Busy Like the Bees

Yesterday, I got a nesting itch and decided to clean out and reorganize the two closets in mine and Tim's bedroom. I might have mentioned it before, but the people that we bought our house from cut a lot of corners when they were renovating it for sale, and one of those things was the closet doors in our room. They have been nearly impossible to open ever since we moved in. In a moment of frustration, I had Tim remove the doors from the closet we primarily use for clothes and installed a couple of long curtains in it's place. The other closet which has been primarily used for storing things like Christmas decorations and camping gear still had the impossible to open closet doors, so we got to work on that one yesterday.

We have finally discovered how to make use of all the crawl space in the attic for storage, so we cleaned out and boxed up all of the decorations in rubber/plastic containers and Tim stored them all neatly away in the attic space. Then we separated all of his clothes from mine and put them in the extra closet. In the process the doors got removed completely and we were contemplating just throwing them out as we did the others, but I really wanted to find another use for them. Then Tim or I, I can't remember which, had a moment of sheer genius. I had been using our old dining room table to sew on, but last week gave the whole set: table and four chairs, to a friend who needed a new set. That has resulted in my sewing machine and accompanying mess being relocated to the dining table (again). Long story short, we used some left over cinder blocks from doing the garden bed to make table legs and ended up using the closet doors to make a new, awesome, l-shaped sewing desk in my craft/mess room. It's SO perfect.



The doors were nice and narrow so I have more room and more table space to work with. I love it!

This next month is going to be extremely busy. I was bound and determined to find things for Nadia to do over the summer so she burn off some of the multitudes of energy she generates every day, so I signed her up for several different camps. The first two weeks of June she will be attending a summer camp program put on by the Elementary school she will be attending in the fall for kindergarten. She will ride the bus to school and basically get a two week preview of what kindergarten will be like and we will pick her up at the end of the day. The third week she has dance camp every afternoon from 3:30-4:30, and the week after that she has tumbling camp from 3:30 -4:30. That pretty much covers June.

At the end of June Tim gets one of his two vacation checks of the year, so we are planning an entire day out with just us and Nadia to do all of her school shopping for kindergarten. Mom is going to watch the little one, so the whole day will be just about Nadia.

Now I just need to find things to preoccupy her in July. The local art council is offering kids art camps this summer, I'm just not clear on the dates. I'm hoping that they will have something scheduled for July because Nadia has expressed a HUGE interest in doing anything to deal with art. And before you go thinking I'm one of those kooky moms that tries to force activities upon her kids, she ASKED to do the dance and tumbling camps. She has been "practicing" her moves for weeks now in anticipation of going to an actual dance class, so she is super excited about all of these things. We are going to be crazy busy this summer, but that's good! Nadia doesn't do well being cooped up for more than a couple of days at a time and then things start getting rough.

Wait... REALLY??!!! (EDITED TO ADD)

The last couple of days have been really hectic, crazy, full of nerves and phone calls.... but it was sooo worth it!

Every time a graduation comes around, I start feeling subconsciously bad about myself, slightly ashamed even. I went to college after high school, but after my first year I was burnt out. It was during that time that Tim and I got all mushy and junk and decided to get married and start a family. I have loved being a Mommy more than any other job I've ever done.

After the B was born, I went back to school, but it was slow going. I have found it increasingly difficult to figure out just exactly what it is that I want to DO as a "grown-up," other than motherhood. I changed my major at least three times. I had to stop and take breaks so that I could work full time and take care of the kids. Somewhere along the line, I just stopped trying to go back. I'd think about it every now and again, and would then get discouraged by all the "but who would watch the kids while I'm gone" things and just forget all about it. Deep down, though, I felt like a failure.

With the two recent graduations in our family, and my older sister having already graduated from college as well, my parents have been turning their sights on me again and wondering out loud when/if I was ever going to complete my degree. I finally decided to push down all the nerves and the guilt and just make a few phone calls to see what I was lacking in completing my degree.

SO

Apparently, I completed my degree back in December of 2007! WHAT?! How come nobody ever told ME?!!! I've spent the last three years ducking my head whenever the word graduation gets mentioned, and I'm DONE?! I'M DONE!!! So yeah, I'm going up to the school today, after my check up with Dr. B, to order my official diploma. I feel as though a weight has been lifted, and that I can finally hold my head up a little bit more. I didn't get to walk, but who cares?! I have the degree and soon will have the diploma, and no one can take that from me. Should I decide to continue forward, I won't have to start all over, I can just move forward.

