Facebook Phenomenon

Jake and I have fallen into the Facebook Phenomenon!! I am not as addicted as I was the first and second day, looking up old friends from my childhood and college days, but Jake...oh my goodness! The man is Facebook crazed! He uploads photos of the babies and family, his list of friends is HUGE, and when he gets home he posts his doings for the rest of the evening. They change as often as his activity changes. I am witnessing some nerd streaks that have been dormant for several years, or at least burried under diapers and his fascination with his beard.

It has been very fun to connect with old friends and with new friends who are just getting introduced to the Facebook community. I had heard from my little brother that it was "STUPID! A time waster! and very highschool!!" All of his comments were extrememly accurate, but for parents of little people who have very little social contact with adults and sometimes we don't even leave the house on any given day, this has been a fabulous reach into the real world! It is still out there! Everything has continued to go on with out us, and it is so fun to sort of be a part of it again.

During Jake's late work schedule last Friday, I packed up the babies and made a trip back to Iowa City. We had a great time hanging out with the grandparents and aunts and uncle. Iain knows his way around the house, and instead of a tumble down the stairs, only smashed his hand in the piano on this trip. He is learning the ins and outs at the Farm but his two most favorite things are: the book The Wheels on the Bus that has moving parts, and playing the piano. He calls for me to come and sit with him at the bench so that we can play together. "Ma! Maaaa!!" When I go to look for him, he is perched on the piano bench and when he sees me, dramatically pats the bench requesting me to sit beside him. He does the same thing when he needs me to read to him. I get caught up in the adult conversation with my family, and time flies by! When he is off on his own, I don't think of entertaining him, especially if he is fine by himself. It tugs my heart strings, to know that he misses me and wants some of my company-even when he is in a new place and proving his independence.

The one bad thing about the trip was staying over. I was without my comrade...and therefore, double teaming the babies throughout the night. Iain had a bit of a croupe cough to start out, and then Fiona needed to eat. I had brought Iain in the big bed with me, but when I started to feed Fiona, he thought it was party hour and feeling much better decided to jump around...in the pitch, black, dark room!! Being out on a farm without a security light, there is not a street light to even give a slight edge to the darkness (especially with the room darkening shades). Without my glasses on, I was feeding Fiona with one arm, and reaching for the desk lamp so that I could track Iain down. When the light hit, everyone thought it was party time! Brutus looked up from his bed, Fiona looked up at me and started to squeal and Iain continued to jump on the bed. I was exhausted! "This is not a party! It is 3:30 in the morning, we need to be quiet!!"There were a few more incidencies, so the drive home the next day was quite long for mom.

We had a fabulous dinner party here the following night with the pulled pork, fancy mac'n' cheese, and homemade apple pie trifecta. It was a great hit, and although I was behind on my cooking because the washing machine had backed up for the fifth time in two weeks!...my guests were very helpful and forgiving with dinner about 30 minutes late. There were five little men running around the house, and it was so fun to have a full house of people! Fiona was very excited since she could have her pick out of the four guests at some point in her life...she was safely kept in the exer-saucer while the commotion went on around her. All of the little men were enamoured of the baby for a little while, but then it was on to running around and pushing the car around the house.

After a great success, and fabulous left-overs for us the following day, I noticed a general malaise coming upon me accompanied by the chills. With as many cups of tea, thousands of miligrams ofvitamin C and viles of yin chiou being pumped into my veins, I was digressing by the hour and popped the Motrin IB down the hatch without a glance behind me. I am not a nap taker, but this violent bug was rushing over me quickly, and thankfuly Jake had the day off. I told him I would just lie down on the futon for a little while and could he supervise the babies. I fell asleep for maybe 15 minutes and the rest of the time, I was faking. There was a little man, who so tenderly kept coming to my shoulder and saying "Ma? Hi!" I think Iain was utterly confused as to why I should be lying down during the middle of the afternoon.

I could only eat a bite of my dinner, and after the surge from the drugs, it was time to go to bed. I fed Fiona an entire banana with some other components to make a big bowl of "baby gruel" The little pig-pig ate the entire thing!! I was so thankful! I couldn't get warm in bed that night, even lying next to my nuclear reactor bed partner. I started to feel waves of nausea, and even though I felt it was inevitable, I hate to puke. I am the type of person that would do anything instead of puking! I kept pushing the thoughts away, and tried to sleep in hopes that this would pass. If you are that type of puke hater, when you push it down for so long, it has to come eventually and then it is really going to make you pay! I don't know that puking can be a delicate thing for anyone, but just like my children, I am a violent puker.

I just wanted my mother, but it was the middle of the night. In his codine induced sleep, Jake didn't hear me until I started to whimper to him to please get me some paper towels to clean the bathroom and a washcloth for my face. He brought me a kitchen rag, and then rinsed it in cold water...he was barely awake, and I didn't have the strength to demand a nicer rag to wipe off my face. I realized again, that no one takes care of the mom like she takes care of everyone else. I guess no one would know the difference between a kitchen rag or a plush bathroom rag if I only washed them with kitchen rags. It is because I notice the difference and make the effort with my offspring and my husband that I would just hope that they could see in the linen closet, there is a difference. They are even on a different shelf! This is the same reason why I feel my babies should have a matress pad between their matress and the sheet, and that a bed should have sheets in order to be slept upon. Jake does not share this same attention to details...sometimes he does, and I am searching for an example. I will restate, in the department of linens, Jake does not see the importance of a washcloth instead of a dishrag. It is all very vexing. But "...he loves me, and that makes him man enough for me!"