Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Baby Mooning

Regular blogging may resume shortly....or it may not, depends on if I can tear myself away from the cuteness that calls to me all day. (and night) :)









There are some lovely and adorable boys around these parts too!!!


@ swim class two weeks after Sydney was born.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Announcing the Arrival of....


Sydney Elizabeth!!!






Born at home, Tuesday at 12:40pm. The labor was very fast and intense and well worth it!!! I'll write out the birth story another time, but to say it was amazing is an understatement. We're all settling in and enjoying lots of snuggles with our new baby.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Beach Walking

I took these pictures last Friday night and then accidentally broke the camera when I tried to transfer the pictures. Long story short, be sure you're using the corresponding USB port with your camera. Anyway....here are the pics. the boys and I went walking on this little spot in York. We were actually looking for the fabled Steedman Woods, which exist on the internet but not in my GPS. So we settled for this fun romp on the beach instead. It was beautiful and warm and quiet and the perfect way to end a day.
















Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Comforts

The following things are bringing me peace in some small way during the last few weeks of this pregnancy. They are random, as are most things that a pregnant woman wants or needs no matter where she is in her gestation process. ;)

Exhibit A) Knitting

Shocking I know. It really is helping though. I'm currently working on making this simple (aka easy for preggo brained mama) sweater. It's a free pattern and really just a lot of garter stitch and then piecing together. I'm using Lion's Brand Jiffy in El Paso which is proving to be a really beautiful colorway. If this turns out well I think I'll make another in a purple or sage color. It's evidetntly important for this baby to be clothed in those colors a lot, judging by what we have in her wardrobe so far.



Exhibit B) Tacos

Every pregnant woman has cravings and food aversions. It's only natural. The first four months of this pregnancy were absolutely miserable for me thanks to morning sickness. The WORST morning sickness I've had out of all of my pregnancies and really when I was pregnant with Ben I thought I was dying because of the morning sickness I experienced. The bout of it this time made the first trimester with Ben seem like a spa treatment. So, when I was finally able to start eating and keep food down - well it was liberating. NOW, I'm at the end of the pregnancy and though I get hit with some very mild queasiness sometimes, I find myself starving almost 24/7 and I'm always, always hungry for Tacos. I don't know what it is. I'm not a huge fan of them when I'm not pregnant and I didn't have them at all when I was pregnant with either of the boys, but this time around, they are the go-to food. To the point that I have: put off taking a much needed nap to cook tacos; made my children an entirely different dinner so that there would be enough taco shells (soft only please) to satisfy my craving; stopped at the local mexican restaurant after an appointment with my midwife at 11am to get tacos; am looking forward to a trip to the same restaurant chain (just different location) this Friday more than the event that I'm going to before hand that should really be my priority. Some people might say it's a problem...I'm not one of them and neither is my midwife so who cares? I'm getting plenty of protein and I'm not eating processed food. I'm not stopping at Taco Bell people, I either make my own or go here. And I recommend you do the same! Their burritos rock my world also!



Exhibit C) Ice Cubes - Copious amounts of Ice Cubes.


For about a month now I've had this need to chew ice cubes. I have no idea why, I don't know if it's a sign of some illness or underlying nutritional deficiency or proof that I really am losing it. All I know is that it satisfies some odd urge and makes me happy. I can also gurantee that Tim will be out on the porch when I go into labor breaking up ice cubes into smaller pieces that I can crunch happily while getting through contractions.