I feel all kinda giddy and stuff! Plus, Momma and Papa are all excited as well. I think it is a weight lifted from my father's shoulders as well. I called Tim at work and he's already talking about buying a frame for my diploma, which is very mushy and gushy and all, but it's also great. It's just.... great.

** Just wanted to add some more good news! I just got back from my check up with Dr. B and he said the last ultrasound report came back really positive. Things are getting to look pretty much normal and Lena's fetal growth is right on track. He sounded VERY excited, and I am in a word: relieved. He said we will probably do one or two more ultrasounds along the way to delivery just to keep an eye on things and make sure they are still going our way, but that for now, things are looking really good. Next week is my glucose test, so here's hoping that all comes back normal as well.

I have been having some dizzy spells and funny vision things going on the last couple of weeks that had me a little concerned, but Dr. B thinks it is most likely just the heat. My blood pressure was lower than usual today, so he said I'm probably just getting dehydrated and over heated, which can happen very easily when pregnant. I'm to drink lots and lots of water and stay out of the heat and direct sun as much as possible. If I venture out I'm supposed to bring lots of water with me, and wear good sun screen. I'm glad I went today, because my brother's high school graduation is in two days and it's OUT SIDE in the icky heat. Guess who's packing a water bottle? I'm also to sit or lie down if I start feeling woozy so that I don't end up falling down or passing out.

Other than the southern summer being really bad for pregnant ladies, every thing was normal and healthy! My diploma will be here by the end of next week and while I was at the school paying for it, I saw a flier that caught my attention so I may end up doing more school after all. That remains to be seen, but for now, the good news just keeps on coming! **

Hello Monday!

This morning, I meandered into the kitchen to start the coffee pot and discovered it was.... MONDAY. There was no bread for toast, no frozen waffles for the B, no milk for cereal, no butter so even if we'd had waffles and toast... eh... Also no juice for the baby. It was in a word: wonderful. And I mean that from the bottom of my bitchy sarcastic heart. *laughs* The kids ended up having go-gurt for breakfast this morning with some dry cereal on the side, and then I loaded them up to head to the grocery store.

Can I just say how much nicer the store is early in the morning when most people are still sleeping or at work? It's nice. Much nicer than going mid-afternoon. Now we are home and Nadia is happily munching on powdered donuts and chocolate milk (I know, I'm like champion mom today for the meal plan!), Calvin is napping, and I'm going over the long list of things I need to do today.

For starters, as I was putting groceries away, I realized it was time, yet again, to clean out the fridge. Then I need to do some dishes and make some phone calls. After that, there is a large pile of laundry waiting for me that I at least need to put a dent in today if nothing else. There is tons more, I'm sure, but that's probably about all I will be able to manage if I'm being optimistic, and despite it being monday, I'm trying to be. *laughs*

How is everyone else's monday going?

Random Things and Thoughts:

*I have really enjoyed reading every one's post about things they hate today. I love that we have things in common that we can really get behind disliking... but more than that? I love proof that there are people out there who can read that someone dislikes/hates something that they themselves enjoy and still appreciate the humor in it without getting all touchy and bent out of shape about it.



*After the last few busy days trying to catch up on all the sewing projects I had lined up, I feel like I accomplished very little today. I did read a book from start to finish though. Granted it was short as most of Paulo Coelho's are, but it was still a really awesome read, as most of his books are (IMO). Every book of his that I've read focuses a lot on God, magic, and the Mysteries of life and love... and just well... THE mysteries. I won't go into my personal beliefs here as I tend to keep that sort of banter for personal conversations and not blog world, but I will say that I really like how Coelho manages to make God a universal power/person that anyone of any religion could relate to, and allows for anyone to walk away from his books with something. Even if it's nothing more than the appreciation of a really good story told in a really great way.



*Read a really awesome quote in that book (Brida), that has made it into my journal of random things and sayings and so forth that I like:



"Sometimes, certain of God's blessings arrive by shattering all the windows" ~Paulo Coelho in Brida



*Know what makes a really great ending to any day, no matter how much was accomplished?

