Car Wanted. Non Smoker. Non Ugly.

We did it! We bought a car! Or at least bought 1/3rd of a car and are financing the rest. It is SHOCKING how easy it is to get a car these days. Great car. Great deal.

She is a beauty. 2007 Honda Pilot. Barely any miles and plenty of space for our family to grow and friends to ride along. Pilots are the Dodge caravans of our generation. But more stylish.


We are so thankful!

She Was a Good Car...

but it's time to say goodbye.

(I feel like my left side is my "good side" too.)

The '93 Camry served her masters well. Hers was a legacy of generosity. She began her life with the Hibbs family in Northern California. When one Hibbs daughter grew into an adult and became a married woman, the Camry traveled with her into the Hiroto family as part of that dowry. When the newly married Hiroto family flew off to their new unknown lives in Malawi, the Camry was bequeathed to us, the Leboffes, just as we returned bedraggled and penniless from our own married lives in Africa. It served all families well. The odometer is proof. We'd like to pay it forward to honor the legacy of the Camry by donating our vehicle to charity (which isn't as selfless as it seems b/c we will be reaping the tax return benefits of that decision come next spring).

You were a good car Cam. Thank you for those years. But now our family needs something not quite so high maintenance.

Farewell!

Confessions of a Tired Mom

1. Night Parenting is the Worst!
Let's start a communication of honesty. Too many parents are lying about it. Too many moms feel like they have to say what a "special time" it is to just sit with their baby from 2-4am while their little one voices intense displeasure with life. The truth is I don't like night parenting. Really, who enjoys waking up multiple times a night, forever hovering in shallow sleep? Not I! But the wonderful thing is that even though night parenting is hard all the time and frustrating sometimes, we do not love our kids any less. There is still so much love for them that our hearts can't keep it all in.

2. Good Food is Best, but Sometimes ANY Dinner is a Victory!
I love watching my 2yr old eat a rainbow of vegetables with gusto. But sometimes dinner can't be a production. Last night Selah Grace ate neon orange mac and cheese...and an oreo. She loved every bite.

Mimicking Mama

People have been asking us a lot lately about how Selah's taking being a big sis and having a new baby around. The answer: wonderfully. This kid is going to have two moms; me and big sis. She cares for him and bosses him. Both of which will most likely never change.

We have one exceptionally observant daughter. From the day we brought Josiah home from the hospital Selah Grace has been watching me and mimicking what I do. In the mornings I unzip her footy pajamas to find breast pads she's stuffed inside and she spent a few weeks sticking kotex to her pants.

And she loves the new baby. She used to ask about her Daddy first thing in the morning. Now she asks about Baby. When he cries she loudly makes sure we are all aware, then helpfully tries to ram a pacy in his mouth: his, hers, clean, dirty, it doesn't matter. She piles blankets on him because that's what makes her feel better when she's sad.

Lately Selah's DVD watching choices have been Happiest Baby on the Block and Itsy Bitsy Yoga, both are how-to tutorials for parents. She jiggles Josiah in his carseat and swing when he gets fussy, kisses his head or feet and makes the white noise shhhhh sound to calm him. Dr. Karp would be so proud. A few times, to our quick heart-attacks, she's tried to scoop Josiah all the way up to rock him. Selah Grace has welcomed him unreservedly into the family and refused to be tucked into bed if Josiah is not there to share in bedtime books, prayer, and kisses.

Pooh Bear has been adopted as her own baby. He gets carried around in a sling. He is held under the nursing shawl in the rocking chair to eat. Pooh gets burped and swaddled, taken for rides in the carseat and snuggled into the baby swing. His diapers are changed continually with an exclamation, "poopy again" (a commentary on how much little brother poops).

It has been a joy watching her so naturally fall into her big sis role. Plus, it has been a good (and weighty) reminder that even though she's so little she is watching and taking in every move we make as parents! Yikes and wow.

Now Open for Opinions

It's time. We put it off as long as possible. But after breaking down on the highway with a backseat full of kids and watching the smoke waft out from under the hood one too many times, we have to pony up the money and buy a new car.

We think we've narrowed it down to two.

The Subaru Forrester

(complete with kayak, mountain bikes, and golden retriever)

or...

The Honda Pilot

(which from the appearance here looks like it drives on water)

We are now open for opinions. Which do you choose for us?

Needs

Yesterday a friend asked me, "What do you need."

As someone who is too proud for her own good, the list I made was surprisingly long and came surprisingly quickly. Unfortunately most of my "needs" right now are intangibles:
*Full-time Maid
*The ability to function well on little sleep
*Patience, Kindness, you know...all those Spiritual fruit things
*Long vacation in Bora Bora with husband (Drool at picture above!)
* Everything in my life to stop breaking around me!