Exhibit D) Mrs. Meyers Clean Day - Lemon Verbena to be specific

I blame this obsession entirely on my midwife and have told her so. She had the handsoap at the birth center a few months ago when I went to visit and I fell in love. They smell SOOOO freaking good I cannot describe them to anywhere near their true worth. Also, they make a million other products such as dishsoap, multi-purpose cleaner and laundry detergent. After raving about them at said appointment one of my midwives informed me that you can buy them at Target. Godddddammmnn!!! That's far too accesible for me and our bank account. So, on my way home I stopped at the Target near the birth center and bought the dish soap and the hand soap. One in Lavender and one in Lemon Verbena. Since that first purchase, a Target has opened just 5 minutes from our home and we have visited it frequently for many things other than Mrs. Meyers but I end up buying at least one of her products every time we go. The smell of the Lemon Verbena is just beyond comforting to me - I can't figure out why but it's easily my favorite smell in the world right now and I wish that I could infuse it into my entire home some way. Oh, and maybe most importantly it has replaced the need to scrub the sink, tub and other surfaces with Commet. The products are made with essential oils and are Phosphate free so that alone makes it safer than Commet. All of their products also come in other scents like Geranium, Basil and Sweet Pea. Also - while looking up the website to link to it I discovered that they sell baby products online. SHIT!!!! This is NOT good information for me to have. Hmm, wonder if they would donate to a mom about to have a new baby so that she could write about the products on her blog....



Exhibit E) Sleeping Baby Productions Ring Slings

I cannot rave about these Ring Slings enough!!! I first found Jan's site when I was pregnant with Nate (almost four years ago now, yipes!) . My sister in law and I were pregnant together and I was curious about slings and babywearing. My SIL sent me a link to a great section of Jan's site where you can use her patterns to make your own slings. I fell in love with Jan's work and her site and how friendly and accesible things were. I didn't end up buying a sling from her then for financial reasons but wish now that I had. In any case, fast foward a bit and I attend my first La Leche League meeting and after a few more meetings I meet Jan - THE JAN from Jan Andrea On The Web and I'm totally flabergasted that this amazing lady actually lives in my community!
Since that time I've bought four of her slings and two of them expressly for this baby. The latest one came today and is beautiful beyond description and ohhh so comfy. I will post a picture of it when I have a camera that works again (I broke ours accidently on Friday and am awaitng a replacement). I put the sling on tonight and tried in vain to get Nate to let me wear him. He's accutely aware that he's 3 now and does not want to be worn in anything unless he's really feeling the sleepies. I WILL get him in it though at some point, or one of his babies because I don't think I can handle having it in my house, not being worn for another 2-4 weeks when this baby might arrive. It feels like an insult to the sling itself and Jan to just let it hang in the mudroom awaiting use. Anyway, if you are pregnant or have a friend, sister, co-worker who is PLEASE visit Jan's site and purchase a sling for yourself or said person. Her slings are the most comfortable around and her prices are unbeatable. The only negative thing I can think to say is that she has so many fabric choices for the sling and tail accents that you may have a hard time deciding what to buy. :-)


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Day By Day

Just a quick update to reassure folks that there is no baby here yet. I've been slacking on writing because there are just too many other things to do right now. Like lanolize soakers, make & freeze large quantities of food, and of course, scrubbing the kitchen sink with Comet. Not to worry though, I'll be sure to post when Baby does arrive. In the meantime I need to distract myself cause I think it's going to be quite a while still!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Escaping The Heat - An Attept


Swimming near the ducks - the highlight of the day for Nate I think. I was not so enthralled with being so close to them.


We found freshwater snails which is what I'm showing Ben here. Though it looks like he's holding my hand through a contraction.


Nate and his floaty; nothing like summer love.


It feels SO much bigger than it looks in this picture. I think I'm hiding half of it on the other side of the lake.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Craft Belly

Evidently my nesting instinct has kicked into high gear. I'm thoroughly obsessed with scrubbing things lately. Really, it's weird! I get great satisfaction from scrubbing the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink and the tub. Like really, I do dishes just to empty the sink so I can break out the Comet and the blue scrubby pad and go to town. What the hell is the deal with that?! It makes me feel good for some reason, but it's also a compulsion, like I HAVE to do it, I NEED to do it. The dumbest thing about it is that it really doesn't help a whole hell of a lot. Especially when you consider that I have an entire apartment (and a good sized one at that) that is in need of cleaning. There's laundry to fold and put away, clutter to get rid of and organize, toys to pick up, curtains to make for the porch. Baby clothes to sort through and wash and put away. None of that interests me in the slightest. I want to scrub damnit! I want to Windex the windows and I want to bleach the floors - which is beyond laughable because we have linoleum from 1960 I think and it's impossible to ever make it look like it's really clean. But that's not going to stop me from trying! I went to Target yesterday and when I came home I victoriously announced to Tim that I had found the carpet cleaning solution for our steam cleaner for $5 and a huge six pack of paper towels for $3!!! This from the chick who has family cloth in the bathroom. Yeah, I suddenly need 6 double rolls of paper towels.