Oatmeal peanut butter cookies with m&m's in. Yummm

Thing you Probably Like, That I Hate:

So, first things first: I stole this blog idea from Tammie, who stole it from someone named Elizabeth, who stole it from someone, who stole it from someone and so forth. Still, thought it was a pretty neat blog idea, so I'm stealing and posting too.

*Lost- I hate this too, Tammie! I've watched two or three episodes and have yet to catch on to exactly what all the hype is about. Is there like a magic pill you're supposed to take when you watch this that adds to the effect or something? Is my drinking water coming from some other magical place than all the other people who are in love with this show? *shrugs*

*Buffy- Yet another stupid, ridiculous hyped up show that I apparently missed the boat on. Maybe it's just the area that we live in, or just the majority of our friends and people we hang with, but even though it no longer airs, people still seem obsessed with talking and talking and TALKING about Buffy. Ugh. Bad, cheesy dialogue. Horrible fight scenes with more cheesy "take-that!" dialogue. And sorry: I don't get the whole Willow obsession either. *wrinkles nose* Also, growing up, we had a collie named Buffy, so maybe I've just never been able to move past that.

*Most of the music on regular radio- Is it just me, or do the vast majority of today's musical artists all sound the same? And what's with the canned-music/tin-man robot voice tweak thingies? I prefer satellite and internet radios where you can cut through all of that crap and just plug in what you like. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I listened to any regular local radio station anywhere.

*Over sized bows/flowers- I know I'm probably going to get a lot of haters for this one, but at least I know my younger sister is in agreement here. I'm almost embarrassed to admit this one because I know several people who do it, but I just can't jump onto the whole "bow-3/4 the size of my daughter's head" band wagon. Bows-cute. Flowers-cute. HUGE bow sticking up on the side of a baby's/little girl's head...eh.... not so much. Nadia would never keep even the tiniest bows on her head, especially if it was attached to a little wrap headband. I imagine it must be pretty uncomfortable, especially for the babies. But then, I did the little sproingy pig-tails when Nadia was a baby, so I guess I don't have much room to be talking. The only bald baby I've had is the boy, so I don't have to go out of my way to prevent the whole gender confusion thing. Honestly, though, from what I've heard, you're still bound to get that anyway, despite the gigantic bows. Poor bald baby girls. They are so adorable all on their own.

*Cell phones- I have one, sort of. It's so old they probably don't even manufacture the model anymore and it's pre-paid, so I only put minutes on it once in a blue moon, like if I'm going on a trip or something. I can appreciate the convenience of having one, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I hate being sent random text messages or receiving calls from people wanting to know what I'm doing when I'm out. I hate trying to have a conversation with someone who is texting or playing one of a million apps on their phone and only half listening to what I'm saying. I hate being cut off on the road with my kids in the car because the other driver was busy talking or texting on their cell phone. I hate seeing 5 year olds walking around with their own cell phones. Seriously... who the heck are they calling? I understand that this is a pretty old fashioned sentiment and probably just me, but *shrugs* It's my blog and I can hate it if I wanna. LOL

I bet this would be a neat blog to turn around too: Things I like, that you probably hate. LOL I bet have way more of those than the other way around.

Wait.... What day is it?

Oh yeah. Toilet Paper Tuesdays... only today is Thursday, right? *checks date at bottom of computer screen* Right. Well, let's face it, we all knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up with that nonsense anyway. I mean, who has time to measure their belly every tuesday with toilet paper?? People who don't already have other kids, that's who. I have two, and therefore also have other more viable uses for toilet paper anyhow. *sigh*

If I've said it once, I've complained about it often enough to be too embarrassed to count: but this pregnancy is one emotional roller coaster that I would like to get off of. Like now, please. I'll be great one minute and the Incredible Hulk the next. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but the crankiness and moodiness is sudden, though usually swift, and leaves me with a horrible headache and a hankering for peanut butter cookies. With m&m's.

The other morning Tim was trying to tell me about this really meaningful (I'm sure) dream he'd had the night before, and all I could remember dreaming about was peanut butter cookies. I think I should probably make some.

The last few days I've been trying to stay on top of housework and the kids and fill a few orders I've been putting off for some little girl outfits and hot/cold therapy bags. Done and done. I also finished filling in the flower bed border, and if I feel like it later I'll put up a pic on the garden page.

