Confessions of a Mommy Mermaid

Confession; I don't look like Ariel, but today I put on my mermaid tale and swam with the Memorial Day crowd at the lake!
Backstory; Last summer I purchased a authentic looking mermaid tale. I decided instead of buying an outfit or some makeup for my birthday I would act like a kid and get something fun. I ran across mermaid tales complete with monofin so that I could not only look like a mermaid, but also swim like one. I had a nagging feeling that a close-to-two-hundred-pound mermaid might look more like a whale. I stomped that feeling down. I reasoned if they sold authentic fairy wings that made you fly, would I hesitate? No! I had a chance to buy a mermaid tale and I was going to go for it!!!

It was WONDERFUL! I could swim faster, and mermaid style with my arms by my side. While flipping around at the lake and pool got a great workout in my whole lower half. I found out mermaids are banned from one local pool (mermaid prejudice is real), but at the other pool when I put my tale on I drew a crowd of little girls who asked me if I was a real mermaid and asked to touch my fin. The funny thing was, I was pregnant then and my belly was already growing (along with my lower half, which is how my body decides to handle pregnancy).  Those little girls didn't care about my not Ariel body. As I floated in the pool with eight little girls giggling and touching the mermaid tail I decided I was a real mermaid. Because I was a real woman.

The Joy of the mermaid tale lingers in my smile post swim. Isaiah, merbaby in training, is not yet amused.

 I am three months out from having my third baby and pulled out the tail again today. I'm guessing I'm still 20 pounds from pre-baby weight. But guess what? The tail came out today! I swam circles around my daughter and when onlookers glanced at me with the tail on I thought great! They can see  a Real Mommy Mermaid.

Settling In With Our New Little Key

You may remember how I wrote here about the sorrows of pregnancy?  I prayed newborn days for baby #3 would be easier. I asked for; 

1. more sleep and less insomnia, 

2. more energy and less fatigue, 

3. an end to stomach problems, 

4. healing from many unmentionable pregnancy complications, 

5. and being less round and more happy(I turned into a very type A, efficient, but grumpy pregnant lady)

Maybe begged is a more accurate word than prayed? 

Then low and behold Isaiah was my easiest birth recovery out of the three!

Two days after I felt so much more like myself than I had during pregnancy. I was ready to start walking him around the block and get back to our home routine.

We took Isaiah home and found he was a laid back baby who slept well.

Unfortunately Ted and I both also took home from the hospital bad respiratory colds. And Dorathea and Jonathan got them too.

It's a bad time to get sick when you just had a baby and I got sicker than I can ever remember feeling. I was out of breath just taking a couple steps. 

My mom to the rescue! She nursed everyone in the house and held the baby in her spare time. I know it was God watching over us that she just happened to be able to stay with us three whole weeks. She is a full time nurse at home. By the time she went home we were all healed up and back to our homeschool and work routines.

I've had a lot of questions about how D and J get along with Isaiah and how we are all doing,

The answer? These kids of mine were never that into babies until Isaiah came home. Now they are crazy for him! 

 Dorathea says he is cuter than her bunny (high praise from her!). She loves to hold him even when he cries. 

Jonathan does puppet shows for him and calls him mad baby, sad baby, moopy baby (a lethal combination of mad and poopy). He is also diligent to tell me when the baby needs me.

Zay Zay loves to listen to his brother and sister talk and sing to him.

He loves to watch his brother play with toys.

Also my insomnia, stomach pains, and even incessant trips to the bathroom are all gone. I feel even better than I did before I had Isaiah. Thank God for healing!

Isaiah is a great sleeper (I didn't know a baby could sleep this well!), a good eater, a sweet smiley fellow, and we have decided to keep him.  The beauty of having your best sleeper third is that I know it has little to do with my parenting and everything to do with the temperament of the child and the grace of God.  Ted is working two jobs he loves right now, and doesn't have a lot of time to help me at night, so having a good sleeper is a timely blessing.

So in short, the Keys are enjoying this child and this joy season of family, work, and life.

And yes, he does have awesome hair. And no I don't think it will fall out.

Update;  Isaiah is now three months old and his hair has grown two inches! We Keys are hairy.

Mother's Day at the Biltmore.

 I woke up Sunday to a big mocha and a dark hotel room in Asheville. My people (D and Ted to be exact) had snuck out at 7 to buy coffee, chocolate,and roses for Nana and me. It was D's idea and I was surprised she even woke up extra early because she was so excited about it. And my people who know me so well had even let me and baby Isaiah sleep in.  I woke up  on my own at Eight o clock!

It was my idea to meet Ted's parents in Asheville so that we could go to the Biltmore Estate(Vanderbilt's).

Isaiah got to meet Nana and Papa the night before!

After a super yummy, super caffinated breakfast we were off!

 Much to my delight they were having a display inside of famous dresses from British period dramas.
Here are dresses from Pride and Prejudice the BBC version!

My family behind me on the most beautiful veranda ever. 

The wedding attire from Sense and Sesability (the one with Emma Thompson)!!

The kids loved the audio tour and kept pointing out secret passage ways to me.

The people at the Biltmore are a class act. My sweet mother in law mentioned to a guide that I needed a place to nurse my baby. The lady used her walkie talkie to alert people all up and down the giant house to escort me to a "quiet room" an old servant's room in the basement with a couch so I could leave the long lines and feed the baby in privacy. I like visiting Estates where they treat you like you are a guest!

We had lunch in what used to be the Biltmore stables. Yum! Our waiter's mother was at the next table and kept exclaiming how cute Isaiah was with all his hair. 

At the Biltmore Village. We had an ice cream snack and then headed home exhausted from walking and driving all over the estate.

Thank you Keys family for a Mother's Day full of castles, coffee, and my favorite people!

Keys photo

via Instagram