Anyway, the point of this confession is that today I decided to try to change my nesting and put it to a different use. I knew that cleaning the sink would feel good but it's an empty reward really because it just becomes full of dishes within a few hours of being clean and, like I said before, it doesn't really do anything to improve our quality of living or the boys' general happiness or anything. So, today I put the nesting energy to crafty use! I made a pair of pants for the baby here thanks to the pattern from here. It's not a great pattern because they don't give you the measurements for different sizes, but I get around that by just tracing a pair of pants in the size I want and making them a little longer and wider for seams. So far I've made about 4 pairs of pants for the baby and last year I made Nate a pair of pants out of a cute flannel that held up well. They aren't going to be sold anywhere that's for sure, but they look cute and I felt good after I finished and I had something tangible to show for it!

As you can see, the crafting with a belly at almost 33 weeks (tomorrow!) is posing some interesting dilemmas. I can't get as close the sewing machine as I usually like to and my belly now serves as a repository for scrap fabric and thread - just in case I need it you know? All in all, I think this attempt at tricking the nesting, compulsive scrubber in me worked pretty well. I am totally planning on breaking out that carpet cleaner later today though. Everything in moderation right? (except laundry, those piles will be there when this baby goes off to college)



The amazing scrap-catching belly! Covered mostly in blue thread here.



The finished product. I really hope they fit!!!



Close up of the pattern, the elephants were just too cute to resist!



My handy helper, he hands me other pieces of fabric I'm not working with in the off chance that I might want them. He also works shirtless.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Ticker

I'm not sure why I put that little baby in the bubble ticker thing on this blog now that I look at it. It seemed like a great idea at the time. I thought it'd be so much fun to watch the days dwindle by and realize we were getting closer to the big day. Now, I look at it and it says 56 days and i realize that's a little over a month and that's not a lot of time and I kind of start to get sweaty and breathe funny and feel shakey.

Really, we have 8 weeks left as of now. That's two months, and we could even go another 10 weeks if this baby is overdue so there could, potentially be a lot of time left. BUT, in my head we only have about four weeks left. This is totally due to having Nate at 36 weeks (due to pre eclampsia) and it swarms around my thoughts constantly. Even though this pregnancy, our living situation, our care provider, our support network are all vastly different and much better than they were with Nate's I still can't shake that feeling that this baby will come early too. I take my blood pressure everyday and it's never been more than 130 and that was during a massive headache at like 22 weeks. It's consistently low when I take it here at home and at my midwife's office. She's even commented that if she hadn't read the report from my last pregnancy she wouldn't have believed I had/have blood pressure issues. This is incredibly comforting to me. It doesn't gurantee anything of course, my BP with Nate was in the normal range until 36 weeks, but this vote of confidence in things does make me feel better.

So for now, I'm just getting through. A big part of me wants to be done being pregnant. I'm having major back pain lately and it's getting a lot harder for me to walk around - especially first thing in the morning. I'm just reaching that end phase of pregnancy and yes, I'm lusting for that newborn phase and seeing our family complete. BUT, I'm not ready to be there just yet. Do you hear that BP? Stay down! I can take the back pain, the leg cramps, the limited wardrobe, the winded walks up the driveway - I'll happily take all of it to get a healthy baby and have a peaceful, not induced birth. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, I'm going to stop looking at the ticker. It seems arbitrary now given that it's just counting down to the day that I'm most likely to give birth, and not the day I will. It's no crystal ball.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Sweet Things


Sleeping boy after an afternoon of swimming and playing with friends. (I moved him to the couch after I took this so he wouldn't have waffle face)




Fleece & Cotton pants I made for the babe. They still need some finishing and they're not nearly as yellowy as this picture makes them seem.




