December 2008

December 04

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

My mom doesn't have Windows Live Writer on her laptop, so bare with the typos and what not...

SO after Jerry left on Sunday, we have hit the road running.  It snowed on Monday.  Not a lot, but enough to go play in.  Elijah really liked it.  Until his feet started hurting.  I'm a bad mom... poor guy was wearing boots way too small for him.  totally didn't think about it.  So I ended up piggy backing him up the mountain to my folks driveway.  I just couldn't carry 37 pounds on my back any farther (or is it further...i always got those mixed up... i think that farther is the distance...right?)  ANYWAY, we nipped that in the bud.  We exchanged them at a place where my folks volunteer.  SO now his feet won't hurt in his boots.

Tuesday we went downtown Black Mountain for me to meet up with a friend of mine.  It was good to see her and chat.  We did that and then came home for a bit.

On Wednesday, my folks watched Elijah in the morning and I crashed for 2 hours with Grace.  Neither of the kids had been sleeping well and I was exhausted.  When we got up, mom, Elijah, Grace and I went out for lunch and then went to get a Christmas Tree.  It was really fun.  They get their tree from the fire station.  The fire man that helped us let Elijah go see the trucks.  Made his day!!!  After a good nap we decorated the tree.  Elijah LOVED that.  I'm pretty stoked that Elijah is getting into Christmas this year.

Today, mom and Elijah and Grace and I walked up to the coffee shop to meet with mom's group of friends.  I ate the best broccoli corn beard there... yyyyyuuuuuuummmmmmoooooo!!!  Elijah and I wandered around downtown for a bit and then came home and played.

Tomorrow we'll go to Holly Jolly downtown.  Just a night on the town where all the shops are open and having goodies.  Should be fun.  Then Saturday we'll go to the parade in the afternoon.  That's about as far as I've gotten.

I'll post some pics now... OR not... WTF... this new crap is messing with me... so no pics until I get home and can deal with this.  I can't get pics to turn the right way... sigh... oh well... maybe i'll post with pics later, but the girl child is on my chest and not so much right now...

December 19

December...since almost over and all...

So to pick up where I left off two weeks ago...

We went to Holly Jolly and waved to Santa.  Elijah is still not too fond of actually speaking to Santa, much less going anywhere near him, but I'm okay with that.  If he wants to have a distant relationship with the big man in red, I'm fine with that.  I have no pictures of me with Santa and I don't think that it's the end all be all if he doesn't either.  We talk about Santa daily and Elijah has taken to wearing a Santa hat and his new galoshes and calling himself Santa.  He goes around saying, "HO HO HO!"  He's attached a chair to his scooter and it has become his sleigh and reindeer.  To me this is way cooler than sitting on Santa's lap. ;)  Anyway, Saturday we went to the parade.  I have never in my life seen so much candy.  Luckily we had a plastic bag in the diaper bag, so we took a ton of candy home with us!  We got a Christmas tree from the fire station and Elijah helped decorate while Grace and I supervised.  I went shopping in downtown Asheville and mom took Elijah to see a gingerbread house display.  It rained a bit the rest of the week.  I made some cookies and mom played with Elijah out in the rain.

A low note of the vacation, well there were two.  One was grace's eczema.  For some reason it really flared up while we were there.  Maybe it was because it was so dry.  It did seem to get better once the rain came...but who can say.  Anyway, the other low note was the fact that I left my cell phone in my jeans and then proceeded to put them in the wash...sigh.  My folks have a front loader, so even when I realized what I had done, there was nothing I could do.  Sigh.  I dried it out, but the microphone didn't work.  We got another one in the mail yesterday, but it was odd being without for so long.  I was nervous being without it with just me and the kiddos.  But we survived.

Mom and I did Christmas in the Valley Arts and Crafts show.  While I didn't do as well as I wanted I did better than I expected.  The economy is really taking it's toll.  Mom said she did SO much better last year.  But it was fun.  Mom and I hung out with Grace all day.  Jerry, Dad, and Elijah hung out together.  It was good experience.  I realized what sells the best, so that's good to know.  I got a little spending cash and that's good too.

I sent out our Christmas cards earlier this week.  We went with e-cards again this year.  We do this for a few reasons.  1) it's super easy.  2) it's free!  3) we never have stamps that are the right denomination since we do almost everything online.  4) it's more environmentally friendly.  I don't claim to be some environmentalist, but I like to save money and if I save the earth a little too, BONUS!  Having said all this, I do enjoy getting Christmas cards in the mail and I reuse them as tags on gifts, so I guess that's recycling too! hehehehe!

We got our Christmas tree on Sunday.  The place we went only had 9+ foot trees.  So we thought it would be okay, but we got it home and in the stand and WAY TO TALL!  So we cut the top foot off.  It looks a little funny, but it's still pretty.  Then I got the lights on the tree and plugged them in... and NOTHING.  Lesson learned.  Always check the lights before putting them on the tree.  So Jerry went to Target, which was out of white lights.  So he got the icicles instead and I gotta say, they worked really well.  Now our tree is all decked out and ready for Santa!

Yesterday, our playgroup had a Christmas party.  It was fun and almost everyone came by at some point.  The weather is insanely warm this week, so it was fun playing at the park.  We didn't get home until 2:30!!!  oops!  It was worth it though!  'Tis the season and all!!

Which brings us to today!!  It was 77 degrees today, so we spent the morning at the BEACH!!!!  It was perfect.  Not crowded, warm enough to be bare foot, and free parking!!!!  We built sand castles and flew a kite (until it broke!) and played with friends.  It was awesome.  While it's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it's 77 degrees out, it's been nice to be out of the house and playing in short sleeves.

So I have added pictures.  There are some turned on the their side and I'm sorry for that, but my computer (for some reason) will not allow us to rotate pics and this new upgrade that MS has done doesn't allow for editing...sigh... so sorry... but enjoy!

December 23

If only...

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! (thanks Amy for sending me this!):

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother, "because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch a cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

*Santa has asked that this gets passed on to all the mommies you know.

