Pancake Fridays. . .

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One of the best days of the week in the Zeli house. . . when Dada is home for a 9/80 Friday. . .

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and he makes Chocolate Chip Pancakes for the Zeli boys for breakfast

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(a treat meant to be enjoyed all day long. . .until that huge plate of chocolately goodness is nothing but crumbs and sweet, yummy memories. . .). . .

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Four weeks. . .

ago. . . at this time (11ish am). . . I was sitting in Labor and Delivery with my mom. . . waiting patiently for Dr. Nolfi to come along and break my water. We just chatted about everything and nothing at all. Very nice. . . relaxing. . . something I missed when I delivered Jack and Luke. . . Sam was out having a quick lunch with the boys and Nan and PapPap.

Dr. Nolfi arrived around noonish. . . and I had progressed to a 4.5 to 5 cm ("Is that all?" I said. . .because I came to the hospital at about 3.5 and had been on pitossin since 8 am.). I knew it would be all over once he broke my water. . .and it was. . .I requested my epidural right away. . .but waited 40 agonizing minutes for the anesthesiologist to arrive. . . Sam arrived shortly after Dr. Nolfi finished breaking my water. . . and we breathed. . . and breathed. . .and breathed. . . Somewhere in there I cried (thinking I could never make it. . .) and the nurse came with something for my IV. . . something that made me feel a little tipsy. . .and don't you know my epidural came 5 minutes later. . .

After my epidural I lay on one side for 20 minutes. . . still breathing. . . 20 minutes on the other side. . . And suddenly I had progressed from 5 to 10 in a little over an hour. . . and it was time to push. After pushing through 2 sets of contractions they found the cord wrapped around his neck. . . Very scary. . . He quickly snipped the cord from around his neck (no cries from a little blue baby) and I pushed him out in two more sets.

It's all a blur from here. I saw him very quickly before he was wisked away. . . and he cried about 5 minutes later. . . He had such blue little hands and feet. . . But he was fine.

And I can hardly believe it's been 4 weeks already.

I remember crying the night we brought him home and put him to bed. Afraid I would wake in the night and find him gone. . . But he has reminded me each and every night since (several times each night). . . that he's here. . . and he's not going anywhere. . .

Wisdom

I stumbled across this today during my blog readings (which happen to coincide with Master Ethan's 1-hour feedings. . .). It brought me back to last year, around the time of my miscarriage. . . this same little article appeared in Sam's church newsletter. . . I found it's wisdom comforting, and read it daily for a very long time. . .

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio: To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends, parents or spouse will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Our Favorite Christmas Gift. . .

arrived early. . . At 2:22 pm, on December 16th. . .

weighing 7 lbs, 5 oz. . .20 inches. . .

It seemed like forever before he got here. . . And I can hardly believe that Luke and I took him to see Dr. Talamo today for his 3 week check-up. . .and that he will be 4 weeks on Wednesday. Already growing. . . up to 8 lbs, 10 oz. . . and 21 inches. . . Growing fast to catch up to those brothers of his. . .eager to run and have fun with them. . .

So very sweet and snuggly. . .We're all treasuring our moments together.

I remember the night we put up our Christmas tree, I wished he could be with us to see his little peapod ornament. . .and tonight he lays under the branches, batting at ornaments the boys colored in the days before he arrived. . .

Last year at this time was so very hard. . . remember Jean, and missing her so very much. . .losing our puppy Dude. . . finding out we were (surprise!) pregnant, only to miscarry weeks later. . . And here we are, a year later. . . dizzy and stumbling around with lack of sleep. . . cramming three little boys in the back of our car. . . trying to keep up with mounds of laundry. . . and figure out the new "normal". . . and absolutely so happy and content with our new family.


A happiness I never dreamed of last winter. . . Blessed beyond measure. . . And so very thankful. . .

warm. . .

yellow. . .

beautiful November moments. . .

and memories. . .

Loving this warm weather. . . and think maybe God has had a little hand in it. . .maybe because I have no winter coat to fit over this big baby belly. . .
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Last weekend, we spent Sunday outdoors. . .all day long. . .




Sam built a wonderful fire. . . perfect for a Mama to sit by, warming my fingers and toes. . . and begin a Kringle hat for the baby. . .




Followed by adventures in the woods. . .



and playing in great big piles of leaves. . .

piling them into the fort, and then sliding into them with loud, giddy boy laughter. . .

dogs running a-muck. . . growling, biting, barking and jumping. . .
happy to be outdoors and free. . .

smores. . . warm and gooey, and oh-so-good. . . .


and watching the geese flock, perfecting their V's for their autumn journey. . . .

our mischief maker

It seems, that when I'm pregnant, we have a little prankster who shows likes to play tricks with the Mama and the Dada. . .

While pregnant with Jack, I remember waking up in the middle of the night and feeling water dripping from the ceiling onto my hand. Actual water. I remember wiping it off with a kleenax and waking up Sam. In a panic he ran up to the attic (afraid the roof was leaking), 2 amish, with a flashlight. . .only to find nothing. And now, forever, I am the tortured about the phantom water drips.