Booties I made for baby in two sizes. Easiest pattern ever!!!



Thrift store find today! $5!!!! It needs glass in the frame but that's an easy fix.



Something about the picture just pulled me in and for $5 I couldn't resist. Now, I just have to figure out where to hang it.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Monday, July 13, 2009

Entering The Third Trimester

It's officially here as of Friday. These picks are at 28 weeks 1 day, in case anyone is counting. We're not....(well, Tim's not) I can't believe we're at the last third of the pregnancy and at the same time I'm sooooooo eager to meet this baby that October can't come soon enough. No need to rush though, I'm sure it'll be here sooner than I realize. Plus, I've got two great distractions that fill my days and make it easy/impossible to sit around counting down minutes until baby comes earthside.





I can obscure children with my belly! Need to blur a face in a photo, just use my belly!


That shirt is working really hard.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Unplugged

In case you didn't know, it's been raining here for a month. I'm not kidding you. I'm not exaggerating. I'm not being hormonal or dramatic. A month. We've had about 4 or 5 days within that 30 that have been sunny or partly sunny but only about two that have been hot and felt anything like summer, which is the season we're supposed to be enjoying.

Needless to say, when it's raining non-stop and you have a 6 and 2 year old to entertain and are feeling pretty darn pregnant you run out of ideas fast. I'm also not the Martha Stewart type, I have no history of being a preschool teacher, I have very little to draw from here to help inspire or entertain my children. There I said it. I dream of being that mom. Of being able to create an obstacle course through the house, an amazing craft project that the boys want to do for hours, a marathon reading session where I don' t move from the couch for hours as we plow our way through a mountain of library books - yes, I dream of this fantasy woman often. She's my dream girl. The reality is that I have two boys who have plenty of energy and who do play together pretty well considering the almost four year age gap BUT they also are known for playing too rough with each other, for fighting over the same toys and for being kids. In Fantasy Mama's world the children probably never fight, except maybe over who gets to clean up the craft supplies. But back to reality - in our world we've been relying way too heavily on the tv and the computer to see us through these gray summer days. And a huge part of me feels very guilty about that. (hence the post)

It's not to say that when it's sunny out the kids never watch TV or play computer games. We use our electronics everyday. I'm not going to lie to you. But, the last month it feels like our days have centered around what we'd like to watch more than anything else. We got rid of our digital cable a few months ago so the only kid friendly channel we have is PBS now. I have to say, it doesn't cut back on the amount that the boys watch, but what they watch has become much more tolerable for me. I think Ben will disagree and make a point that we now watch a lot more Dora the Explorer because Nate borrows at least one from the library every week, but at least we're not on lock-down in the living room from 9-9:30 everyday because she's on Nick Jr. Ben has discovered a bunch of Arthur episodes on Netflix and both boys enjoyed watching The Muppets this morning. So, i can't say it's horrible. I don't hate my TV and in fact I'm very grateful for it right now. But I do strive to become that Fantasy Mama, at least in small ways. I want to encourage my kids to play with their playroom full of toys, to ask to do craft projects, to bring me stacks of books (this one they do, just usually at bedtime not throughout the day). So, a part of me feels like I should really just unplug the damn tv. Remove it as an option and see what happens.

I think both boys would really do fine. Ben has enough passion for building with Legos that he wouldn't notice for a while and Nate is easy to entertain with other activities - it's just a matter of me having the energy to facilitate these activities. I'm about to enter the third trimester and I'm hearing a lot of "Take it easy, just relax," and yes I see that, and I appreciate it. I also realize that after this baby comes earthside the fatigue I feel now will seem like being high on speed. I can also gurantee that once this baby is here, I will NOT have the energy or even capacity to think of setting up a craft for the boys, or reading them more than one book without falling asleep and so that's all the more motivation to do more for them now while I can. I can be present right now and if they watch Caillou in between my small burst of energy that's not the worst thing that could happen.