My body is seriously whacked out lately. The night before last, I slept HORRIBLY, but was up with good energy all day yesterday. Last night I slept like a dream (with peanut butter cookies), and today I feel like I'm dragging around like a zombie. I need a nap, but the hubs is on night shifts, so he is hogging the bed right now and well.. someone has to make sure the baby isn't eating paper and such, so here I am.

I think I'm going to go make some peanut butter cookies.... or at least look through dozens of recipes for them on allrecipes. While I'm on there I should probably figure out what I'm going to be making for dinner.

They Are Growing up SO FAST

This past Sunday, at 3 in the afternoon, my "little" sister graduated from college with her Bachelors in Psychology.

I am constantly amazed by how far in life my siblings have come. It is easy to remember us all as children playing, arguing over this or that, competing for conversation around the dinner table... and yet it is always shocking to stumble across the adult moments. To know that one or the other might not be there for dinner because they have... a ... job, responsibilities, a sick child. The conversations that now revolve around interviews, house renovations, kindergarten registrations still kind of take me by surprise, and I have to remind myself of my age. Yet even in the midst of all of our "grown up" doings, there are moments...

when we are all gathered around the dinner table, when we all remember what it was like growing up. This often leads to recounting all of our favorite embarrassing stories about one another and lots and lots of laughter.

That's me in the purple, and see the young man standing next to me? Yeah, that's my "Baby" brother, who in just a few short days will be graduating from high school, and thanks to dual enrollment, also with his AA degree in aero-technology. Next to him is the college grad, and then my Momma with my (hopefully soon to be, and lets face it, I treat her as such) niece, Haylee. My older sister is missing from this picture because she had to get my other niece home, and my Papa is taking the picture because he is opposed to his image being shared on the internet. *Laughs* Old fashioned and paranoid as always, but we love him still.

Everyday, my entire family is growing by leaps and bounds and I struggle to see and remember it all, while still enjoying each passing moment. It sounds so cliche', but it seems like just yesterday I was arguing with the new college grad through the bathroom door about how long I was taking in the shower. Hrm... wonder what sort of psycho-analysis she could apply to that memory? *laughs*

For the Interested;

I've moved all posts concerning gardening and such to their own page. If you click on the tab at the top up there that says "Gardening 2010" you can look at all the pics and such I've posted!

Baby Lena Ultrasound Update and Pics

Today was my second follow up ultrasound after the incident we had a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, I don't really have that much to report. I ended up having a different ultrasound tech today, rather than the lady who did my initial one, the one immediately after the tear, and the last follow up one. The lady who did today's US was really nice but didn't have any of the background info. I explained to her what had happened and why I was having so many of them done and so forth, but since she didn't have the report or print outs from the previous two US's, she couldn't tell me anything about how things were looking healing wise. So I'll just have to wait to get that info from Dr. B at my next visit... but I'm thinking I'll probably call him on Monday and ask instead of waiting until the next appointment.


Even though I didn't get much info on the torn area, I did get more information on the baby. She is growing accordingly with my expected due date and has been moving ALL OVER THE PLACE. Last night she actually kicked my belly enough that Tim could see my tummy move just sitting next to me on the couch! It's always exciting when it gets to this point in the pregnancy. She is still lying "transverse" (there's some fancy schmancy ultrasound lingo I picked up today), with her head over on the left side and her feet drawn up on the right side. Her little legs and feet are all curled up like a little pretzel, so we had a hard time getting to see anything. At the last ultrasound the tech told us that she "looked like a girl" but wasn't 100% sure, so we poked around her some more today hoping for a better look. She was not very good about cooperating, but the tech was determined and just before we finished up, she got the money shot.


See? I circled the little area. Those three little white lines are the tell tale signs of a little girl! If she was a boy you'd be looking at a little turtle. LOL I love that the US techs call it that. If I compare this pick to the one of Calvin's... uh... "turtle" you can definitely tell that she is 100% girl. Thank goodness because I was starting to get worried we'd never find out for sure and then I'd end up leaving the hospital with "baby boy _____" because I hadn't come up with any boy names. LOL

Also, even though she has been mainly facing "posterior" (some more US lingo), or towards my back, she turned around today and we got an excellent shot of her little face.

