The Mother Of All Depressions — Pun Intended

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Arkansas, baby, baby photographs, day moon, Mental health, moon, photographs, Photography, Postpartum depression, Snow, winter, winter weather

Ah, no matter where you go, it’s always good to be home!  Even the best vacation has a point at which your own space, your own stuff, your own bed, just cannot be beat.  I’m glad to be home, but so very glad I got to spend some time visiting my daughter Megan, her husband, and my two grandsons.

My newest grandbaby is two months old, and he’s a real charmer!  Megan’s older son (I’ve talked about him on this blog before, here, for example) is still my little buddy, and always in a good mood.  My 21-year-old son, Joel, lives with Megan, so I get to visit with him while I’m there, and that really rounds out visits to Arkansas!

A big snowstorm came right after I arrived at their house — it was quite a show!  On the way there I had time to get a picture of a wonderful day moon.  After that came a blanket of snow.

My son-in-law’s lonely looking bike in the backyard during the snowfall

Some green grass growing by the fence row that had been enjoying the Spring weather and now is sitting there as if thinking, “What the…..???!!!”

The above-ground pool — not enticing for a swim at this moment!

On the day I left to come home, I had been out earlier with my grandson, both of us with no outerwear because the weather had turned warm and we bought some ice cream from the ice cream truck!  Talk about a fast change in weather!

On a totally unrelated note, during the visit, although I loved being there and had a great time, a few unsettling things had me worried.

Something that hits close to home for a lot of mothers is now heavy on my mind.  Megan is now going through what is termed postpartum depression.  She suffered from this when she had her first child, so she hasn’t been very surprised that it’s hit her after her second one, but she is having a struggle getting on top of it.  I feel bad for her and worry about her, even though she is certain this will pass.

We’re not talking about murderous psychosis here, but just general postpartum depression.  That’s bad enough, I know.  But Megan is just not herself, and it hurts a mom terribly to see her daughter going through this.

There is not much I can say that is of any help to her.  I was diagnosed with postpartum depression after my second child came along, but I tend to think that my depression at that time was more situational than hormonal.  A lot of time has passed since then as well, and details about it aren’t as fresh any more.

Do any of you mothers who have had postpartum depression remember what it was like going through this kind of thing?  What did you do that helped?  I would really appreciate any helpful hints, and would certainly pass them on to Megan!

On a lighter note, there is another baby in the family that I haven’t posted about for a while, and that is Becca’s Precious Baby — and wow, is she growing!

The Face-maker

Precious Baby is now is now two-and-a-half months old, and has developed quite the personality — Frank and I can’t wait to get to Texas at the end of March for Easter and get our  hands on her!  I’ll be trying to take some pictures of her and Daniel’s Angel Baby (among others) to bring back home with me!

So much to talk about, so little time — rest is the next thing on my list of things to do for now, but lots is going on and I’m looking forward to posting again.  Until then, have a great day!

Related articles

• Stress hormone foreshadows postpartum depression in new mothers (medicalxpress.com)
• Who’s at Risk for Postpartum Depression? (everydayhealth.com)
• Postpartum Depression-How Common Is It (theallegiant.com)
• Jammies, the First Baby Product that Helps Fight Postpartum Depression, Launches Today (prweb.com)

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The Wonders Of Being Away From Home

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baby, grandchild, newborn, spring, Traveling, winter, winter weather

Lately we’ve had two snows here in the city, and although it’s been really fun and lovely, it’s been really cold!  Just when I thought we might actually squeak through the winter with no more big onslaught of winter weather, along comes ice, snow, rain and hail, in just three days!
I’ve been staying at my daughter’s in Arkansas, helping some with their new baby, born the end of December.  I couldn’t come down here sooner due to an unending round of pneumonia that I didn’t want to expose a newborn to, so now I’m enjoying spending this time with my newest grandchild!
Frank is missing me, so I am looking to be home soon, getting ready for March and Easter (yet another holiday for me to nag you about, lol).  Spring is so close I can almost smell the blooming flowers!  There are so many wonderful things about Spring that it’s hard to get everything in one blog.
Until I arrive back home and catch up on my posts, I am wishing all of you a great end of Winter!