I guess the lesson here is to do what works and if something stop working, look at why. For now, for my family, this setup is working ok. It needs some tweaking that's for certain. I'm doing the best that I can for all of us now though and if the sun ever comes out again I know I'll feel more empowered and I know that we will be out of this house and away from the glowing screens that provide the only bright light in our world right now. I'm going to check the forecast, fingers crossed!

Late Happy 4th Wishes!





Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Wordless Wonders

Sometimes, naps just can't be fought. Nate was so wiped out the other day that he fell asleep on the couch and remained asleep in some odd positions. When you're tired enough, it doesn't seem to matter how or what you sleep on. (no, he didn't fall off when he woke up...miraculously)









Monday, June 22, 2009

Crap

I have to stop eating crap. It's that simple. I'm putting it in writing in the hopes of encouraging me to actually follow through on this idea. I've recently been doing the whole "I'm pregnant, I can eat what I want" diet and it's not good. I mean yeah sure, it tastes good but it's not good for me or the wee one.

I had pre eclampsia with Nate and I've been doing a ton of research about it since the beginning of this pregnancy in the hopes of preventing it from reoccurring. One of the biggest factors is nutrition...good nutrition. The first three months of pregnancy are out for me anyway thanks to morning sickness, I'm lucky to keep down whatever is appealing at that moment and I don't beat myself up over it. But now, well now we're at 25 weeks and the morning sickness is gone and I can eat almost anything but I shouldn't! I really need to be increasing the fruits and veggies and the protein. Pineapple on pizza (as we had for dinner last night) does not count as an adequate serving of fruit for the day.

So, on this rainy Monday, as I look ahead to at least three more days of nothing but rain and time spent inside with my guys, I'm resolving to eat better. I'm hoping that since we'll be home I'll be able to really put some effort into this cause and not be grabbing junk like I do when we're out. However, there sits a vanilla cake and half of a woopie pie on my kitchen counter, so being out may have very little to do with it.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Good Things

Random cheeriness today. It may have something to do with the fact that it's been raining here for about 8 days and yesterday and today are the first sunny days we've seen in a long while. AND, they're the last we're going to see until at least Sunday...possibly further into next week but I refuse to read the weather report beyond Sunday. Three days of rain is more than enough, I don't want or NEED to know that there will be a fourth or fifth.

So, back to the cheeriness. We've had a great week so far and I just felt like sharing it. The boys are doing well and have been remarkable playful with each other. Granted, it's a lot of play fighting - wrestling, shooting each other with the snorkel, chasing, hiding in a fort in the living room and jumping out to scare each other. Good brotherly fun.

We also have/had some big events this week which we're enjoying. On Monday Adeventure Uncle and Awesome Auntie got married at their home and we were there to celebrate with them. It was a really beautiful ceremony and reception, dispite the gray clouds that lingered overhead. Again, when it was time for us to go both boys protested. Nate more loudly than Ben but that's to be expected. I have to say, not that I enjoy having my children cry upon departure, it is nice that they enjoy spending time with their aunt and uncle so much that leaving is heartbreaking for them. I remember that feeling myself after leaving my Aunt's house and my cousins when I was young and even if I had spent a whole week there for school vacation (which I often did) I still felt miserable about saying goodbye and wished that I could stay longer. I imagine that's just how the boys feel too.

We have another wedding to go to this Saturday for friends of ours. the boys won't be joining us for that one although they were welcome to attend. Honestly, Tim & I are looking forward to the 45 minute car ride to the church without constant interuption. We love our kids, I don't think anyone would doubt that, but sometimes you need to remember what it's like to have a conversation with each other. We're starting to have only vague memories of that thanks to Tim's schedule (and so our complete lack of any time together really) and having kids. This wedding should also be a blast and yes, I realize it will probably be more fun for me than for Tim given that it's my friend's wedding and a large group of my friends will be there. On the bright side, I found out from the bride yesterday that we'll be sitting with one of my closest friends and her family and she and I are known for our antics when we're together so it should be lots of fun. We just have to reign it in during the toasts and such. ;)

