Back on again

Okay, so I have been gone for quite awhile now.  It's hard to get anything done with a new baby and four other busy kids.  But I also haven't been blogging because I sacrificed my computer keyboard to coconut milk while making coconut strawberry cupcakes for Anna's birthday party.  I finally have my computer (and new keyboard) back.  I will update you on Anna's birthday and all the adventures later.  But I did want to add a few of today's experiences first.

Tyler informed me this morning, "Mom, you're going to die soon."
"No, I'm not. Why do you say that?"
"Well, because your 40 right now and then you'll be 50, then 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100.  And then you'll die."  Does it really seem that short a period of time from 40 to 100?  I'm done for!

Natasha is my little stubborn girl.  As usual, she wanted to pick out her own clothes while getting dressed.  She picked out a purple shirt and I proceeded to find some coordinating hot pink leggings.  "No, I don't want this.  I pick it out myself, Mommy!" she said, and then proceeded to pick an identical pair of pink leggings.  Stubborn and independent.  Hmmmm.  Where did that come from?

Gotcha!

Tyler loves Spiderman.  He also loves pirates, knights, swords and dragons.  Today I turned around and found him standing behind me, ready to tangle me up with his web shooters.  I love little boys!

Gotcha!

First break!

Okay, so I received a call from Anna's teacher today.  Apparently someone ran into Anna at school and she fell and hurt her wrist.  After getting it checked out at the hospital, we discovered that she had a compression fracture in her wrist.  This is the very first broken bone in our family.  Not really something to celebrate.  But I am happy that the break is not too bad.  She has to wear a cast for two weeks.  The only problem will be making sure the cast comes off before she gets baptized.  I told the hospital staff that I needed to get it off before her baptism.  They looked at me in puzzlement.  I then explained that we do baptism "by immersion" -- so it will HAVE to get wet.

Anna with her temporary cast.

Anna with her pink cast.  Wow!  These things are so much better than when I was a kid -- color choice?

Rollerblades

Today Anna and I went rollerblading along Lake Geneva.  It was so refreshing to be outside again and using my NOT PREGNANT body.  The sun drenched everything and the blossoms almost smothered us with their perfumes.  The best part was spending some special one-on-one time with Anna Claire.  Things have been so busy with the new baby that I cherish these moments of peace!

Doings. . .

The kids have been on spring break for the past few weeks and we definitely did not plan a vacation.  Instead, I've tried to fill their time with other activities.  Anna and Mariah took tennis lessons last week. I had to drag them there the first time, but after that they loved it.  Rob has now set up our garage door as a backboard so that they can practice.  This week, Anna got to try out circus school.  Mariah has been in a circus class all year and Anna has been dying to go.  They learn all sorts of things there -- from balancing and acrobatics to just doing funny circus tricks.  Anna got particularly good at walking on giant balls.  Random, but great for the core!  Maybe I should try this!  The only place besides these that I've managed to get to is the park.  At least we've had sunshine!

Mariah playing pirates at the park.

Anna with her circus friends. 

"Go faster Mom!"

America?

Tyler looked at the American flag on a peanut butter jar today and said, "Mom, I want to go to this country."
I said, "That's the American flag.  We are going to that country."
"But Mom, do they speak American there?" he asked.
"No, they speak English, just like us.  America is your country.  You're American."
"No, Mom.  I'm from Switzerland."
"You were born in Switzerland but both your parents are American so you are American too."
"Oh!"

How is it that my kid doesn't know his heritage?  I mean, we taught him the entire Star-Spangled Banner on the way to Paris last year and he loves hearing about the Revolutionary War.  We have been here too long.  Tyler was born in Switzerland and that is what he sees as his country.  He can't fathom that he is not Swiss.  There is no automatic citizenship for foreigners born here so Tyler is no more Swiss than any other American.  Furthermore, he can't understand how he is supposed to identify with a country where he has never lived, but only visited a few times.  The complexities of our situation here help me to better empathize with American immigrants.

