October 11
home again home again jiggity jog...
we didn't buy any hogs, but i ate some pig. it's good to be in our home, but being in the mountains for a week made us realize how much we want to be there. homecoming was great. i saw lots of people. katie was there and we hung out the most i guess. it makes since. we were such good friends in college and we were in the same class... but it was just like we hadn't really left. we will be going back next year. i think i did okay baby wise. i was really tired by the end of the weekend, but that was fine. elijah did really well with my folks. he doesn't like to go to sleep with them, but that'll change as he gets older. jerry and i went and did the downtown asheville thing on tuesday and then went to see the seeker (good movie until the end...which was just odd....i'll have to read the book i guess.)
my mom and i had a booth at the soccer game at homecoming on saturday. that was fun. i guess i did better than i thought i would. it was really warm (hot really) so i didn't sell as many winter things but i did sell some sunhats and a couple of dream catchers. i think that next year i may do tie dye as well. mom said that she will make some beer mugs for next year.. i think that would sell better too. it was also parents weekend there... which was odd, but whatever.
on monday aunt mavis came for a visit and we went to a nearby park to have a picnic. the weather was great! there is so much water (well as much as one can have in a massive drought) to play in for elijah. at the park was a stream and my folks live near some creeks, so elijha had a great time! he's really into throwing rocks into the water, so that's what he did for much of the time. he also ran around the playground which was really a great playground! he did fall once and slammed his head into a log. as it was time to go home for a nap anyway, that's what we did. but he had a big goose egg on his head and woke up from his nap really grumpy, poor guy. now it's just a big bruise. he only cried for a minute though. oh, while we were there, i ran into my fifth grade teacher. i really liked her and she made my transition into the mountains (we moved there when i started fifth grade) very smooth. she's retired now, though she looks EXACTLY the same. she was there with her granddaughter. anyway, that was really cool.
over all the visit was really good. i was really sad to leave. sigh... it's just really awesome to not have to drive to see scenery (i.e. the beach) and to go to a downtown that is more than a couple of streets and that has really neat one of a kind shops that are thriving. oh well, hopefully we'll find a way to move back there.
i guess that's it. i'll post pictures later. oh we're 10 weeks pregnant now! i'm still pretty tired, but doing okay. i go to the doc on the 26th to hear the heartbeat and have blood work done. in a few of the pictures you can tell very much that i am pregnant. there were people who didn't know but didn't want to ask (very polite don't you think!!!)
okay the munchkin is up to something... gotta run!
October 14
You have GOT to be kidding me!!!!
So the other day I was out hanging laundry and Elijah was playing in the grass. He wandered over and wanted to play in the sandbox. So I stopped what I was doing to go over and check for bugs (ants like to hang out in the sandbox...) He's really good about waiting. So I opened the lid and I saw some spider webs, not uncommon, but I wanted to make sure there were no spiders. I saw a dead one on one of the toys, so I started scrapping the webs off and I turn the wheel and OH MY GOD...there was a FREAKING Black Widow spider. I calmly (read almost total panic) took the toy over to the ditch and cleaned it out. The spider fled before I could kill it. Elijah (being the good boy that he can be) was still standing by the side. I look and see more web, but think it's just web. WRONG!!! I start moving the other toys and cleaning up the web, just about ready to let Elijah climb in to play, but then I spot ANOTHER FREAKING Black Widow...WHAT!!!!??????!!!!! Sigh... That one I killed. Poor Elijah, is standing there wondering what the heck is wrong with his mom. I'm trying to explain to him (an almost 2 year old...right?!?) that these are bad spiders that can hurt you and we can't play in the sand, when I spot...you guessed it ANOTHER Black Widow. Now I am convinced that I have these things crawling all over me and that this house is somehow a spider magnet or we're on the set of a horror movie... I really hate spiders anyway, but Black Widows scare me. I keep having this thought that Elijah is going to come show me something he found and it's going to be a Black Widow and it's bitten him. I know these are skiddish spiders and they only bite if they feel threatened, but how much more threatening is it to have a toddler come in and play in what you thought was your house. Needless to say, Elijah didn't get to play in the sandbox, I convinced him to help me with the rest of the laundry and promised to take him to the park in the afternoon (which we did...) He didn't really seem to upset (thank God!) but I really don't know what to do about the spiders and the sandbox. We have it over mulch and try to keep the grass around the area short. I don't want to spray insecticide in something that my kid is going to play in... sigh... I guess we'll figure something out.
The couple of days back without Jerry weren't as bad as I thought. But this weekend has gone way to fast. Oh well. I think we'll keep busy this week, so maybe it'll go by quick too.
have I mentioned that I am having HUGE onion bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes cravings? I want it for breakfast and snacks... I do limit myself to only one a day... but MAN are they good! My sense of smell is also quite acute. I still have the heartburn, but it doesn't seem as bad...maybe I'm just used to it...