December 25

We had ourselves a Merry Little Christmas

We'll start with yesterday.  We went to the park in the morning to meet with Rachel and co. to exchange gifts and play.  We came home and Jerry came home from work for the day!!  After a nap, Elijah and I made cookies for Santa:

Then I made some sugarless cookies for Jerry's dad and yummy full of sugar cookies for his mom and siblings.  Before going to bed we made sure the cookies were out for Santa and a carrot was out for Rudolph.  After a seemingly endless night we awoke to find this:

And unwrapped gifts such as these:

After a relaxing morning of, um, hair styling: 

We traveled to Jerry's parent's house, where both kids received a TON more gifts which I totally forgot to get pics of, but will tomorrow and will post them.  We then went to visit Jerry's dad in the hospital.  He's recovering from really bad arthritis in one of his hands.  He is doing much better and it was good to see him in good spirits.  Matthew played cars with Elijah while we visited.  Jerry got pics of the rest of the family, but Matthew's head got chopped off... Sorry Matthew!

We plan on playing tomorrow and going to the beach again on Saturday (supposed to be 75 degrees again!!)  While I'm not thrilled about not having cooler weather right now, might as well make the most of it.

I think that I will probably post like this until we figure out the picture thing.  It's kinda fun, and for the time being works well.

I hope that everyone had as fantastic a day as we did!  Merry Christmas!

December 27

Is global warming really THAT bad?

Of course it is...but we went to the beach today... Elijah and Jerry were in shorts and I was barefoot.  So, ya know...

Anyway, wanted to start with the gifts from Grandma and PopPop's house:

                    

Elijah's favorite thing to do is start at the top of the driveway and throw his feet up and ride down down.  It isn't motorized but has the sounds, so he pushes the button that makes it sound like it's revving and goes.  It's pretty funny to watch.  Grace likes to watch him go as well.  Grace is attempting to start to pull up on things.  She scoots across the floor on her butt and rocks on all fours, so it's just a matter of time before the crawling happens...sigh... but what she really likes to do is stand up.  She can be in a full blown screaming-crying-life-is-not-fair tantrum and you stand her up and it's as if you gave her all the chocolate in the world!  So this little table is good for her!  Now if Elijah would leave it alone...

Back to today.  When I woke up I was a little bummed.  It was REALLY foggy.  I was skeptical about going.  Jerry said we should go and if it was too cold, then we would just come home.  I'm so glad we went.  About 5 minutes after we got there the sun came out and it was warm and really nice.  There was still a fog bank to our left and right and out over the ocean, but it was GREAT!  Here are some pics:

So now Jerry and I are watching Burn After Reading and relaxing.  I love having him home for extended periods!!!

December 29

Getting Organized

So this morning was spent in the toy room.  We decided a while back that Grace and Elijah would share a bedroom, so her bed is already in there.  We changed her bedroom into a toy room.  So today, I took out Grace's dresser (which was in the closet in the toy room) and all her hanging clothes and moved them into the bedroom.  Elijah helped make a HUGE pile of all the toys in the middle of the room.  While he did that I moved the bookshelf and all the books into the closet.  Then I sorted through all the toys.  Got rid of a bunch that he hasn't played with and then split the rest in half and put them in containers to rotate out.  I did the same with Grace's toys.

I really hate defining them as "Elijah's" and "Grace's" toys because they are both of theirs.  It's been interesting watching Elijah want to play with the baby toys that he hasn't played with for a couple of years.  And Grace LOVES anything that Elijah plays with, especially if it has wheels.  Anyway... I cleaned up in there!  I have my old toy box and I use it as a place to store dress up clothes.  I would really like to take the top off so that it is open, but I can't figure out how to do that...the hinges are put on with some non-screw type things... hmmm... Elijah got a doctor's set and a tea set and Grandma got him some pretend food.  So those are all in the dress up area.  It just would be easier if the lid was off...I'll figure it out though.

I got a call to confirm Elijah's birthday party today!  I'm really excited.  It's a Curious George goes to the Fire Station party!  I found some great sites with things to do.  So all the gift bag things are going to be crafts that the kids do at the party.  I think it'll be fun.  we are having the party at a local fire station.  My friend that made the train cake last year is going to make us a fire engine cake and I'm going to attempt a Curious George cookie to "ride" on the fire engine.  I love planning birthdays!  It's so fun for me.  My mom says that I have been doing this since I realized what a birthday was.  She says that the evening of my birthday party I was planning for the next year!  It's not the gifts (our group doesn't do gifts), it's just a party!  And that's fun!  Maybe it's a sickness.  I know that Grace's first b-day will be at a park, maybe the beach park and the theme will be 1st b-day!  I know that next year we're going to have a Where The Wild Things Are b-day for Elijah... It is a sickness...hehehehe!

This afternoon Elijah put on his boots and we went out and jumped in puddles:

Afterward we came in and made dinner of beef stew and cheese biscuits.  While I did that:

Elijah saw Peter and The Wolf ballet the day after Christmas and he LOVED the twirling and the tutus.  I know the quality is not good, but it's funny to me.  He's fine at the end.  He totally got up laughing.

And my little miss?:

 

So a good productive day!

June 2008

June 10

On my own again...

My folks left this morning after a breakfast at IHOP.  Elijah keeps saying he wants to go to the mountains with Oma and Opa... I'd love to send him, but I think that after a night or so, he'd want his mommy and dado.  Maybe next year...

This week was good.  But the weather was so freakin' hot it made it hard to do too much.  We played outside as long as we could tolerate it in the morning, but the afternoon was spent inside.    We got to the beach twice, once in the morning, and once in the evening.  The evening was really nice.  It was low tide and cool and the water felt great!  We met up with Rachel, Erin, and the kiddos on Sunday morning at a park, but even that was rather hot.  My folks played a lot of choo choos and fire truck with Elijah.  My mom and I took Elijah and Grace on a short boat ride while dad made some super yummy cookies to leave with us.

Jerry and I worked on getting the office organized this weekend.  We made good progress, but there is still lots to do.  We are still considering starting a web site this fall, so I needed to get stuff organized in there to see what I had and what I needed to make.   So that was good.

I do have to say that Elijah's schedule is all out of whack, but I think that it will get back on track today.  He didn't nap yesterday at all, sigh.  I woke him up this morning so maybe he'll go down easily for his nap this afternoon.

I guess that's it really.  I'll post the pics of the week, then it's off to play with the kiddos!

June 15

Happy Father's Day!

I hope that all the dads out there are having a good day.  Elijah, Grace, and I gave Jerry some seasons of Family Guy, some chocolate candy sticks, and a gift card to go to the movies.  He is at the movies now.  I don't know what he saw.  He narrowed it down to The Hulk, The Happening, and Indiana Jones.  All movies that are on my Netflix list already!  I guess that's a downfall to breastfeeding...but it's one I'm willing to deal with.  I think by October we'll be able to go see a movie or two while we are in the mountains for Homecoming.  We were going to go for a picnic on the beach this evening, but the weather keeps threatening storms, so another day.  We'll have a picnic on the floor here...or at the table.

