Skipped Out

Tis' three mornings before Christmas. Not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.

Better not be a mouse.

Jose and Jack are sleeping and I have a quiet morning to myself. Paving the way for Christmas traditions today, cookie baking and present wrapping. This month has been all about teaching Jack the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of giving.

Last week was a blur of worries, frustrations and tissues. Nothing was accomplished. We won't be sending out Christmas cards this year. There just wasn't enough time.

We had a little scare. I thought the baby was kicking. Hard, because I could feel it in my throat. Getting winded so easily is not uncommon when you're seven months pregnant with a toddler to chase after. It turns out my heart was skipping every fourth beat, consistently.

Skipped beats are no biggie, usually. However, when Mom had this during her second pregnancy, Jeff was diagnosed with SVT in utero. His heart rate exceeded past 240, way too fast. They put Mom on heart medicine (Digoxin), induced her early and took him out for a plethora of tests, needle pokes, ice baths and cruel torture. This was twenty years ago yesterday. Happy birthday Jeffrey!

So we were scared. I was afraid to think about being in a hospital (not clocked in). About disputing silly tests with the doctor. I don't want an xray. I don't want any medicine. I want to be natural and have my baby at home. I want him to be healthy. I want to welcome him into a warm room with only the voices he knows.

After some short observation, making sure my electrolytes were okay and the baby's heart beat was perfect, I went home. I just have to take it easy, cut the coffee and cut the dark chocolate.

We did manage to sneak in some time to meet Santa. The mall had a wonderland of presents and trees and elves and reindeer. Perfect icons to teach Jack about the beauty of the characters. I did some research and learned that we have a melting pot of Christmas culture. Traditions blended from all over the world to create a mythical fairy tale.

We met Aunt Stephanie at the mall with her beautiful boys. Jose and I got to practice having a baby and a toddler out to lunch. Haha! Who am I kidding? Out to lunch? Ain't gonna happen.

When Jack caught sight of the cookie counter, there was no passing GO until we paid the toll. And we did, dutifully, hand over his M&M chocolate chip cookie like a good mommy and daddy would.

We stopped by this cool playground to run out some of Jack's energy while hopefully preserving our own. We worked him. He climbed this wall all by himself.

All he can ever talk about is the bide (slide). I feared these as a kid. He's not a fan of the swings, but he'll climb great heights to fly down a slide. Cautious Daddy follows him the whole way.

I'll post the official Santa pictures later. Due to the mayhem of last week, I couldn't round us up for a good Christmas picture. So no Christmas cards this year. My super mom cape couldn't pull through. I'm limited in what I can accomplish. It takes me two days to complete two-hour tasks. I'm not sure if it's from the lack of coffee, lack of chocolate or this slot in my pregnancy, but I'm pooped. I'm hoping to get something out by New Years. Ideas are brewing and I'm excited.