Okay, I gotta go chat about a book with a book club I'm in....
October 23
shirtless boy with a cold
That's my kiddo right now. he came out of his room with his shirt half off asking for help. now he has his PJ bottoms on and a hat. He has a chest cold. sigh... I have caught it now and being preggers with a head and chest cold is no fun at all. elijah is just as happy as he's always been, running around. I'm so glad that he is rather independent in his play. I'm camped out on the couch and he's playing with all his toys and being rather cute.
This week was going to be very busy, but feeling like I do, I am now doing only minimal things. We were supposed to help Rachel with making piñata yesterday, but neither of us wanted to expose MR to Elijah's cough. So we stayed home and cleaned the kitchen...well I cleaned the kitchen while Elijah watched. Today was supposed to be story time, but no way man. Tomorrow we have a friend coming in for the rest of the week. I am hoping that both Elijah and I feel better for her arrival. Thursday we were going to have a Halloween party with play group, but 1) it's supposed to rain and 2) have I mentioned I feel like poop? Friday is my 12 week appointment. We get to hear the baby's heartbeat. If Elijah is still coughing and whatnot, he'll come with us. If he is feeling better, he'll stay with Rachel. Saturday we are supposed to go to a Halloween party...so we'll see.
Oh yeah!!! Speaking of playgroup... My friend Angela had her baby on the 20th at 1:20 in the morning! I can't wait to meet the little guy. She sent pics and man he's a cutie!
This past weekend, we went to the pumpkin patch and let Elijah climb all over the pumpkins and play. I have some pictures, I just have uploaded them. I craved the little pumpkin last night. It's pretty cute if I do say so myself. Elijah is going to be a train engineer this year. Super easy and if he doesn't like wearing something, he's still wearing cute overalls. I had him dressed up at the pumpkin patch, so you'll see it once I upload.
So after a whole summer of no rain, the city has finally put out mandatory water restrictions. We are 21 inches under where we need to be. The county has been under voluntary restrictions...but not mandatory. I just can't believe they waited this long... sigh... We barely watered our lawn all summer which is fine and we have a bunch of soaker hoses to water our gardens... of course, one needs to turn those on...
I guess that's about it. Elijah is now ripping up a tissue and wiping his doll's nose... very sweet.. though it's his nose that needs wiping... sigh...
October 25
rain!!!! but no nap?!?!?!
So last night it finally rained. It was supposed to continue through today, but it didn't rain all day...maybe tonight? So for the past few days Elijah has taken only a 15- 30 minute nap!!! This is not working so well for me. So today, I was determined to exhaust him before his lunch. So I put on his galoshes and we went on a walk and then splashed in puddles, came home and changed into different shoes, grabbed the little scooter ride on toy and headed back out to ride around the neighborhood. When we got home we danced for about 15 minutes straight and then picked up Jerry for lunch. Elijah was so tired he almost fell asleep in the high chair. So, I'm thinking GREAT! We get into the car and take Jerry back to work, about five minutes from the house, Elijah falls asleep. This is usually fine. If he falls asleep in the car, I usually just bring him in and put him to bed...sigh... not today. I bring him in, put him down and his little eys pop right open and he is ready to get up. So I pick him up and rock him and rock him and rock him and he doesn't go back to sleep. I'm sooooo tired and all I want is a nap...but not today. Sigh.... yesterday he was a pain after 30 minutes of nap. He was crying at EVERYTHING! I was not in the mood to deal with that today. So I rocked him until 2:30, at least he got rest right? Then we had some snack and then back outside. Jerry got home around 5 and Elijah was ready to eat. So he ate, got a bath, said good night to his toys, and we sat down to relax. Our bedtime routine consists of the above...the relaxing is rocking in the chair and then Elijah asks to go to bed and he goes and gets in bed and then he goes to sleep. Tonight... he fell asleep in the rocking chair. I know he was so sleepy... but he's got to get this nap back. I think my problem is that I'm stressing about it. He was supposed to go to Rachel's tomorrow while we go to see our midwife, but there is no way i would push crazy baby on her. So he is going with us. I think I really just need to relax about it. Maybe I'll start putting him down for nap in his room and sleep on his extra mattress and that way if he doesn't sleep at least I can. I'm just beat these days. Alas my 1st trimester is almost over and supposedly the energy will come back... To top all this off, i really didn't sleep well last night. I couldn't get some songs out of my head and then the storm came up and then Elijah crawled in bed with me...blah blah blah.....