So, we are still up in the air about launching a web site to sell my stuff.  I have had a few new ideas.  I think I may have mentioned the snuggle buddies.  I haven't tested them at You Are My Sunshine, but I will soon.  I have an idea for a card table playhouse (goes over a card table, then can be folded up...so no space.)  I saw something like this at my friend, Stephanie's' house.  I have been thinking about it since I saw it (almost 1.5 years ago...) and more so lately.  It was super cute.  I also got an idea for a dress up doll.  Rachel's mom got one for MR at a store in the mountains, and I think I can expand on the idea and make it my own.  It's pretty much a very simple doll with a piece of velcro on the front and then clothes cut out of scrap fabric, backed with interfacing, and then the opposite side of velcro...very cute.  I thought I would expand with boys and and different races...we'll see.  Of course, I will have my hats (summer and winter)... I'm on the fence about tie dying, as I have a friend that has her own website that sells kid's tie dye and I don't want to compete...  so we'll see.  It doesn't seem to be enough to have a website.  I guess we'll have the flannel boards as well.  I may make pillowcase dresses too...  But all this is a lot to do in by November...we'll see.

Jerry just got back... he went to The Happening.   He said it was really good.  He said he can't tell me what happened without destroying the movie for me... sigh... oh well... we'll live.

I'm going to get ready to go pick up our food for our picnic.  Happy Father's Day!!!!

PS After the storms have all passed, I'll be reconnected to the main server in the house and I'll upload pics then... but I do have new ones of the little kids!

June 16

On My Way To Target Today

1. I saw a woman mowing her yard in a sports bra and sweat pants.  if you are hot enough to take off your shirt... (side note...when I was in 4th grade I wrote a note to my teacher telling her I thought she was sweet, but I spelled sweet sweat (because that seriously makes much more since...sw-eat...come on...) and she read it to the whole class... I was SOOOO embarrassed and never wrote her another note!)
2. I almost got hit by a Fed-Ex truck that couldn't make a right turn to save it's life.
3. I listened to Kathy Lee Guilford and Hoodia whatever her last name is make women everywhere sounds stupid.  Honestly, how can any person turn the tragically early death of Tim Russett into a self centered rant about who she knows and where she's been... what a jerk.  I really hate the new third hour of the TODAY show.
4. Almost ran off the road laughing at some kid whose pants were almost down to his knees and he was wearing bright red boxers... ON PURPOSE.... seriously, the STUPIDEST fashion mistake EVER!
5. Decided to start the potty training train back up.  Causing me to by buy Thomas and Diego big boy undies... can't stand either of those characters, but Elijah picked them out and was happy about it.
6. Remembered to remind myself to get baby oil.  How we could have two kids in our house and no baby oil is beyond me...but we need it for Grace's cradle cap.
7. Talked to Elijah about the airport for the 12734089758917 time...but he still cracks me up!
8. Was amazed how Grace can simply fall asleep within seconds of the car starting.
9. Watched yet another person attempt to text and drive... how scary is that?
10. Was thankful the heat wave has quasi-passed!

June 17

Some days make it all worth it!

Last night before bed, Elijah broke into a death metal version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.   Jerry and I were laughing at it and wanted to catch it on video.  I love that he stopped to wipe up spit up off of Gracie and that once her realized the camera was on him, he started hammin' it up with his closed eye smile!  So without further ado....

June 19

seriously?!?!

After Elijah only taking a thirty minute nap (SIGH) and being a total grump (he lost all the toys on his floor he refused to clean up and his Curious George video) I decided we needed to get out for a walk.  So I pulled out the sit-and-stand and loaded Gracie into the car seat and into the stroller.  I hooked Elijah in and we took off.  I must say that this stroller is the best work out.  With both of them and the stroller, I am pushing well over 50 pounds... ANYWAY, we are walking and I'm talking to Elijah about this and that (he apparently is going to take a choo choo helicopter to see Oma and Opa...go figure...after today's afternoon, I'm ready to send him!) and we go by this woman's house who is planning a block party for the 4th of July.  She has a super cute little girl and I always try to speak with her when I pass her.  So here I am pushing the kids, sweating, and trying to get home to let Elijah ride his trike before having to fix dinner... and this woman stops me by saying, "Oh my, are you pregnant again?"  SERIOUSLY?!?!?  I just saw her like two weeks ago when I was walking with Grace in the sling...SERIOUSLY?!?!?!  sigh... "No, I just had her 7 weeks ago..."  "OH, well congrats!  She's beautiful."

What is wrong with people.  I know that I have more weigh to loose, but seriously, I don't look that pregnant.  In fact, if I ran into someone looking like me, I would have trouble telling if they were overweight or preggers... I WOULD NEVER ASSUME.  sigh...  so that was a great blow to the ego... I think she felt bad, but still.  If someone is pushing a stroller with a baby seat and a toddler...seriously?!?!?

Okay...that's all...

June 20

Again...seriously?!?!?! kiddo...

So after a very productive morning of playing outside on the trike and in the "agua" (Elijah only says water in Spanish...funny kid) we come inside out of the heat.  Diapers need to be changed, snack needs to be fixed...so I put down the cherrios and raisins and go change Gracie's diaper.  I come back out to find the following:

• Elijah standing at his table

• With a bottle of juice

• With the top off

• Trying to pour the juice into his sippy

• With the sippy lid on

• I asked, "Did you get that out of the fridge?"

• he says, "Yes."

• I sigh...seriously?!?!

• I make a move to take juice away

• He immediately starts trying to drink out of the bottle

• SERIOUSLY!!!!?????!!!!

• SIGH...all this with a crying, hungry, infant child in arms

• I take the juice
• He screams like I have taken his kidney

• I put up the gate to prevent further access to kitchen

• He melts into a heap of toddler screaming, "JJJJJUUUUUUIIIIIICCCCCEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  'IJAH JUUUUUUUIIIIIICCCCCEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!"

• I remain calm (somehow) and say, "I'm going to feed your sister, if you can calm down then you may have some juice.  If you are going to scream, you may go to your room."

• amazingly (and this is the FIRST time this has happened) he calms down and eats his cherrios and raisins.

