however, is awesome! Here are some pictures that we were able to smuggle past security:

We went from the park to dinner at the Shrimp Basket in Perdido Key, near our condo, where we tried the Fried Pickles and had a surprisingly good meal of fried seafood. We polished off the evening by letting the kids stay up to watch Kung Fu Panda while I worked on the Day Three blogpost.

Beach Vacation 2009, Day Four

On Day Four, Bennett and Lynley had to head home. We hung out with them in the morning and said our good-byes, then we headed down to the beach, this time with Joshua. He got to play on his crab float in the gulf with us while Maggie made sand castles. After that we went back to the condo and played in the pool.
In the evening, my dad picked up dinner from Lillian's, an incredible pizza place in Perdido Key. After dinner, Angie and I let my folks put the kids to bed, and we headed into Gulf Shores to see the latest Harry Potter movie, which we thoroughly enjoyed. If you have never been to a movie with Angie, you are missing a major treat. She is exactly who the film makers have in mind for their audience. She jumps and screams in startling or scary parts, she laughs louder than anyone in funny parts, and she just makes the whole movie-going experience more enjoyable for everyone. I mean, the movie was good, but really, it was just nice to enjoy it with Angie, and to have my wife to myself for at least a few hours.

Beach Vacation 2009, Day Three

One thing I forgot to mention on days 1 and 2 was that my brother, Bennett, has become an excellent cook! When we arrived on Sunday night, he made tacos with his own homemade salsa, and Monday morning he made Alton Brown's French Toast recipe. Both were awesome, and I wanted to make sure he got credit. Thanks, Bennett!
Okay, now on to Day Three: Breakfast on day 3 was just cereal, so we were able to get right out and go swimming in the morning. We took the Spring Float out to the sandbar as a family minus Joshua. The older kids, as I mentioned, are really becoming excellent swimmers, so heading out to the sandbar was no problem for them. It is amazing to see how far they've come. After our swim, we had talked about going to play Pirate Golf again, but since Angie's back had been hurting, and Bennett's dear wife, Lynley, has a hurt foot, we decided to do something more wheelchair-accessible that wouldn't require bending. So we headed to the National Naval Aviation Museum near Pensacola. Joshua seemed to have a good time, there were several interesting and fun things for Daniel and Maggie to do, and there was even information about the U.S.S. Hornet, where my grandfather (mom's dad) was stationed as a fighter pilot in World War II.
After the museum the party moved to LuLu's Restaurant for an hour-and-a-half wait, some off-key musicians, and some excellent food. If you don't recall from last year, LuLu is the self-proclaimed "crazy sista" of beach musician Jimmy Buffett, and her restaurant is extremely popular. We capped off the evening with a game of "You've Been Sentenced," and everyone collapsed into bed exhausted.