Anyway, this is a very boring post, i just realized. Oh well! I'm in a good mood and felt like sharing, there it is. Hope that you're all enjoying the sun if it's shining in your area!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Raging

Hormones are fun. They are especially amazing and entertaining when you're enjoying them during your third pregnancy while also trying to care for a toddler and a six year old. Admittedly, they haven't been too bad. I like to think that I haven't flipped out on the boys too often or gotten upset with them over really small things in the last few months. But I know I'm either getting a really potent, fresh batch of hormones soon or my boys are just being kids and I'm just a tired preggo and either way - it's not a great combination. In my head, things are a lot worse than they are on the outside. I was talking to a friend the other day and caught myself saying for the upteenth time that conversation "I'm sorry, I'm being a raging bitch." Her response, "No you're not. If this is you being a raging bitch you need raging lessons." I'm keeping these words in the forfront of my brain throughout the rest of this pregnancy. And to my dear friend who said this, I'm sending you a muffin basket or flowers or just a weekly statement of my undying loyalty and willingness to clean your bathroom for the rest of my life in gratitude. Sometimes, we think things are so bad and that we're projecting that outwards and it's nice to know that at least right now, I'm keeping most of it inside. This is good for my kids (they don't need to hear my internal frustrations all day long), good for my friends (they'll put up with me hanging around longer if I'm not Debbie Downer) and good for me in general cause it means I'm not quite as crazy as I think I am. Not yet anyway...we've got 17 more weeks to go plus the postpartum period - plenty of time to get wacky!

So, since it's all worse in my head I figured I'd share some of it here.

1) To the woman at Wal Mart: Learn some manners. I asked you where the maternity bras were and was answered with, "We don't carry those anymore. We don't have ANY maternity department now." Your tone was disgusting and insulting. Even my partner who thinks I over analyze everything noticed your tone and the clear disgust that you seem to have with pregnant women needing maternity undergarments. Perhaps you've never had been pregnant and haven't had the joyus experience of having your underwear fit fine one day and the next leave makrs on your hips so deep and red you're convinced you've sprouted new stretch marks at lunch. It's bad enough that you didn't have what I was looking for but to say it with such hatred was unnecessary. All I really heard you say was, "No, you're pregnant and pregnant women don't deserve to wear clothes that fit them."

2) Nate - I love you beyond words my dear child but if you continue to take naps past 3pm and then refuse to go to sleep before 11pm I might very well think of signing you up for a summer sleep away camp. (kidding!) Seriously though, can we get back onto that nice schedule where you slept from 12:30-2 and then you were ready for bed around 8:30 and your mama actually slept too and life was easy, each day was sunny and we were always happy because we were well rested? Huh, can we do that? pllleeeeeease? Also, can you please stop greeting me with scary faces in the morning? Yes, they are funny but watching you pinch your cheeks, pull your mouth open and stick out your tongue while saying "eehhhhHH!" is not really the way I dream of starting my day. Thanks baby!

3) Ben - I love you dearly my first born but could you please stop waking your brother up within minutes of getting up yourself? And can you stop waking him up by saying, "Hey Nate!" right near his face which is usually about eight inches from my face? Thanks, that'd be awesome!

4) WebMD - Can you give better descriptions with your symptom checker? I picked two symptoms and wound up with a list of 15 possible ailments. Ten of which I know can't be possible for me. I was trying to reassure myself before a doctor's appt tomorrow and instead I'm worrying about things I never knew existed. Gracias.

5) Negativos - The lovely random people that I've been running into at the groccery store, gas station etc who just seem pissed at the world. I'm tired, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with my life at the moment, but I'm still freaking happy like 98% of the time. Can you fake a smile? Or at least hide your intense dislike for the world while out in public? It's bringing the rest of us down!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

A Favorite Place

We have a few favorite places that we like to frequent, especially in the warmer months. Pics below are from the lovely garden that is just down the road from us. We walk there after dinner some nights or head down with lunch and let the boys enjoy themselves. I'm going to do my best to document some of our other favorite places throughout the summer...that's my intent anyway! (sorry for the underlining! Not sure why it's here nor how to get rid of it)