On the other hand, people tend to think that we Americans are extremely harsh with immigrants.  Au contraire, the U.S. is one of the most generous countries in the world with immigrants.  The U.S. on a yearly basis generally accepts more immigrants as permanent residents than all other countries combined.   Moreover, the U.S. and Canada are the only two advanced economies that still recognize jus soli, which is the grant of citizenship solely by birth.  We definitely need to overhaul our immigration laws, but in doing so, maybe we should consider what many other European countries do -- offer more temporary permits but limit pathways to permanent citizenship.  However, then you risk ending up with kids like my kids -- children with no rights in the only country they have ever known.

That reminds me.  I need to get Thomas a U.S. passport quickly.  Otherwise, he is stateless. :)

Happy Birthday Kari!

Today is my first full day back at home.  In some ways, I just want to go back to the hospital and hide there for another week.  Life is so busy here with kids and kids activities galore.  The kids are out of school for two weeks so I'm challenged trying to entertain them and feed a new baby and generally recover myself.  

Here is little Thomas completely unaware of his change of environment.  This swing is a life saver!

Kari's birthday is today so I wanted to do something a little special.  She loves German chocolate cake so that's what we made.  After I decorated it, I realized that it looked kind of like a generic grocery store cake.  But it tasted much better!

My grocery store looking cake.

Happy Birthday Kari!

"Mmmm.  I yike it!"

My lunch

I just thought I would take a picture of the typical lunch that I get at the hospital.  Each meal is always beautifully presented and very fresh -- although they serve too many croissants and not enough protein in the mornings.  Yet another reason why it's nicer to have a baby in Switzerland.  I've never seen food like this at U.S. hospitals.  Maybe Obamacare will bring better food to U.S. hospitals.

Happy Easter!

Also, here is the view out my window.  It overlooks Lake Geneva and the French alps.  The weather has been pretty nasty, even though it is supposed to be spring.  Today we finally have sun!

Here is my sweet little Thomas.  I love it when babies sleep like this, with their little arms hanging down and relaxed.  I think I will get through the next through sleepless months by telling myself that I need to enjoy these precious moments because this is the last time I will have an infant.

Introducing Thomas Robert Woolley

We are thrilled to announce the birth of 

Thomas Robert Woolley

Born: March 28, 2013, 5:12 p.m.

Lausanne, Switzerland

Weight: 4 kg (8 pds, 13 oz)

Length: 52 cm (20.5 in)

We feel extremely blessed by the arrival of our fifth child and we are so glad he is here.  Thomas is the name of his 6th great grandfather, the first Woolley ancestor that we can trace, and the great grandfather of Edwin D. Woolley.  Robert comes from Rob, of course, but also from Rob's grandfather, Grandpa Bob Madden.  Also, one may say that the name Robert comes from me too.  After all, I was named after my Aunt Roberta who was named after my grandfather's twin brother Robert.  It all comes full circle!

The kids are so excited to have a new little brother.  Natasha has been running around singing the Dora song, "I'm gonna be a BIG sister!"  Tyler is ecstatic to have another boy in the family.  Anna Claire and Mariah are turning out to be big helpers.  Best quotes of the kids regarding the new baby:

Natasha: "Ooooh! His skin is so soft!"

Tyler: "I still don't understand why he wasn't born with his clothes on! 

Maybe because of all that blood."

Mariah: "Mom, it looks like you still have another baby in your tummy."

Natasha: "His eyes are funny. They look like this. . ." She scrunches her eyes up.

Tyler, after Mommy explained that Natasha should not hit the baby, but protect him: "Natasha is going to be the Protector and I'm going to be the Saver.  I have my sword."

Here are lots of photos to look through:

 Baby Thomas' first picture.