All in all, our little Lena is doing really well. Growing. Moving. Right on schedule, so we are of course VERY thankful for that. Hopefully I'll have more info on the tear soon. Dr. B is still hoping that as she and the placenta grow that the torn area will begin to reattach itself, so we don't have any further incidents later on. I guess until delivery or until he sees what he's looking for in the ultrasounds I will continue having them once a month. I will be just far enough along for the 4D in time for the next round! I can't wait!

One Big Post of Awesome Randomness

*Sometime back I noticed that on days that I got up and about before the kiddos wake up, that I have much more productive days, and I even tend towards more patience. I dunno, but I thought it was worth working with so I set myself a goal for this past week that I would get up at the same time every morning, before the kids started stirring about. So far, I've managed to stick to it. I don't necessarily set the alarm, but my internal clock seems to be set pretty well. I don't make excuses or do the five more minutes deal. When I wake, I get up; so I've been getting up between 7:30 and 8 am every morning since Sunday. (Yep, I even got up early on Momma's Day). This gives me anywhere from 15-30 minutes ALL TO MYSELF in the mornings, which I've been spending enjoying my breakfast or a bit of reading or checking my facebook... whatever. It's just my time. Once the kids wake up, it's all systems GO. I do their breakfast, get them both dressed for the day and then while they play I clean up the breakfast mess and start on my stuff for the day. I.E: A load or two of laundry, or vacuuming or whatever. It's been working out amazingly so far, so I'm thinking I'll try to stick with it.

*This morning the phone was ringing off the hook and in a matter of 30 minutes, my entire day got rearranged. First the dentist's office called to reschedule Nadi-B's appoint for a month from now since apparently the dentist will be on vacation or something. Then the hospital called and said they needed the ultrasound techs and stuff to do an emergency biopsy this morning and rescheduled my ultrasound for tomorrow afternoon. Almost immediately afterwards, my Momma called to chat and invite me out to lunch with she and my older sister in honor of a belated "mother's day" thing. Also, she offered to get me a pair of Yellow Box for my M-day gift. Awww! Yay! I love flip flops. So I'm supposed to meet them around noon-ish. It's pretty nice because if they hadn't rescheduled my ultrasound, I might not have been able to meet up with them.

*The rearranging of my schedule for today, coupled with my getting up earlier opened up a HUGE chunk of time this morning, so I decided to work on the little weed flower bed next to the house. The front two need a lot of work too, but my lady friend is supposed to come help me with those this afternoon. I wanted an herb bed, so I had bought a few plants last week that were waiting to be put in the ground. I got out there and with Nadi-B and Tim's help we got it in pretty good shape. We dug up some sort of flower that I planted from bulbs about this time last year.... and I um... can't remember what they are.. but anyhow, I'm transplanting them to the bird bath circle in the back yard and if they bloom I'll let you know what they are. Then we weeded out the bed really well. I was surprised that under the weeds was one of the lavender plants I had put in the ground last year. The lemon balm came back too. Wow! I put in two rosemary plants, 3 basil sprouts, and a bunch of sweet mint.


Here is the finished Herb Bed. Here's hoping that I remember to water everything and all the plants pull through.

Here is that resilient little lavender plant that somehow survived the freak snow we had and then all the weeds. He's my favorite.

Now, I'm about to go get ready for my little afternoon with Momma and my older sister. This has been a post of random randomness!

TP Tuesdays

So this morning I measure around my belly and got 11 1/4 squares... so um... either I mis-measured last week or my belly shrunk a bit. Eh... I'm chalking the little difference up to things like water weight or what have you.

I have another follow up ultrasound tomorrow morning so I'll post about that when I know more!

Pregnancy Resources and Goodies!

1. Baby Fit

This is a really awesome website for moms and moms-to-be and women who are trying to become pregnant. It's a website dedicated to healthy moms, pregnancies, and kids. You can make your own profile page, join groups of moms with the same due date, moms in the same areas, moms with the same interests... there are just groups for everything. The website offers daily articles on nutrition, exercise, breast feeding, bottle feeding, just EVERYTHING. There are message boards and baby tickers, nutrition and fitness trackers, and a week by week play by play of how the baby develops throughout the pregnancy. After baby arrives, there are all sorts of groups and articles for support through post partum, breast feeding woes, what to feed your baby, teething, just yep.. you guessed it: EVERYTHING. I used their website throughout my entire pregnancy with Calvin and have re-vamped my user page there for this pregnancy. Sooooo much amazing info and tools all in one place.

