Welcome!
I'm Melody P.S., mama to three sweet boys (and a baby on the way!), a lover of crafts and nature, and a girl who seeks to find beauty and appreciation in all things. In this space, you'll witness our family adventures as we cook, craft, and explore our amazing earth.
Thank you for stopping by and saying hello!
xoxo,
Melody
We're so fortunate to be able to go out into nature whenever we wish to...
Today was especially beautiful as the weather is becoming cooler and the air is crisp~ It is especially heart-warming to see my 4 year old & 9 year old holding hands as we all took a walk in the woods.
So grateful for their close relationship and all that our life has to offer our family.
I'm savoring this perfect moment...
Baby snacking happily, brothers playing peacefully out back, and mama gets a moment to soak in the goodness of this amazing life~ So full of hugs and kisses and messes;-)
~ LOVe it so! What's your perfect moment?
Happy labor day~ We went to a park on this beautiful day with the entire family...what a treat!
As you can see, I had fun with some photo apps on my iphone:-)
We tried out the wooden boomerang we brought back from our Australia honeymoon 16 years ago! We had so much fun as we threw it in the air and watched it soar~ And then, it hit something hard...and broke. But that's ok, I'm not so attached to things... The time we shared with it was much appreciated and treasured...
So then we moved onto the football:-)
Mason decided to do an impromptu photoshoot last night. He set up this cozy nook and made everyone comfy. He initially just wanted to do a penguin puppet show, but then he wanted to capture the moment;-) I wonder where he gets an idea like that? :-)
Ryker loves his penguin family!
Hahahahaha, this is a funny shot:-)
And of course, Ryker wants to see how the photos turned out!
It's been snowing here. But it's a beautiful sunny day today~ We decided to go out to lunch and witness the glistening snow-covered streets. It's so very beautiful! How could anyone doubt the power of the Universe when you see such a beautiful sight?
As we entered the restaurant, they asked, "how many?" I said, "six." Wow, six! It's an amazing feeling to realize that we're now a family of six! I feel completely and utterly blessed:-)
Nursing discreetly, thanks to the wonderful sling~ And the silky shawl covering any skin;-)
I'll be honest, I've been staying cozy inside my home for much of this winter. I'm more than content babymooning(is that a word?) inside for the entire winter season(LOL), but as I need to take my older boys to their homeschool classes, I'm venturing out with little Asher in tow.
I'm enjoying a chai latte break with my little ones here while we wait for my oldest boy to finish his class. Having all of my other babies in sunny California and growing up in Hawaii myself, this winter brings much for me to learn. I'm so grateful that my friends here hooked me up with the needed winter gear for my baby:-) Thank you, Jennifer and Susan!!!
It's so nice to pause and to enjoy this moment between the hectic-ness of driving in the snow and putting on and off all of the heavy coats and little hats and gloves and slings and...
~Appreciating the beauty of this cold season~
It's so sweet to witness so much tenderness between the brothers. Time seems to stop for these moments...
So here’s my home waterbirth story:
Asher Clover Jung-ho Shin was born on 11/28 @9:54pm, weighing 8lbs. 2oz. and 20.75" tall.
I woke up with contractions around 8:00am and stayed in bed, reading emails on my iphone for a while. I finally got out of bed and went on about with my usual daily things. We had moved my bedroom around just two days before. I now had a seating area with a coffee table so that I could nurse and hang out during recovery. I had gotten a new dresser for the baby also and spent the morning lining the drawers and organizing the baby clothes (talk about last minute!). Yes, I’ve been nesting like crazy!
My contractions were about 6 min. apart lasting a good minute. I called my midwives around noon to just let them know that I’m in labor and that I’ll probably be giving birth today but I didn’t need them just yet. My midwife didn’t want me to get in my tub until she was on her way in case it speeds up my labor (which tends to happen for me).
I finished organizing the baby clothes, had lunch, took a shower, nursed my 3yr old, got some labor snacks ready…etc. My contractions were getting closer and stronger where I couldn’t sit through them and had to stand up. I was ready to get in the water so I called my midwife around 4:30. They were on their way so I started to fill the bathtub. My 9 year old lit candles in the bathroom and everything was just so calm and peaceful. I was ready!
One of my midwives came around 5:30 and checked my blood pressure and the baby’s heartbeat. Everything was great so I got in the tub with my iPhone (in double zip loc baggies that my hubby put together;-). I had my Pandora app music on and played my favorite app game (Bejeweled Blitz). By 6:30, both of my midwives and my doula friend were here. My contractions slowed down when they all came into the bathroom ( I think I felt self-conscious or distracted), so they all left. My midwives actually went out for dinner:-) My doula friend went downstairs and knitted booties for the baby:-) My sweet hubby brought me some soup for dinner and I ate in between the surges (in the tub).
For the next couple of hours, I dozed off in between the surges. I was leaning over the side of the tub and had a couple of cushy towels under my arms so it was comfy:-) I was very relaxed and just felt the surges well up within me and I focused on going with the flow of it, letting it pass over me. I was vocalizing through the surges with a soft ahhhh sound. I then had to go on all fours for the stronger and longer surges at the end. I don’t know, I felt the urge to move my body and go on all fours to free up my pelvis. Perhaps the baby was gearing up to come down? It seemed like a continuation of surges…strong then milder but just kind of continuous waves… I’m so grateful that I was given this beautiful space to be alone, to just be, to listen to my body and be completely trusting of the birthing process.
My husband came in the bathroom when all of a sudden, everything seemed to stop. I remember this happening with my last baby and asking my midwife in CA. She calmly said, “it’s the calm before the storm.” Sure enough, pushing came soon after:-) So I told my hubby to let the midwives know.
I soon felt the urge to push and started to push gently. Then all of a sudden, I felt like I couldn’t do it any more and started to cry! He gave me some reassurance that I could do it, and my midwife came in. I asked her if I should push, and she said that I’d know what to do. She checked the baby’s heartbeat again which was fine, and I started to push. My husband got behind me to support me under my arms. I was squeezing his hands like crazy:-)
I felt the baby move down and feeling my body doing its thing… and it was all just so powerful! After maybe about 15 minutes, the baby was crowning and I felt the baby’s head with my hand. My husband switched places with one of my midwives to catch the baby. He held on to the baby’s head when he first came out and caught him when the shoulders also slipped out. The water bag popped as the baby was born! The baby had the cord wrapped around his neck AND around and under his arm! My hubby had to flip him around twice to untangle him! The baby yelled out a quick cry and settled into my chest, still in the tub. Whew!!! I was so relieved to have given birth! Wow, it was such an amazing experience!
Asher is a peaceful, delightful baby. He nurses well and has been smiling from day one. He giggles out loud in his dreams and loves looking around his surroundings. I’m in love again and thoroughly enjoying this babymoon:-) His older brothers are also showering him with lots of love. My friends have been amazing and sending over home cooked meals every other day. My husband was able to take a vacation for two weeks, and it has been such a sweet precious family time for the six of us.
The weather's cooled down and the leaves are changing colors... Fall's really here! It's really a beautiful season and I'm loving the golden and vibrant colors of the trees...
We're collecting leaves and pressing them to make crafts (like lanterns) and enjoying the fall harvest of pumpkins and chestnuts. Yum!
Happy autumn to you all~