The Nice Day

Tags

baby, Missouri, nature, nature photographs, photographs, Photography, Snow, Valentine, Valentine's Day, winter, winter weather

It’s so good to be back…again!  And City Boy finally broke down and got another laptop — yay!  Now I don’t have to wait until midnight to start doing my stuff on the computer.  These two rounds of pneumonia have kept me mostly out of commission off and on for three months, but they’re checking into things and hopefully we’ll get all this under-the-weather stuff under control.  

So, Thursday City Boy took me into the city for a doctor’s appointment, and we were glad to be out on such a nice day.  I literally haven’t left the  house in forever, and the weatherman had said the day would be clear with a temperature of close to 50, which is fantastic for a January day in Missouri!  So, I took a few pictures of our clear, nice Missouri day as we were headed back home from the city.

On our way out of the city heading home

Closer to home — it looks misty but that’s actually snow

The way the snow looks in the trees is kind of eerie and neat looking at the same time! The snow hadn’t started accumulating on the ground quite yet

Finally home! A lonely nest hangs in the cold

Facing the other direction from our front doorstep is a snowy group of trees and bushes

Snowy backyard grass and clover — this is why the rabbits like our yard so much

And here’s the back fence rabbit hole where the bunnies all come in at — Lucy always chases them but thankfully they keep coming back!

So, despite the cold and wet, we really got a treat!  Snow, when it first falls, is so pretty, and seems to freshen things up.  Then it gets all dirty and melts and refreezes and turns to ice.  Woops, that was a negative thing to say — that’s why I take pictures of snow, so that when it turns all cruddy and brown I can look at the pictures and think about how truly lovely snow is.  And when it floats down all silently from the heavens, it’s magical.

Frank has two children who now have baby girls less than a year old.  I’ve posted several pictures of Becca’s Precious Baby on this blog, but until now have not gotten any of Daniel’s Angel Baby that I could post because Daniel uses a cell phone that takes little pictures and I can’t get the pictures big enough.  We have been blessed with a few postable pictures of Angel Baby lately from other siblings.

Frank’s son Daniel is a single father of a 10 month old baby girl, and Angel Baby has Daniel wrapped around her little finger.  Bath time is her favorite time of the day.

I’m not sure why I am thinking this, but I get the impression that Daniel might be trying to help Angel Baby learn to eat.

Nothing like using your whole body as a napkin.  I’m sure at least some of that food hits her mouth, judging from the food-beard Angel Baby is sporting.  

And since the theme today seems to be half-dressed babies, here’s a sweet one of Becca’s Precious Baby:

The next time I am in Texas it’s a sure bet that I will be taking my camera and trying to get all sorts of pictures of Precious Baby and Angel Baby — to not do that just wouldn’t be natural.

Okay, so I’ve missed awhile of being able to post my nagging – er, I mean, reminders.  You all know what time it’s getting to be — that day is fast approaching!

Don’t forget Valentine’s Day!!  Do something special, no matter who you are or what your status is.  Whether you’re part of a couple or you’re flying solo, remember that loving yourself is part of learning to love others.  So celebrate loving!  

Our Little Bitty Ice “Storm”

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Ice, Ice storm, nature, photographs, Photography, rain, Winter storm, winter weather

Daylight.  It’s lovely.  I love it, and usually so does my camera.

The in-the-dark pictures of the ice outside from the night before last were kind of spook-house-in-the-woods-ish, so getting some daylight ones seemed easier.

Except there was the numbing cold, which isn’t a problem when taking pictures from inside a warm house.  Most of the daylight pictures ended up blurry because of my shivering, so I didn’t get many pictures, but at least got back inside in time that the frostbite on my fingers was minor.

Frozen bench

Holly bush with frozen drops hanging down

Iced tree — we still don’t know what kind it is

You can probably guess that it wasn’t much of a storm, so much as a pitiful smattering of ice.  And, actually, it wasn’t even an ice storm.  It rained, and then turned cold, and the rain that had already fallen froze.  So, to get technical….

Hey, I just wanted to try and compete with all the beautiful winter pictures that are being posted all over blogland and the internet of the snow and ice blanketing everything in a frosty wonderland.  Looks like I might have a ways to go.

Whatever your weather or ground cover, be safe, at peace, and so, SO blessed!

Related articles

• Ice Storm…(my true story) (darlenepurcell.wordpress.com)
• Capturing the beauty of the 2012 Lake Geneva ice storm (worldradio.ch)
• Ice! (teaandchopsticks.wordpress.com)