• After I finish feeding Grace, he asks (again amazing...) "'ijah juice please."

SERIOUSLY....this toddlerhood thing is a mystery to me.

June 23

If you are going to be an total racist...

Maybe you should learn to spell!  This qualifies as a HUGE WTF!!!!!  I gotta say that maybe I'm glad that this person isn't voting for Obama...but maybe should have paid more attention in school...or heck, even to FOX News... for the most part at least they can spell....

Jerry took this on his way to lunch in a parking lot for a local BBQ diner.  Whatever!  I'm all about free speech and whatnot, but seriously?!?!?  Gotta love the south... Apparently they are all about the previously coked up Yale wanna be running our country oh so well now... sigh...

June 27

There's stuff to say...

It's just that our power cable is doing funky things and the battery life of the laptop isn't great.  I have new pics, but I don't think I have enough battery to upload them currently.  I will work on that this weekend.

The kiddos are good.  Cute as ever.  Elijah is totally acting his two year old self and I'm trying really really hard to have patience with him.  Grace is doing great.  She loves to talk to her bears on the mobile in her bassinet and smiling at her mama and dado.  She's getting tall!

This week has been really hot, but we are surviving.  We get outside in the morning and play inside in the afternoon.

Apparently, I smoked some crack and am hosting our playgroup here on Thursday and we are tie dying with red and blue dye!  I think it will be fun, we just have a TON of stuff to get done.

okay, my low battery light is flashing.  I'll try to write more later.

June 28

Saturday's Jam Day!

What a productive day.  It's amazing what the prospect of hot dog day can do to motivate me.  We got up this morning and headed outside to mow and weedwhack the yard.  Elijah played in his pool and Grace slept while we got the grass under control.  I gotta say that the downfall of the reel mower is that if the grass gets too high it won't cut it...hence the weedwhacker.  Nevertheless, we got a large part done this morning.  We then went to KMart to get some canning supplies and other ends and outs...then to JETER'S HOT DOGS for lunch...yum-o!!!  After running into the grocery store to get the pectin and a quick trip to Home Depot we came home, put the kiddos down for a nap and I proceeded to peel and pit the plums.  Claire mentioned freezer jam a while back and I looked up a recipe on line for plum freezer jam.  I don't mind making the jelly and jam, it's the canning that annoys me, so this sounded great.... in theory.  I ended up with 9 cups of plums + 18 cups of sugar + 2 1/2 cups of water and pectin = 22 jars of freezer jam.... GREAT... in theory... It's the freezer space that didn't occur to me...hmmmm... I'll be giving A LOT of this stuff away in the next couple of weeks, but until then I have to keep it frozen... oh well, it can sit out for 24 hours, so I'll do some massive rearranging tomorrow.  Maybe if I'm really on top of things I'll make some bread for our party on Thursday.

This next week will be crazy.  I need to get a few more supplies for the party.  We are going to finally get the landscaping tarp down under the swing set...not the mulch yet, but it's a step in the right direction.  I gotta get new sand for the sand box arrange the yard for Thursday.  That's about it.  I'm excited about the party.  I just hope it's not 5000 degrees out.  We'll have the pool and sprinklers going as well as frozen fruit bars, but still... Ahhh, it'll be fine.

I will say that I feel good about getting stuff done today.  The yard was my biggest hurdle and there still is lots to go, but the fenced in back yard is done!

I really should make a list of things I want to blog about, I know there was more...alas, alack... Once I figure out why the computer is ignoring my camera's card, I'll upload the 120892345 pics I have...plus a cute video of Grace talking to the bears on her mobile!

Here are the finished products!!!

May 2008

May 01

WELCOME GRACIE!!!!!!!!

Grace Hannah Jones was born this morning at 10:02 a.m.!

I started having contractions at 3:30 this morning and we arrived at the hospital at 5:30.  We were 6-7 cm.  After not much progress we had the water broken at 8-ish and then progressed quickly.  Around 9:50 my midwife got me to turn over on my hands and knees and Grace thought that was the cat's meow.  She actually started to come out on her own much to everyone's surprise.  I rolled to my side and gave two big (and rather painful) pushes and Grace was born at 10:02 (Jerry called 10 give or take...)

We are all doing well.  I'm a bit sore as I had a small tear and well, she wasn't small.

So her stats:

8 pounds 9 ounces

21 3/4 inches long

13 inch head circ.

She was exactly one week early!!!

We'll add pics tomorrow after we get home!

May 05

2 day check (really four, but who's counting?)

So we went in for a check up this morning.  Grace is almost back up to her birth weight.  She is, however, having a little jaundice.  Jerry and I don't think as bad as Elijah, but it's hard to tell.  We've had her in the sun and what not and hopefully, the levels won't be too high.  She is a breastfeeding champ and, while I am rather sore (forgot about all this!) her eating habits are only going to help.

It's funny about your second kid.  You're not as concerned.  I've actually slept.  She wakes up and I roll onto my side and feed her (didn't get that down with Elijah until he was MUCH older!) and go back to sleep.  Granted she's only 4 days old, and things will definitely change, she's very good.  She likes to be cuddled, but is also content hanging on her own.

Elijah loves to hold her, though gets over it a little faster (unless it's bed time...) but he tells us "all done holding baby Grace."  At least he doesn't just stand up with her still on his lap.  not that we are ever far away, but still.  He is still adjusting to not being the center of attention, but this too shall pass.  Or not... (he just threw a straw at me... punk!)

Anyway, we are doing well.  I'll update about the jaundice after we hear from the doc!  At least it's nice out!!!!

May 06

yeah, so....

Her bilrubin levels were fairly high.  Normal would have been around 12... her's were around 21.9.  So we went to the hospital yesterday and into photo therapy we went.  I stayed the night at the hospital with Grace while Jerry was home with Elijah.  I have to say that both our kids were troopers.  Elijah was dragged around the whole day to the doc's and then to the boring hospital... though we did discover the really cool playroom on the peds unit and Elijah had fun playing in there.  So over the night her levels went down and this morning they took her completely off the lights.  She did so well.  She would come out to nurse and then back into the little case with her little shades on...really sad, but she did well.  It was great to be able to take her out permanently this morning.  We tried to keep her in the natural light of the windows as much as possible today.  her levels still dropped!  So we are home.  Tomorrow we have to go back to get her levels checked and meet with the ped.  I hoping, beyond hope, that this is over.  I'm ready to be home and work on adjusting to being a four person family.