And some other little things too. . . living room curtains moving (like the dogs walked passed and moved them. . .but, no dogs around). . . bathroom shower curtain blowing in the non-existant breeze. . . I heard a voice call Daddy! after Sam left for work one morning (that one freaked me out pretty good. . .and I worried all day long that he was going to be in a car accident).

The night we brought Jack home from the hospital, Sam sat straight up in bed in the middle of the night. I awoke right away. Sam went over to Jack's room and came back. He said he had heard toys being played with in his room. . . We attributed it to someone welcoming our little Jack into his new home.

With Luke, it was my keys. They went missing from their little key hanging spot just as we were leaving to go somewhere (separately). I had car keys, but no house key, so we had to stop by Hepler's to get a quick remake. Searched for them everywhere before we left, but could not find them. When I arrived home, I found them laying in the middle of the entry way. . .right in the middle of the floor (which we would have obviously seen before we left).

This time around, he's gotten us twice. First time around it Jack's new columbia sandals. A week after we bought them, one disappeared. Nowhere to be found. For a whole month I looked for that missing guy. High and low. And it was nowhere. It was a day or two before vacation, and I was peeved to think I had to go out and buy him a new pair of sandals. I sent Jack up to his room to look one more time. And down he came with it, minutes later. You found it! I was so excited. He said that he found it on the bench in the upstairs hallway. I told him to thank Dada for finding it (because obviously Sam had found it somewhere and put it there for him). . . Except Sam hadn't found it. It was just there. . .

Our latest (and most likely, last) prank happened this weekend. Sam and Jack were playing the Wii (Chicken Shoot, their new favorite game). I sat down next to Luke to do some sewing, and noticed the tv remote on the couch next to me. We're always losing those things. . .so I placed it on top of the tv (where it's supposed to be). I remember crossing the room in front of Sam (playing games) to put it there. And then I sat back down to sew. Took the boys to bed 9ish. . . and came back down with Sam to shut down the house for the night.

Did you move the remote? he asks me. Yes, I put it on the tv while you guys were playing. No, after that. Did you move the remote? It's not here. Not here. I put it there hours ago.

But, it wasn't there. It was gone.

And I knew immediately it was our little prankster. And then thought we would be stuck for a month not being able to use our tv, because it would be stuck in "gaming mode" rather than cable tv. However, after about 15 minutes of searching all the couch cushions, under furniture, on the mantle, in the kitchen. . .Sam found it on the dining room table. And I smiled. Our little prankster, trying to make us laugh. . .

Halloween. . .

A much anticipated holiday around here. . .Jack thinks, equalling the joys of Christmas and birthdays, is the joy of getting candy on Halloween.

Jack wanted to be a Jedi this year. . .at first. . .until Mama bought all the costume material and half finished sewing the Jedi shirt. . .then he announced that he wanted to be a Space Police man. . . an unhappy Mama announced that he could indeed be a Space Police man, at school, and if he made his own costume. That made two unhappy people. . .

Unhappy until I complete his shirt. . .which he wore for the rest of that weekend. And after I completed the cape, he loved it even more. He told me Friday (flying off of the bus with it on), that he felt like a real Jedi the whole school bus ride home. Ah, magic. [And ended up wearing it all weekend long.]

Luke, on the other had, wanted to be a sign. More specifically, about a month ago, he told me he wanted a shirt with sticker signs all down the sleeves. My creative boy [sigh]. So, I bought a black sweatsuit at Walmart, and painted a silvery road with fabric paint up the leg, over his belly, and wrapping around his back. Then I added some yellow lines on the road (don't all good roads have yellow lines?), and some foamy street signs with little brown posts. The foam signs were a battle. I bought them weeks before, and attempted to hide them away from little eyes. He found them a day later, and whined that he wanted them. And grumped. And moaned. And when he finally gave in to the idea that they were going on his Halloween costume, he asked me daily, Is it done yet?

He adored his signs. And happily wore it for two days straight.

Trick or treat was at night this year. . .for the first year in a little while. And, while we were afraid it was going to rain all day, it only sprinkled on us for a moment. It was a perfect night. Cool. Leaves crunching under happy little boy feet.

Sidewalks crowded with happy little people (and so many different costumes. . .Jack only noticed one other Jedi, an Obi Wan. . .). Friendly adults sitting outside with big bowls of goodies waiting for the children to come along. . . We had a wonderful time.

Luke ran ahead of us a few steps all the way. All over town. His feet never tiring. Bouncing along from one house to the next, singing Trick or treat! and Thank you! at every home we stopped at. That little impy smile never leaving his face. He carried that little pumpkin even when it was full to the top. Loving his goodies.

And goodies. Holy mackeral! I can't believe how much (yummy) candy they brought home. Their bags were both full to the top. And happily spent the rest of the evening (after a snacky dinner out with Nan and PapPap) checking out and munching on sugary goodness.

Luke's favorites, again the buttons this year. Although he only got one package. He happily tried the peanut buttons to discover that they're pretty good too (and don't peanuts count as almost healthy?).