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it feels a bit preposterous to sit down and type out a list of woes on my personal laptop, in my own heated house, while my four healthy children nap or play (respectively) and I sip on a San Pellegrino flavored water from a case that a neighbor on our Buy Nothing group just gifted us. and yet. and yet! there has been quite a bit of woe in the last several weeks and I want to complain about it, so I shall. at the top of the list: car woes. not one, but two of Nick's cars were hit by other drivers within the past month. fortunately he was not injured, but working on his cars is essentially therapy for him -- so he lost not just two vehicles in his fleet, but also the time that was required to deal with insurance and police reports, and the emotional benefit of his favourite hobby. this car was rear-ended while parked. Nick wasn't actually in the car, but saw it happen -- the driver of the SUV in the photo below was driving full speed in the right hand lane and didn't reali

hello, little firecracker!

Victoria Anne was born on the Fourth of July, weighing 6 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 19 inches long! Miss Victoria arrived right on schedule -- I had requested a 39 week induction based on numerous factors, including my age and gestational diabetes, although thank goodness the diabetes was well controlled without medication, so my maternal fetal medicine/high risk OB was comfortable letting me go up until 41 weeks if I wished -- which I didn't! I had an easy induction experience with Greta (at 10 days post-due date), so I was fairly confident that my body would kick into gear quickly the fourth time around. Cecilia's birth was a precipitous one-hour labor that has garnered her the nickname Sidewalk Baby, and Elizabeth was born after a relatively quick five hour labor. 39 weeks happened to fall exactly on the Fourth of July, and we decided to go for it! Mom arrived on a red-eye flight the morning of July 2, and came along to mass with us. that evening, we squeezed in

July highlights: baby Victoria, an unexpected diagnosis, Elizabeth at 19 months, & family reunion

1) Baby Victoria Anne is here! you can read her full birth story here . she arrived at 5:18 PM on the Fourth of July, and we are all absolutely smitten. she is four weeks old today. as I've experienced with now all four of my girls, time is such an elusive concept in the newborn stage. on the one hand, it seems she can't possibly already be almost a month old, while on the other, I can't imagine a time that she wasn't a part of our family. one of the things I treasure most about this postpartum time is the opportunity to visit with friends and family. I'm so grateful for their support and thoughtfulness in bringing meals and spending time together -- it's nourishing for both body and soul! Vin and Susan brought us a delicious meal featuring pork belly and pork tenderloin (we had corn on the cob and salad too, but we probably could have all used a bottle or two of Lipitor!) unbelievably delicious ladies' night with my best girls (not pictured: pizza and wi