Our playgroup has rocked and they are providing us with lots of yummy food!  So, that's that for now.  I'm beat and will probably turn in after American Idol (though I haven't been that impressed yet and I may end up passing out in the recliner... that would be okay too!

May 08

up and down and up and down

Grace's bilirubin levels went back up with yesterday's check.  SO this morning it was BACK to the doc's for the orders to have more blood drawn and then BACK to the medical mall (with all the sick people hacking up lungs and wanting to look at my baby...are you KIDDING me with this?) to have Grace's heel pricked AGAIN.  This afternoon the results are good.  The levels went back down.  They should have considering I was nursing her constantly yesterday and we had her in sun for the majority of the day.  So we are done until next Thursday when Grace will have her 2 week appointment.  I was so freakin' tired this morning.  I was having to talk to myself in the car to stay alert.

At the medical mall the lady who took Grace's blood told me her life story, or rather the story of her brother's life and how she is a great great aunt at 40-something because everyone starting with her brother is having babies at like 14 or something stupid.  I just wanted to tell her that I really didn't care and just wanted to go home and maybe someone should talk to these kids about condoms... I mean seriously... I'm 32 and both of our pregnancies were planned (though Jerry says he was tricked with Grace...WHATEVER!) and we feel like the timing was right.  Why on God's earth, would I want to hear about this woman's family?

ANYWAY, that's a quick update on the first week of Grace's life (Happy one week baby girl!!!)  I'll post pics soon.  I promise...

May 11

HAPPY MOMMY's DAY!!!!

Since my birthday, Elijah has been going around singing Happy Mommy (to the tune-ish of Happy Birthday) and today was no exception.  Jerry (and the kids) got me the complete Gilmore Girls series!!!  Wahoo!!!  I love Gilmore Girls!  We were going to go our for breakfast, but it is pouring rain, so Jerry went and got me cinnamon raisin biscuits from Hardess (Love 'em!!)  Which was nice, since I really didn't want to get dressed either....hehehehe...

Now we are just chilling.  Jerry's folks got Elijah this matchbox cars car wash toy thingy a while back, and we thought that he was too young at the time.  But he's proved he's a big boy, so he got to have it today (sans the bubbles...bubbles are for outside!)  And he is quite enthralled by it.  GREAT!

Grace is doing well.  She sleeps, eats, and poops, with a few hours of awake time thrown in.  Overall, so far (all 9 days of her little life) she's pretty mellow.  Her hiccups that she seemed to have constantly in utero have followed her into her little out of the womb life.  poor thing.  Though it doesn't seem to bother her really.  She's all wrapped up like a burrito right now and making little mouse-y noises... very cute!

so Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!!

May 13

I'm the mother of a toddler and an infant...

How did this happen?  sigh...

Let me explain, that I was eating breakfast in the small window of Grace's morning nap.  Elijah had already eaten.  When he has markers and says he's "playing choo choo"  it usually means that he is putting them together end to end and moving them as one big unit.... not this...

sigh... what am I going to do when Jerry goes back to work?  I still haven't figured out nap time yet... I'm trying not to stress, but I NEED Elijah to take a nap, so that I can get some rest too... we'll see...

For now, I just have to laugh and be thankful that I spent the extra dollar to get the washable makers... At least he cleaned it up without a problem... why didn't we get a picture of that?

May 15

2 week check up

So the girl child had her 2 week check this morning.  She is weighing in at 9.2 pounds.  She has Mongolian spots, Stork bites, and Baby Acne.  All these are fine just baby things.  Her jaundice is better.  She's still a little yellow, but her eyes are almost completely clear which is really good!!!  She is healthy.  Elijah was more of a hassle during the appointment than Grace.  He's just got so much energy.

So we went to the park to meet up with the playgroup after the appointment.  Jerry came too so that was REALLY helpful.  I don't think I'll be up to going by myself anytime, but we'll see.  I'm really not supposed to be lifting Elijah, but as of tomorrow Jerry is back at work (though he is at home) and his schedule is changing for reasons that will be a whole different post at a later date, so he is now working four 10 hour days (Friday- Monday) and I'll need to lift Elijah for various reasons.  (That was a total run on!)  ANYWAY, it was fun seeing our friends.  Rachel and Erin also came with MR and the twins, so that was good (Erin and Jerry got to hang out and not be bored by the ladies.)  It was really nice.

That's about it.   Elijah's naps are not going well... but again another post.  I will leave with this picture.  It's in the album, but I just love it.   Elijah's baby holding time was cut short due to Grace wanting to eat and whatnot, so he got to snuggle her in bed while he had stories and songs.  It's just too freakin' cute!!!!

May 21

8 years and counting

Today is our 8 year anniversary!  Wahoo!  How are we celebrating one might ask... Well, Jerry is sick, as is Elijah and I fear that Grace may have gotten this cold-ish thing too...sigh...  Jerry is working today (long story about his schedule continuing to change... once it's all settled I'll post about it all...)Elijah is playing with Play-Doh and Grace is chilling on her play mat.  So that is how the day is going thus far.  Not really a big deal.  Since Jerry worked this past weekend, he is taking tomorrow and Friday off.  Maybe we'll do something fun.  We are going to a cookout on Saturday (pending the wellness of everyone in the fam) so that'll be fun.

That's it really.

I'm working on some gifts for Mother's Day (I know we're late), Father's Day, and my folks Anniversary (38 years!!!) And there's a little girl crying for some mama's milk...so I'm off!

May 23

Friday Friday!

So, Jerry is off today.  We went to Fit For Fun this morning.  It was nice.  We ran into some friends of ours.  It was a nice day outside, but I really needed to get out of the house and I had a ton of yarn to donate to them.  I went through all my yarn the other day and cut it down by half.  I needed the storage container for clothes that Grace can't fit into yet.  Also, I think it would take me years upon years to actually use all that yarn.  Anyway, they were thrilled to get it and gave us a free pass for the day.  Really nice!  The place was not crowded and Elijah had fun playing and I didn't feel like everyone was staring at me when I (discreetly) nursed Grace.

So some cute things that have been happening around the house lately:

--Elijah comes into my room at 1 in the morning (may not sound so cute, but wait for it) crawls in bed next to me and Grace and says, "mommy, hold baby," lies down and goes back to sleep.