2. Lifenut's Big but Partial List of Pregnancy and Baby Musings

12 Easy Steps to Prepare for Parenting

Jen's A,B,C's of Parenting



Just a few blogs/websites with some neat little posts on the whole ordeal.


3.Swistle Baby Names
This site is really awesome when you go to pick out names. You can email her and tell her some of your picks and likes/dislikes and then she'll post a blog with suggestions and people will comment and pool in. Plus it's just plain fun to talk about baby names and all


4. A few of my own tips:



*Keep your sense of humor. You're gonna need it-
And not just because kids really are the most interesting little people you'll ever meet... You're really going to need it when you're having a really crappy day and some stranger wants to rub your belly in the parking lot. Or when you're like 38 weeks and baby kicks your bladder. Oof. Or when you have one of those interesting little pregnancy melt downs because the chinese restaurant makes the WRONG kind of egg drop soup (I'm lookin at you Barb! Love Ya!). Being able to laugh at yourself .... even if not until months later is a GOOD thing. Find the humor.

*Say No to Baby TV-
No matter how tempted you may be to torture yourself by watching television about babies: i.e.- A Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby, or anything dealing with Michelle Dugger and her new tiny infant delivered at 25 weeks.... JUST SAY NO. You may think you've got a handle on the whole emotional preggo/infant thing, but just trust me and save yourself the overwhelming flood of emotions and tears. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad. You're on your own when it comes to commercials. I'm just sayin.

*Find a Good Game/Book/TV series-
Or all three. You won't really need it right away, but when it gets down to those last couple of months and you can't sleep because Baby is moving around and kicking your bladder or your ribs; or because you have heartburn, or nightmares, or insomnia; or when you think you might be having contractions and you sit up for hours timing them.... These little things come in handy. They help to pass the time during the day, they help with the boredom of waiting, they help when you CAN NOT SLEEP. For my pregnancy with Nadia it was Bejeweled2. Simple, mindless, endless gem switching and what not. For Calvin it was re-reading every book series I ever enjoyed, more Bejeweled2, and... shhhhh... watching TLC marathon re-runs of John and Kate Plus 8. I anticipate more Bejeweled2... possibly Blitz for this pregnancy.

*Pack a Bag-
This one seems kinda "doih" and you'll see it on every list. But it's a GOOD idea. Nadia was LATE. I mean... like I was knocking on the door of 42-43 weeks with her. We had to induce to get her out. She was gonna stay RIGHT THERE. I'm still convinced after that labor experience that she was gripping something on the inside. Calvin came almost a week early. My water broke at home. My point? Ya just never know, so just do it.

*Things to Bring/Not to Bring-
The hospital where I delivered Calvin gave me a list of things I should be sure to bring and it was very helpful. Like, for instance that I needed to bring my own shampoo and soap and things because those wouldn't be provided. Who knew, right? Of course toothbrush, toothpaste, that kinda thing. Some people say bring pj's, others say why for? I say bring some comfy clothes. I wouldn't bring NEW pj's as things are kind of leaky and gross for a few days. I'm just sayin. Keep in mind that people will be popping in and wanting to see Baby, especially if it's your first; so make sure you are comfortable being seen and having photos snapped of you in what you decide to bring. Some folks say don't bother bringing your own underwear, blah blah, hospital provided, yada yada. I say ... ick; and buy a pack of cheapo's and be sure to pack a couple sports bras for the pregnancy bag. Up to you. That's just what I do. Don't forget clothes for Baby; comfy and soft.

*If At First You Don't Succeed-
TRY, TRY again. *SIGH* Breastfeeding. Zomg. I breastfed Nadia for 4-5 weeks, but wasn't very good at it. It was frustrating and HARD and I'd cry and she'd cry and I gave up and gave her formula. She's FINE. She's healthy and smart, some would say smarter than the average bear (and not just her Momma). I don't really think my milk ever came in fully with her though. I made it 6 weeks with Calvin. My milk came in ... like fo sho. I tried the whole pumping thing with him too so that I could get a break from a feeding now and again. *snort* But it HURT. It H. U. R. T. And things were drippy and exposed and Tim's grandparents/family kept popping in and banging on the front door WITH NO WARNING. AT ALL, while I was fighting the breastfeeding battle. Then I wimped out and switched to formula. Calvin is FINE. He's healthy and smart and he's not obese or anything silly like that. I'm going to try again with the breastfeeding. It will HURT and it will be HARD, but I'm going to try again. However, if things do not work out I will forgo the 2-3 weeks of beating myself up emotionally and berating myself and feeling guilty and sub-par as a mom. Period.