Thomas and Mom are exhausted after a long labor and birth.  I was induced and I thought everything would be nice once the epidural kicked in.  Unfortunately, the epidural did not work even after multiple attempts by the anesthesiologist.  (Why didn't someone tell me that could happen?)  I ended up giving birth without anesthesia, but NOT by choice.  Why people actually choose that is beyond my comprehension.

Thomas poses for a picture.  We think he looks like a cross between Anna Claire and Tyler at birth.

A proud daddy with his son.

"Let me see!" "Me too!"  The kids crowd in to get a glimpse of their new brother.

"I'm a BIG sister now!"

Mariah is thrilled to hold Baby Thomas while Tyler tries to shush him.

Anna Claire, the biggest sister and my big helper.

Mariah's a big helper too!

"Yes!  I've finally got a brother!"

"I can hold the baby too, Mommy!"

It's boy time!

Kari with little Thomas.

  I couldn't do without her.  She has been an ENORMOUS help during this pregnancy and it was so nice to have someone I could trust to watch the kids during the birth.  (Especially because my mom is not here this time.  Margaret is due with her fifth child any day now so she is needed there.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Okay, so I know that this is definitely not a holiday in Switzerland, but it's still fun to do everything green.  I promised the kids I'd make them green pancakes for breakfast, so that's what I did.  I don't have any Irish heritage, but the kids do.  Rob's grandfather comes from Irish blood (O'Madden).  They came over during one of the potato famines.  It was a nice chance to give the kids a little history/ancestry lesson.

Green pancakes coming right up!

Natasha and her owie

Natasha fell while she was climbing the table last night and split open her head in the back.  I had to take her to the emergency room to get stitches.  Because the wound was on the back of her head, it was hard to bandage it, so we ended up wrapping something all around her head.  She looked hilarious -- like a wounded civil war officer with golden curly hair, plus kittycat pajamas and pink boots.  Fortunately, the cut is in the back of her head so the scar won't show.  I hope she learned her lesson.

My little wounded sweetie.

Too much candy

Tyler told me today, "Mom, I don't really think you have a baby in your tummy. . . I just think you ate too much candy."    At least he has learned the connection between sugar and weight gain.  Maybe this baby bump really is 50 pounds of candy!

España: Valencia

Another highlight of our trip was going to Valencia.  After stopping at church along the way, we headed to this fascinating city.  I could definitely live here.  Spanish, good weather all year round, beautiful parks and fabulous museums.  

Here we are at the City of Arts and Sciences.  The architecture is incredible and the place is full of various museums. 

Anna and Mariah at the Science Museum.  We came here because this was the cheapest of all the attractions, but it's perfect for kids.

Natasha swinging in Spiderman's lair.

One of the best displays was the Superhero exhibit where kids got to understand some of the "science" behind superheros.  This is supposed to be a giant brick that makes you the size of a spider and shows how spiders use tiny grooves to climb walls.

Help!  It's the Incredible Hulk!

I took Mariah, Tyler and Natasha into the construction zone.  It is cleverly outfitted with soft bricks with which they lift, cart and build structures.

Natasha, the construction worker who was more fascinated with the water exhibit.

Mariah leading construction on the building.  I was amazed at how the kids (even though total strangers) naturally started cooperating with each other to get things done.  What does that say about human nature?

Gulliver's Park.  This is one of the most interesting play structures I have ever seen.  Valencia rerouted the river that used to run through the town (to control flooding).  In its place, it created a giant green space filled with paths and playgrounds (Valencia's version of Central Park).  This play structure is just one of many, but so creative.  It is a giant Gulliver tied down with ropes and filled with all sorts of slides and crevices.  The kids who play on it are the Lilliputians!

 Mariah standing by Gulliver's "hair".

Natasha and Mommy standing just above Gulliver's chest (see his lace blouse).

 The kids could have spent hours here.

Mariah navigating Gulliver's blouse.

Climbing through Gulliver's hand.

 Mariah and Tyler climbing Gulliver's sword.

Goodbye Valencia!