--Elijah was watching the end of Reading Rainbow, in which there was a video of an older sibling reading to a younger one, Elijah jumps out of the chair runs to the library book bag, grabs a book, and says, " 'ijah 'ead baby 'racie."  Almost cried at that one.

--Grace makes little pterodactyl noises and if Elijah is holding her, he makes the noises right back to her.

--While lying in bed Elijah had his arm under Grace's head.  She started to stir and he reaches over and gently pats her tummy to soothe her.

--While putting Elijah to bed, we sing songs (Twinkle Twinkle and Row Row Row Your Boat) and sign them.  Elijah has been allowed to have Grace in bed during this time.  Last night, he picked up sleeping Grace's hand and tried to help her do the signs to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star... little teary eyed at that too.

--Elijah was in the room the other day while I was changing clothes.  He walked up to me and pointed to my chest and said, "Mommy!  Two mommy's milks!"  I about passed out from laughing to hard...he was soooo serious about it.

--Every time we pass a truck/train track/school bus/airport... Elijah says, "Oneday, 'iljah ride [insert mode of transportation]?"  I seriously doubt that by the time he actually rides the school bus, he will be as excited about it.

--Grace's acne is starting to clear up, she throws her arms and legs around and is overall, a peaceful baby.  She can hold her head up and look around while we are holding her in the upright position.  She is definitely gaining weight and is just a cute little kiddo.

--Elijah and Grace and I all take a nap in the big bed.  I love being in there with my two sleeping kiddos.  I've been watching Gilmore Girls while they sleep...but it's hard to concentrate on the TV, when I am surrounded by such cuteness!

--Elijah will come and tell us before he going to poop, whilst he is pooping, and after the fact, BUT still not on the potty...though I guess it's progress.

--Wanting to play in the pool is " 'iljah p'ay in the poos!"  Which is hilarious...and a little disturbing to an outsider... but seriously, he just wants to play in the pool.

I have to remember these moments when I'm about to loose it with Elijah.  I know that most of my annoyances with Elijah are due to being tired and having a newborn here as well.  Of course, it is also in part that Elijah is two and acting every bit of it.  His little memory is so good and he is really starting to push buttons.  I know that he really wants attention, regardless of if it's negative or positive attention.  There are things that I ignore, but if he is doing something that will hurt him or something expensive (like the computer) he does get 3 warnings/chances to make good choices and then it's off to time out.  We both try to give him undivided attention during the day, but that's difficult for me with an infant attached to the boob.  This too shall pass.  He is really good with Grace and wants to hold her and rock her and everything else.  I don't want that to pass.

May 28

there now...

new pics added...

the weekend was fun.  we went to a cookout on saturday and that was about it.  elijah and grace are doing well.  we're all tired i think.  but that comes with the territory.  that' it for now.  just wanted to appease some people that have been asking for them...ahem...

May 31

i survived!

I made it two whole days on my own!  We even went to playgroup on Thursday...with brownies I made that morning!  HA!  Friday my friend Amy came over for a quick lunch and to meet Gracie.  She brought Elijah sand pails with shovels and goldfish.  It's all he talked about the rest of the day!  Thanks Amy!

Today we went to see Erin and Rachel and their kiddos.  Man the twins got big!  I miss hanging out with them!  But as I feel more confident with both Elijah and Grace by myself, I can go over and hang.  Jerry helped with a computer problem and we had lunch.  Elijah and MR hadn't seen each other in sooo long, so that was good for them.  Grace was totally chill the whole time, which was good too!

My folks get here on Tuesday.  I am sure we will hit the beach a couple of times (if I can possibly function in the morning at all...) and hang out here during the heat of the day.

(Going backwards here!) Kate and Kristie came over on Wednesday with their kiddos to play and see Grace.  Kristie and her sister have an online store with the cutest freaking kid's clothes!  Check them out!  She brought me a tie dye, a long sleeved onesie with leaves on it, and another onesie with her name on it.  I'm sure I' will take pics of them sometime...  Anyway, it was a good day and the kids all played well.  Elijah talked about them the rest of the day....though he clung to me the first half hour they were here.

Jerry will be back soon with dinner.  We have been really bad lately, so this weekend is the end of it all.  Starting Monday we are back to only eating out once a week (he says on free kid day!) and eating more salads and stuff here.  I mean I'm losing the weight from the breastfeeding, but I need to eat better.  We were really doing well while I was preggo....then we just stopped.  Maybe my folks and I can go to the farmers market while they are here and I can get some yummy fresh veggies.  That would be good!

Okay... that's all...well, it's not, but for now.  I added pics...before anyone could say anything (anyone that will be here in a few days!!! WAHOO!)

April 2008

April 01

Note to Self:

Never ever talk about your child's sleep habits.  It jinxes everything and you end up spending two and half hours fighting a 2 year old to take a freakin' nap.  All the while knowing that the angrier you get the less likely your toddler will go to sleep.  Now you are faced with a choice... wake a child up after only a one hour nap so that hopefully sleep will come easier tonight, but deal with a grumpy PITA kid all afternoon...or let him sleep now and possibly miss part of AI tonight because he's just not tired?  sigh...

NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER talk about your kid's sleep on your blog... or anywhere else for that matter.

April 05

Still knocked up...

Though I feel like it's not going to be much longer.  Mom will be here on Thursday and I think that I will breathe a little easier... or harder if labor starts.

This past week was a good one though I'm over the rain.  I know we need the rain, but man I am sick of being stuck inside.  Twice I sent Elijah out into the back yard with his raincoat and galoshes on to just get out of my hair.  On Tuesday I went a little insane with the cleaning.  I mean, I was cleaning the inside of drawers...can we say nesting?  Wednesday we went to meet a friend at Fit For Fun and totally made fun of some of the moms there whose outfits cost more than all the clothes in my closet... it was just too much.  More power to 'em though I guess.  On Thursday we went to Monkey Joe's.  I've always been a little nervous about going there.  I was scared that an older kid would trample my kid, but it's set up really well and well run.  Elijah spent a good half hour sitting on this little fire engine thingy, but got into the bouncy-jumpy things for a while.  We were there for a birthday party, which was good, because this kiddo worked up a huge appetite.  He ate two pieces of pizza (sans cheese) and a  box of juice and wanted more... He had a lot of fun though!

Oh yeah, on Wednesday we went over and hung out with Rachel.  I got to hold the babies.  They are so freaking cute and tiny!!!