*Be Informative and Be Firm About It-
Seriously. Especially if you choose to go the breastfeeding route. Explain to family and friends that popping over unannounced is NOT COOL. There will be boobs exposed and some veteran moms might not think twice about it, but when you're trying to figure that stuff out it's stressful and emotional and the last thing you need is for someone to start pounding "open-up-it's-the-police" style on your front door after you FINALLY after 1/2 an hour of tears and re-arranging got Baby to latch properly and now you're stranded in the living room with your boob out and by God you are NOT MOVING to the bedroom!!! (in the event that informing said family members to call first and then having them show up anyway, have the hubby meet them and KEEP them in the yard for half an hour or until they go home.....ahem......)Also, Baby will be sleeping, you will be trying to nap or shower or brush your teeth... it's just good manners, okay? Sometime before you come home with Baby make sure all well-meaning relatives and friends know that there is a "please call first" policy in place. Help is awesome and amazing. Unannounced company is NOT COOL.

*Last But Not Least: ENJOY-
Enjoy while it lasts. Try to take time out from the stressing and the sleeplessness to enjoy them being tiny and little and cuddly and wanting to sleep on you for hours at a time. Before too long they will be all knees and elbows and on the go and running around and before you know it, it is embarrassing for you to kiss them in public and attempts to do so are met with "Moooooommmmmm!!!!"

It's Mother's Day!

And so far I've:



*Washed a load of dishes



*Organized all of the bottles, sippy cups, kid cups, plates, bowls, and straws.



*Wiped down the counters



*Cleaned the bathrooms



*Swept, Steam-mopped (I <3 my shark), and vacuumed.



*Washed, dried, and folded 2 loads of laundry.



And I did it all while wearing this stylish piece of homemade jewelry from the B.

Yep. It's awesome. Before long all the hip moms will be wearing them. I love the vintage button she put in the middle. She has an eye for detail, don't you think?



Anyway, as a mother's work is never done, I've gotta jump off here so I can make B her lunch and then I have a brand new pack of swiffer dusters with my name on em. Hope all of you fellow blogging Moms have a great and wonderful Momma's Day!

Toilet Paper Tuesdays!

So, my mommy (Sept. due date) group on babyfit.com has this weekly group post where everyone measures around their tummy at the belly button with toilet paper and then posts how many squares around they are. I think it's pretty cute and so far has been a lot of fun. More fun lately, since 21 weeks into this pregnancy, I am FINALLY starting to show. It kind of happened over night, because a week ago, you couldn't tell at all, and then one morning I just woke up and there it was: The baby bump!

In any case, I thought the Toilet Paper Tuesdays thing would be a neat weekly post I could share with all you blogging buddies. If any of you other pregnant ladies would like to join in, I would love to see your toilet paper progress! *Laughs*

21 Weeks: 12 Squares @ the Belly button!

Relaxed and Groovy:

For Valentine's Day, the hubs had gotten me a gift certificate to be pampered at the spa. So, this afternoon, while he was at home with the kids; I was HERE, at the Oasis. To add to my special day, Tim got up with the kids and pretty much gave me the entire day off. I got to take a 45 minute shower BY MYSELF. With NO INTERRUPTIONS. It was heaven!

My special treatment started with a one hour massage with Teresa. I used to work for her when she had her own place at Knead Massage, and it was great to visit with her. Plus, due to the massive amounts of rain here, she had a lot of cancellations.... which coupled with the two of us catching up on the times resulted in what was actually an hour and A HALF massage. AWESOME.

