Celebrating Four Years of Oliver Levi!

Our Oliver was born the day after Easter four years ago, a sweet little surprise. I had been experiencing pretty strong contractions that Good Friday throughout the day, four days before he would be born. I remember being so uncomfortable sitting in church, silently trying to time my contractions in my head. That Saturday they subsided some, but I still was pretty uncomfortable.  Since I was still over a month away from my due date, I chalked it up to pretty strong Braxton Hicks contractions and we went to my parents to celebrate Easter.

The next day and a half were still uncomfortable, so Jason and I decided we would call the doctor the next day if nothing more happened that night. On our hour long drive home, I called my doctor who told us to come in right away so that he could check things out, reassuring us that everything sounded fine. I will never forget the look on his face as he examined me and said, "You're seven centimeters dilated already." He hooked me up to some machines there and monitored my contractions. After awhile, he told us not to panic, but to head home to pack and get to the hospital quickly.

We called my parents so that they could come and get Henry, went home to pack, and then left for the hospital. We had to take Henry with us while my parents drove the hour long drive to get him. After he was picked up, I cried so hard because I had never been away from him for more than a couple of hours. I felt a little cheated that I didn't even get to spend that last month of pregnancy with just him.

After he left, a medical student broke my water and things happened quickly. I didn't get an epidural because the thought of a needle in my spine scared me more than the thought of painful contractions. I was ready to push after about an hour at the hospital and Ollie was born shortly after. Since he was a month early, he was taken for a couple of hours to be monitored because of a little fluid in his lungs.  He was 7 lb. 2 oz. and 21 in. long. Had I gone another month, he would have been quite the chunker!

A couple of notes:  There are a lot of pictures in this post.  Also, the pictures in the beginning were taken with our horrid, old camera.

Happy birthday, Ollie! You are our funny, sweet, stubborn, loving little boy and we are thankful to God every day for you!

Thinking Spring

While the windchill might feel like -4 out right now, I'm doing my best to incorporate spring inside of our home.  Let me tell you though, I'm ready for winter to leave already.  Last year at this time I had been using herbs from my garden for about a month, my tulips were flowering, and the boys had played outside without jackets!  I will not be bitter though.  Or, I'll try my hardest to not be.

Happy Tuesday to you.  I'm sending warm thoughts and sunshine your way! Let's hope the weather cooperates soon, after all, spring does begin tomorrow.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Hi!

Before we talk about the buttermilk pancakes that will knock your socks off, I'd like to apologize for not showing up here very often in the past few weeks.  Family comes first, and I would like to thank you all for understanding that!

Now, let's get on to the purpose of this post.  I'm not a big pancake person, but my boys are.  I'm more of an eggs, bacon, and toast lady.  These pancakes though?  These are my favorite because they're not overly sweet and have a great texture.  We've tried other types of recipes:  chocolate chip, blueberry, and ordinary pancake recipes that call for special sauces made from strawberries or bananas.  It doesn't matter.  This is the recipe I always come back to because it tastes the best.  Jason got the recipe from his host family when he was a student teacher years ago.  We love these pancakes so much that I make them in the morning every year on our anniversary.  They're especially delicious with strawberries and champagne!  I hope you try them.  More importantly, I hope you love them!

Mr. T's Buttermilk Pancakes
(no, not that Mr. T.  I pity the fool)

Beat 2 eggs
Add:
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder

Mix the above ingredients well.  Whisk in 1 1/2 cups flour, leaving the mixture lumpy.  Fry with Crisco or butter.  This recipe yields about 20 small pancakes.

Do you have a favorite pancake recipe?  Please, let me know!  I'm always looking to try a new favorite family recipe!

*****

I'll be back tomorrow with some signs of spring in our home!  See you then!