Since I can solve non of these things with a quick swipe of the debit card at Target, the place that meets most of my physical needs, I am going to have to work on changing the only thing I can...me.

New solution:
*Short term- be okay with messy. Long term- Learn to clean up a little as I go. Or just seal off danger sections of the house (kitchen) with caution tape.
* Accept the newborn night parenting phase instead of resenting it and remember that sleep WILL come again one day.
* Remember to ask the Holy Spirit for helpsies.
* Hulu on the couch with husband and cookies will have to do for now.
* See this as the time in our marriage we'll look back on fondly about when we were young and everthing was patched together with a little spit and a lot of prayer.

Top Ten Things I Love About Being a Stay At Home Mom

10. I can read books for pleasure. Anything I want. No term paper, professional development reflection, or self-improvement required.
9. I get to grocery shop on weekday mornings when only other SAHM's and old ladies shop.
8. I have the freedom to scamper off to the zoo with my little ones for an hour if the mood hits me.
7. I can put on a playlist to life as loudly as I want.
6. I can stay in my sweatpants until noon if I feel like it.
5. Part of my "job requirement" each day is to play on the carpet with my snuggly 2yr old and listen to Raffi.
4. I get to see and hear all the "firsts" and be an active witness to the events in my kids days.
3. I am there to give snuggles, kisses, bear-hugs, and rocking chair rocks to hurt, tear-filled eyes.
2. I get to learn very intimately the way my kids work and how to best respond to their needs.
1. I get to be home when my husband walks through the door and witness the joy his return brings.

Stay At Home Mom - Best Gig in the World!

Back Into the Woods

Here's the scoop. We're back into the woods again with Josiah's heart. No bad news, praises! Just good news and inconclusive news continues. We'd like to hear the cardiologist tell us to go home and don't come back. Instead we're hearing that Josiah looks great, sounds great, has great looking EKG's, x-rays, and heart ultrasounds, but....come back in a few weeks and we'll check again. So, that's what we're doing. Going to and fro the cardiologist. Even though we haven't been given a definitive ending to this heart saga, we are so thankful that at each visit we are met with the doctor's orders to take our baby home and treat him like a normal kid because his heart "issue" isn't being an issue right now.

In fact, if it weren't for the cardio waiting rooms and letters of insurance approval in the mail we would have completely forgotten he even had/has a heart issue by now. We're wrapped up in how soft his full head of newborn hair is, and how exhausted we are being awake with him from 4-5am, and how quickly his little cheek jowls are plumping up. All the wonderfulness of parenting a newborn.

We're back into the woods, but we aren't lost or overcome by the height or thickness of what's around us.

We just have to learn to be okay with inconclusiveness and continue to rejoice with each doctor visit.

Never The Same

Last week Nate and I were speculating on the number of times in our lives when we are met with moments that change the trajectory of everything and leave us saying, "Life will never be the same." It seems like we have already had so many: choosing where to go to college, investing in each other as friends, investing in each other as more than friends, marriage, Malawi, Selah Grace, and now Josiah. But we know this is only the beginning of lifetime full of the moments when we are going to look at each other and wonder aloud about the way our life together will be forever changed.

Here are some snapshots of the past week in our little Leboffe family as we anticipated and experienced another life-changing moment:

Bubbles in the Yard with Daddy

Our Leboffe men nose nuzzling.

Big Sis and Little Bro Together

Happy Birthday Squared!

Josiah Benjamin Leboffe

May 1st, 2010
6 pounds, 13 ounces
18.5 inches

Today was Selah Grace's second birthday. We had big plans to go to the zoo, have a picnic lunch in Balboa Park, then have cupcakes and presents with Grammie, Grandpa, Auntie, and Unkie.

Baby brother had other plans.

Jenny started having contractions around 4 am, and by 5:30 we were at the hospital ready to welcome the newest member of the family. A couple of hours in Triage, a few hours of waiting around in Labor & Delivery, and at 2:30 pm, after 4 super-pushes (no joke---the kid was streamlined), we got to meet our son!

They monitored him for a while in the delivery room, and they decided he was well enough that he didn't even have to go down to the NICU, but could stay with us. Praise God!
They did the planned ultrasound to look at his heart, so now we just have to wait for the results of that (hopefully tomorrow). Lord willing he will be all clear, everything the right size, and given the go-ahead to go home with us.


Apparently May 1st is THE day to be born in the Leboffe family. We think it's kind of cool that our kids are birthday-buddies. Whether they think so in a few years will be a different story!