After I was all floppy and relaxed, I got my nails manicured and painted. The lady who did my nails turned out to be someone Tim and I went to high school with, so there was lots of chatty conversation going on there too. I got the full tour of the spa too, and I'm seriously thinking of cancelling my membership with USA gym and spending my money on a gym membership at the Oasis instead. It's women only and you can take any of their classes for free with your membership. They have zumba and belly dancing and all kinds of stuff. It will most likely wait until after the baby is born though since I'm still under strict orders from Dr. B to "limit my mobility." Boo. But at least I can still swim, which I've been trying to do a lot of.

Anyway, back on topic. I came home to Tim starting on dinner. He's grilling up steak and making baked potatoes and steamed veggies and he already fed the baby... Yeah. Cue Spongebob singing "It's the Best Day EVERRRRRRRR!!!!!" And that would pretty much finish things off.

See This??

SUPER DAD.

You know you have a good man when he'll put on your baby sling and carry the baby around to give you a few minutes to have a little potty ME time. Just look how awesome he looks in all those pretty florals. Of course, Calvin looks a little unsure, but that's nothing to be alarmed about. He went with it after just a few minutes and then settled right down. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my sling? Hands down the most used item I've ever sewn.

Look what Nadia and I did today!

We made our own play doh! It's the kind that you cook, but I find I like it better than non-cook varieties. Its texture is the most similar to store bought play doh and I dunno... I just really like kneading the warm doh. It's very theraputic.

After we made it and dyed it, we played with it. We made some spotted dinosaurs.

And a few flowers and houses and things.

Nadia must have played with that stuff for over an hour. She kept saying she likes "Mommy play doh" way better than store play doh.

See???

What I've Been Up To Lately:

I've had a lot of projects going the last few days here. First, I forced asked Tim to re-upholster the dining chairs. After a couple of months, I realized that it's all well and good to cover stains from other people's kids... but.. uh... I have my OWN kids and they don't really give a hoot about stains. I got tired of watching the chairs revert back to the state they were in when we bought them, so I got some vinyl cloth instead. Total cost to re-upholster 8 chairs and two bar stools? $4.00 + 1 headache. That staple gun is brutal! Anyway, now my chair cushions are completely wipe-able. Not to mention, they look pretty snazzy. They have this same fabric in cotton in this orange/red, yellow, and a green, so I see matching napkins and coasters in the very near future. Yay!

The other thing I've been working on is the babies' room. Even though New Baby is a girl, we decided to keep the two little ones together for at least the first few years. They will only be a year apart, so they will be good company for one another. Plus, since we are planning on starting kindergarten with the B this fall, I don't want to risk waking up the baby to get her dressed and ready for school in the mornings. Or the baby keeping her up all night. SO, we'll just wait a few years before putting the girls together in the big room and for now it will be the baby room.

I didn't want to do the whole pink vs. blue thing. Ugh. So I went with green instead. I bought three different fabrics with the same shade of green in. One with stripes, one with a fairly neutral scroll pattern, and one with a splash of pink for little Lena. Now I can just buy green and white sheets and it doesn't matter whose crib they go in.

Then I made curtains and crib skirts. I didn't use patterns. I just kinda winged it on both projects and I'm really liking the outcome. I only did half curtains because, so far, our kids adore looking out the windows at the world outside. Plus, this room is located in the back corner of the house and gets a good balance of light and shade. I didn't do crib bumpers. I have a horrible fear of suffocation and they are considered a hazard anyway. We tried doing a bumper with Calvin, but I kept waking him up trying to move his face away from the bumper and check his breathing. So NO BUMPERS.

I also did little wall hangings with their names. I drew the letters onto freezer paper, ironed them onto the fabric and cut them out. Then I modge podged them onto a canvas that B had painted "vanilla" for me. Their cribs don't match. It kinda bothers me in the OCD area, but not bad enough to cause me to buy another crib. However, Momma had mentioned wanting to buy one to keep at "Sunshine and Papa's" house for when they have the kids. I'm trying to convince her to buy one that matches Calvin's so I can switch with them. It might just be working. It remains to be seen.

Never mind Calvin's Pooh sheet in this photo. He kindly spit up all over the green one I had in for the pictures as soon as I walked in there this morning. Baby's are kinda like that. I'm still not 100% finished with their room. I have some of those foam puzzle mats in front of each crib and I'm thinking of getting little throw rugs to go over them, or making some slip covers for them in matching fabrics. I also just got a new changing table/closet combo thing today that I need to set up and all. But this is what is done so far!