On the bright side... the light outside today was perfect for picture taking, so I got some really good shots of Elijah playing. I'll post those in a moment. Jerry's taking the kiddo tonight, so hopefully I get some sleep. I'm excited about tomorrow. Here's to hearing the baby's heartbeat... in a way it's kinda cool that Elijah will get to hear that too. He knows there is a baby in my tummy. He comes over and gives the tummy hugs and kisses and brings the baby toys. It's really sweet. I really think that he'll be a great big brother!
October 26
12 week appointment
Today's appointment went really well. Even with a non-napping Elijah it wasn't too bad. He is in his shy flirting stage, so he mostly hung onto Jerry. Mary (the midwife) thought that since my uterus is reversed that we might not be able to hear anything...I think she would have sent us for an ultra sound then...mostly because I would have freaked out!!) but as soon as she put the Doppler on my belly there it was. A really strong heart beat (159 beats/minute) was heard and Elijah's eyes got all big. We had been talking about when dadu came home we'd hear the baby in the belly's heart beat. We go back in 5 weeks and then we'll make the ultrasound appointment for 19 weeks...so I guess the 2nd week in December we'll find out what we're having. Very exciting!! And it was only one heartbeat...Jerry was convinced we were having twins... to the point, I was fretting and planning a bit...but only one heartbeat!!!
This morning Elijah and I went to Costco to get some stuff for a party tomorrow. Then we came home and played in the rain. I love warm rain!!! Elijah was really cute in his raincoat and galoshes. We had fun, but he still had no nap...sigh... On a message board I belong to many of the women said that their boys went through this as a phase. I really hope that's what it is... I need that break. Okay... that's all I really wanted to write... Lata!
October 30
The Golden Compass
I mentioned a while back that I was reading this trilogy of books called His Dark Materials. The Golden Compass is the first book of this trilogy. I must say that I think that these books are some of the best young adult books I have read in ages. I feel that they are indeed young adult books and not children's books. I feel like a really mature 10 year old might be able to handle them, but I would suggest them for an older group...say teenagers.
So The Golden Compass is coming out as a movie in December. I am very excited about this. However, I got an e-mail to this link from a cousin the other day. For those who won't hit the link (which is fine, because I probably wouldn't have hit it) it states that the author of said books is a proclaimed atheist. There are a few e-mails that are written by people who obviously didn't read the books, but have read the hype. It seems that this movie is going to cause the kind of controversy that The DaVinci Code caused with the Pope. Apparently, since this guy is an atheist and his books raise questions about Christianity and allude to several Christian themes, there are some upset people. I guess it's fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. What bothers me is 1) they haven't read the books and 2) it's a FREAKING work of fiction. If you are opposed to supporting an atheist, then don't see the movie, don't read the books, but don't be a jerk. I am not saying that my cousin is a jerk by any means. But I feel that I was probably sent the e-mail as a sort of way of saying don't support the movie. Some of the e-mails alluded to the death of God in the final book. Having actually read the books, I can say that no one kills God in them. There is a death. That's all I'll say for right now, I don't want to give the ending away for those who haven't read the books. There is direct relation to Adam and Eve and Original Sin...but not how we think of Original Sin, even for teens that's a bit much... maybe...
I feel these books actually show a really strong connection to family. Granted you don't see it in the first, maybe not even the second, book. But there is a feeling of family and friendship. I think that these themes are much more overpowering, or at least more important than those of a underlying religious theme. I am not trying to down play the religious themes, but I really looked at them as more of a struggle between good and bad as opposed to heaven and hell.
The heroine in these books is a young girl. I thought that this was a great thing. So often you see a boy or man. She deals with many issues that would be immensely challenging. She becomes stronger and grows through the whole trilogy.
I guess I get annoyed at people that seem to be so religious and then seem to become threatened by a work of fiction. I personally look at fiction books, as just that...fiction. I feel that I am secure enough in my beliefs that a young adult book is not going to waiver them. I feel that reading enables me to carry on conversations about many different topics, not just topics that are approved by a set institution. I am very much in to reading what my kids will read. I want to be able to discuss topics in their literature. I look at controversial material as a way to discuss and broaden horizons. I feel if there is something I don't agree with I want an open discussion to happen between the members of my immediate family. I want my kids to make up their own minds about religion, politics, everything. It would be hard for me if my child decided to have really different views of the world than I, but as long as he is kind, honest, and caring, I will try my hardest to be supportive. Not to say that I wouldn't fight over dinner in what I believe, but I will listen...
Anyway, I guess that's it for my little soap box. I feel that the movie will be well worth seeing. I think that the books are DEFINITELY worth reading. They will be added to our kids library as they get older (along with Harry Potter...gay Dumbeldore and all )...just thought someone should say something in defense of the other side!
