How not to trap a feral cat

Every year this same feral cat decides to use our backyard to have her babies. So as soon as I heard her moan all day and all night (she was in heat and she was so loud we couldn't sleep--even with the windows closed) I decided it was time to call Animal Control.

After learning the trapping rules I decided to do a test run and set it up with no food or water. The next morning I woke up to this pleasant creature:

It must have been an adolescent opossum. And it was quite the cozy home for him, cause it took about 5 minutes to coax him out of there. The rest of the week I tried to persuade the cat with tuna fish and water, but I just couldn't catch anything. Oh well. Hopefully someone else caught the feral cat. Either that, or she figured she just couldn't have her kittens with a curious little opossum nearby.

Berry Picking

Thanks to Grammie Miller we were able to get the boys out of the house for an afternoon. Almost every year she goes to the Phipps Country berry picking farm in Pescadero near Half Moon Bay to pick olallieberries. So we tagged along with her, Haley and Ashley. And thanks to a Disney educational cartoon, Bennett learned exactly how to pick berries that morning from Agent Oso.

Of course, Eli had other ideas. He picked mostly unripe berries and then asked to go see the many old tractors at the farm. And he was in heaven.

I asked Bennett to take a picture of me near one of the tractors and this was the best he could do--he was doing a potty dance...so not quite the brilliant 4 1/2 year old photographer that he normally is :)

At the end of the day this was a great trip for the three of us and a much needed 3 hour nap for Mommy.

Big Brothers

Amidst all the craziness of the first few days home, we did happen to catch a few photos of the boys with Amelia. Eli has been riding the roller-coaster of love and hate with his new baby sister. Our first day home he repeated over and over, "I don't like the baby" only to hold her gently in these photos the next day. It all seems to depend on his mood, whose swings have been pretty dramatic since Millie showed up.

Bennett is pure adoration and fascination as he constantly wants to see what "Millie Tillie," as he calls her, is doing, even if that means watching her sleep. He softly strokes her face, gives her kisses, talks to her, plays her musical toys for her, and encourages her to eat or sleep or burp. Benito's also astounded by how many diapers his baby sister goes through in one day. "Another poopy diaper?!" he'll exclaim every time he sees me changing her.

Eli is also curious and asks, "Where's the baby?" every time he sees me, but his interest ends there. Our biggest challenge with child #2 is teaching him the physical boundaries of a newborn baby and why he can't do somersaults and flips over or around her. I caught him playing drums on her tummy the other day, which made me realize it could be months before I can let this baby leave my sight.

After Shots

These shots have been a long time coming, but I had to wait for the finishing touch--the little garden flowers that my mom oil-painted and brought to town with her. Since Millie's room is right next to the garden and her walls get some very Zen afternoon shadows from the trees and plants outside her window, the flowers seemed fitting. With Stephen's support of this project minimal (it's all superfluous in his pragmatic mind), I tried to spend as little dinero as possible. Thankfully, pretty much everything in here falls under the three G's: given to us second-hand, gifted to us, or gathered at Goodwill.

Three generations

Grandma Paula and the rambunctious boys she cared for this week

New paint job

Flowers and more flowers

Formerly blue stars turned pink and green

I should've taken this one earlier in the day

$2 Goodwill lamp with a new paint job & some pinned flowers
and a formerly mauve stand spray-painted white

Aunt Jenae sent this cute potting plant, and my mom filled the frames with her photos

Our New Baby Girl

Julianne started feeling some real albeit erratic contractions early Thursday morning. This was a welcome blessing considering both our boys had to be induced, Bennett because of complications and Eli because he was having way too much fun in the womb and was a week late. So Julianne went to see her doctor on her due date Thursday June 4th at 4:30pm. She was already 4 cm dilated. After a walk and dinner at the hospital, we made our way up to Labor and Delivery at around 6:30pm with some more regular contractions underway. The doctor said she was now 5 and 1/2 cm and based on how quickly Eli came we thought it would only be an hour or two. Once Julianne climbed into the delivery room bed and started relaxing, however, the contractions tapered off. Several hours and two walks later, it appeared that labor was stalling. We decided to call it a night at 11pm and just wait it out, but the second the lights went out the contractions suddenly picked up. A little after midnight she had her water broken and after 20 minutes of very intense labor our baby girl triumphantly entered the world at 12:37am on Friday June 5th. Here she is with her victory pose:


About a day later we decided to name her Amelia Jane Geddes. It was the name we had since before Bennett was born and we came back to it full circle after dozens and dozens of others just didn't fit.


Here's the proud mom who was actually able to fulfill her goal of having a natural child birth without having to be induced and without an epidural. What a trooper!


Here is the proud papa. We like to grow them big. Bennett was 9 pound 2 ounce and 23 inches long. Eli was 10 pounds and 21 inches long. Amelia was 9 pounds 10 ounces and 21 inches long.


Here's our family photo at the hospital. Not sure why Bennett wasn't so thrilled.


But that all changed when he found out we had Stan's Donuts from just down the street on Homestead from the Santa Clara Kaiser Hospital.


She's not even 2 days old yet, but very alert.



And very affectionate.

Happy Memorial Day

Raise 'em high

Make your own parade

Ride the train to visit your dad

"Choo Choo!" with your mama at the train station

Build forts only to storm them five minutes later

Yes, we're alive. Yes, we're American. Yes, we're in town this weekend because we thought we might be having a baby or something. Yes, we're scared to be outnumbered soon!

p.s. Thanks to the hubs for reminding me that we still have a blog. And that he still likes me.

p.p.s. I intend to make up for lost time, so scroll down for catch-up posts.

Post Mother's Day Gratitude List

So I'll admit it. Mother's Day this year was Julianne's worst since we've been married. Eli and I got sick and it totally screwed up my plans. Screwing up Mother's Day for a woman who is 9 months pregnant just isn't right. But at least she took it well. I did wake up the next morning without the evil eye ingrained in the back of my head. Needless to say, I have started to make amends for the delay. As part of my penitence I have decided to publicly declare ten of the top reasons I am grateful for Julianne.



1) She is an awesome cook. And although she is constantly trying new recipes, I'd say 90% of them are great. For a guy who loves food, this is a big deal.



2) She never forgets birthdays. With all the stuff I have to remember, I choose not to have to remember birthdays. So I'm grateful she does most of the heavy lifting in that department.



3) She loves to travel. I have to admit the 6 vacations we had last year were pretty awesome. It's always good to visit family and enjoy new places.



4) She is very caring. Not only for our family, but for extended family and friends.



5) She puts up with the boys. Bennett and Eli all day can become a handful.



6) She gives me my space when I need it. Sometimes I just need some time in the garden or to clear my head.



7) She consistently sets a good example for the boys teaching them the importance of prayer and scripture study.



8) She understands the importance of keeping to a budget.



9) She keeps a journal. Someday I am sure someone is going to enjoy reading that thing. As for me, I might just be a mystery.



10) She enjoys exercising. She is my inspiration to get back in shape.



Stephen