Yesterday we went over to Angela's to drop off a canopy for her yard sale today.  That was fun.  She has a good play area and K.Lo and Elijah played whilst we talked.  It was nice.

Last night though...sigh... First off, the temperature outside didn't go below 70 until this morning.  Our house was sooo hot, so I wasn't sleeping well.  At 1:11 a.m. the fire alarm went off.  We have an electric system that if one goes off they all go off... ummmm, no one else in the house woke up.  It only beeped 3 times, but still.  Fire is one of my bigger fears.  So I got up and checked all the rooms and what not.  Nothing was on fire.  So I got back in bed and then I couldn't sleep... all I could think of was that maybe there was a fire in the attic, what would I do, blah blah blah... So when Elijah walked into my room at 1:30 a.m. I wasn't really sleeping.  I took him in to Jerry and went to the bathroom (big surprise there!) and started feeling a little sick, so I just stayed up and turned on the TV.  When I left Elijah with Jerry, I thought he felt a little hot, but I just thought that it ws just the temp of the house.  At 2 I hear Elijah's little voice calling me, so I tell him to come on out and sit with me.  Jerry brings him in and he's still really hot, I take his temp...101.5...sigh... so out comes the IB.  I tell Jerry to sleep in the back room, since I'm already up and I go lie down with Elijah in the big room.  I take off his shirt to help him cool down...sigh... The child was driving me nuts.  He didn't act sick.  He was figitity and playing with a doll, so I finally took him to his room.  That didn't go over well.  I compromise with rocking him.  By this time it's 3.  I turn on Step Up and Dance and rock the boy child.  He doses on and off, but is still awake.  Finally at 4, I'm about beat and am finally tired.  So I put him bed with me and turn my back on him.  At 4:30, I look over and he's finally asleep.  THEN... I realize I am starving, so I eat a banana and lie down to sleep, except that Grace gets the hiccups...sigh.  She is so far down in my pelvis that my whole hip bone shakes with each hiccup.  I get out of bed and decide that I'll go on and eat some cereal and that way I won't be too hungry in the morning and maybe I can sleep in a bit (Fool that I am!) She finally gets over the hiccups at around 5:30.  I FINALLY sleep.  At 7:30 on the nose, Elijah wakes right up and is UP!  Sigh...  His fever didn't come back until later in the day.  Again, he didn't act sick, just had a fever.  Sigh... I never know what to do in these situations.  Go to the doc?  Wait and see if he develops any more symptoms... let the fever runs it's course?  Isn't it the body fighting something?  he didn't take a much longer nap than usual, and I didn't really get a nap, so I'm pretty tired.  I hope that I can sleep tonight.  Mary the midwife offered to write me a script the last time for something to help me sleep and I'm wondering if maybe I should have taken her up on it.  My hip hurts so bad most nights, that I don't sleep well.  I can only sleep on my right side with some relief or sitting straight up, but that makes it a little harder to breathe...

Not much longer, I know... but I just don't remember being this uncomfortable with Elijah.  Though I carried him farther back and Grace is really right up front.  I shouldn't complain.  I've had a really easy pregnancy.   I'll just be happier once my mom is here.

Okay, enough for now.

April 11

soon?

soooo.... i'm still pregnant, but things are looking positive.  i'm effacing and a little dilated and grace's head is down...way down... mary the midwife said that i would probably be 3 cm by next friday and that i'm effacing nicely... next friday i'll 37.5 weeks which is where i was when elijah was born, so we'll see.  my contractions are sporadic at best, but when i have them i actually feel them, so i guess they are doing something.

my mom is here, so i feel better about the possibility of going into labor.   already i feel more relaxed.  not having to run after a 2 year old constantly is great!

that's it for now i guess.  i know there was more, but i can't remember.... okay... now for some rest!

April 14

Grace's Room -- check

I have finished all but two pictures on Grace's room.  Once again, I used an opaque projector to draw some characters from kid's books on the wall and then painted them in.  Overall I think they have turned out well.

Ollie

Doggies

Nim's Island

Russel The Sheep

The Belly Button Book

I Love My Mommy

Dog's Busy Day

The Peace Book

Happy To Be Nappy

Llama Llama Mad At Mama

 

So there they are.  I have a gorilla from Goodnight Gorilla to do and the green Powerpuff Girl left to do.

Elijah is sick.  He has gotten progressively yuckier over the weekend, so I broke down and took him to the doctor today.  If I wasn't thinking that I'm going to have this baby any day, then I would've waited it out, but I really don't want it on my mind.  But, yeah, he just has a cold.  Oh well, they were super nice.  We so rarely go to the doc.  We hadn't seen this PA since Elijah was 2 months old!  My mom has been great helping out with Elijah and around the house and yard.

Have I mentioned that we got a new mower?  We had an electric one with a cord and that made mowing the outside of the fence really difficult.  We were going to go battery powered, but the price doubled within the past couple of months.  So Jerry went and got us a reel mower.  I have to say that our yard looks really good.  It's lowest cut is only 1 inch, so it leaves a nice carpet of grass on the ground.  It's also the best cut for grass.  I'm just happy that we are reducing our carbon footprint a little bit.  Jerry did most of the back yard and all the front in a little over an hour, not too bad.  If we lived on more than .5 acre, I'm sure we would've been less likely to buy this, but we don't, so there.

Jerry came home to work today, and he did so from bed.  He also has a cold or really bad allergies or something.  These sickies need to not get the mama bear sick.  I'm having enough issues with little feet trying to push through my skin and contractions...I do not want a cold... I might cough and a baby may come out...

Okay, I'm going to add a couple of pics to the album and then go to bed.

April 17

This week

I just want to thank my town.  Thank you for not giving me dirty looks for using the handicap stall since that's the only one I can fit into.  Thank you for not commenting on my size and instead asking when I am due.  Thank you for not giving me a hard time since my belly hangs out over my maternity pants and my shirts don't cover all the belly either.  Thank you lady at The Fresh Market who said that she couldn't tell I was pregnant from the back, though I know it was a lie.  Thank you shoppers for not staring too hard at the mom that is hanging on to the buggy to get through a contraction while her toddler sings an unknown song at the top of his lungs.  Thank you mom for helping out with said toddler and allowing him to play at playgroup, while I sit on my butt and eat yummy snacks and talk to my mom friends.  Thank you Jerry for dealing with the toddler boy at night, even though I am the one that is not sleeping and so would be the better parent to get up if need be... I mean I'm on the way to the bathroom anyway right?  Thank you playgroup moms for bringing the perfect mix of yummy fruit and healthy foods and brownies and cookies this morning and for coming over and chatting to me.

I have needed this this week.  I am feeling very pregnant and huge and sad that NOTHING fits.  I have not needed to be reminded that I am indeed the size of a beached whale that needs to pee every five seconds.  I have needed to take a three hour nap.  I have needed to see my friends.  I have needed to pretend to sleep a little bit.

Tomorrow we go for another check...please please please, at least let there be something happening in this area.  I seriously may cry...

To Grace... my birthday is on Sunday.  There is a full moon on Sunday.  And while I am not one to share my birthday well, and I'm not too sure how much I believe the whole full moon thing... I will happily make an exception for you.  You are welcome to make an appearance at anytime.  I promise to call Mary the Midwife and make sure you are born in a warm and safe environment.  Your dad will be there and your Oma will bring your older brother to come and pat you on the head.  I bet your Opa will even jump in the car and drive down immediately.  I promise that you will like it just as much on the outside as you did on the inside... Love, mom.

Here it is folks.  Hopefully the last of the belly pics.  37 weeks and 2 days:

April 19

she's still in there...

Mary the midwife says sooner rather than later.  Grace's head is farther down (though don't know how that is possible as she already feels like she's halfway out!)  i'm still thinning, but not much more dilating.  I need to relax and not stress about this.  Mary says more than likely before May.  I'm going to go on a walk...

April 20

The big 3-2

Wahoo!  It's my birthday!  No Grace yet...hopefully soon.  Jerry and I got to go see Leatherheads (quite good...) and out for a walk and early dinner.  My mom made me a Boston Creme Pie and babysat for us.  Over all a very nice day.  I gotta say that my kiddo has stolen my thunder though.   Over the past few days Elijah has acquired three new skills.  First, he suddenly has gotten the idea of matching pictures to the pieces of a puzzle without help.  Honestly, it went from him being frustrated that things weren't fitting to putting the whole puzzle together by himself!  Second, he can consistently turn flips.  He's been trying for days and would occasionally get over, but now it's consistent and he uses it as a ploy to not brush his teeth and get ready for bed.   But it's really cool, so maybe we aren't as hard on him as we should be to stay on task.  And third he learned to ride his trike all by himself!!!!!  My boy is growing up!

April 23

When you want a hurricane to come through...

It doesn't.  I guess it isn't hurricane season and all... A really strong low pressure front could be helpful.  The moon's force didn't pull this kiddo out.  I am only 38 weeks pregnant and I could feasibly go the full 40.  I guess I am really paranoid about trying to birth a 10 pound baby.  Last weeks estimate was over 8 pounds...

I have been walking a bit more, though it is not comfy.  Every night I am awakened by contractions that are, how id Jerry put it?... oh yeah, more substantial.  I almost don't want Mary to check me on Friday.  Why is it that the last trimester seems the absolute longest.  Everyday, I wake up and think today could be the day.  I try visualizing the birth, relaxing, walking... Each night, I think oh maybe this contraction will lead to another....and it does...2 hours later!

Okay, enough whining.  She will come out soon... she has too!

Elijah is now a master of the trike.  It's really cool to watch him.  Now he'll talk or sing while he's riding.  At first it was just this total look of concentration on his little face.  He almost looked mad.  But he's really good at it now.  I'm a very proud momma!

My mom has been weedwacking and mowing up a storm.  Our yard will look very pretty while she is here!

We went over earlier this week to hang out with Rachel and the kiddos.  Her mom was there and so my mom got to talk to someone closer to her age and practice holding babies.  It was a good visit.  Elijah did have a bit of a meltdown before going because he wanted to ride his trike.  So we threw it in the car and took it with us.  MR and Elijah had the best time playing together outside.  Elijah pulled MR around on the trike, very freakin' cute!  Erin is almost done with his semester in school and finishes his clinical rounds tomorrow.  I know that Rachel will be happy to have him home a little more.   She is so lucky to have her mom live in town!  I feel really lucky to have my mom here now.  There is no way that Elijah would be out on his trike if it was just me.  He's really good about staying in the cul-de-sac.  He knows he can only go down to the stop sign if Oma, Opa, Momma, or Dado is with him and tells you this 23984987 times on the way to the stop sign.  But it's a good lesson and I'm glad he understands it!

I voted yesterday!  We have early voting set up since our primary isn't until May 6th (one of my projected due dates) I figured I had better get in there and do it.  So voting - check!  I am an Obama Momma all the way.  I'm a little perturbed that Hillary won last night actually.  It freaks me out that if she wins, gets elected twice over, then our country will have been run by 2 families for over 30 years.  It's just odd.  On a mom's board I belong too, someone said they wouldn't vote for Obama because they were scared he'd get killed and it would start a whole black versus white thing.  WHAT?!?!?  Anyone could get killed for any number of reasons.  It would be devastating regardless.  It's just odd.  I never thought about murder as a reason to vote or not vote for someone.  I'm more about politics than I am about color, religion, sex, etc.  I want a candidate that shares some of my political beliefs and one that can, HOPEFULLY, bring change to this country.

This has been a lot of little tangents.  Sorry.  Please send laboring thoughts my way.  Hopefully the next blog will be a birth announcement!

April 28

still here...still preggo

i'm hoping this cold front will do something though.  friday i was 3 cm and 60% effaced... i've been having contractions all weekend that have gotten progressively more uncomfortable.  we'll see.  i've given up holding my breath.

so i'm here.  i'm going to go walk the mall after elijah wakes up from nap and hope that'll do something!  send birthing vibes please!

March 2008

March 04

super fast

just thought i'd blog really quick.  we are under all sorts of watches and warnings.  it's been super warm today (75) and windy and now it is storming and windy as well...hence the tornado watch and severe storm warning.  i just wish this had come through during the day.  elijah is totally freaked out.  of course all this thunder started right as he was going to bed.  poor little guy is scared.  jerry is snuggling him in the big bed for now.

very exciting news, though, our swing set arrived today!  i can't believe it got here so fast.  i just ordered it last wednesday... we were expecting it at the end of the month. SWEET!  i got a picnic table for the munchkin off of craig's list this past weekend.

today, elijah and i went to costco and picked up some things for rachel and erin since he's in school and working and she's got the twin belly going on... i mean why not?  we were going anyway.  anything to help out.  but anyway, we got to their house and MR came out and started running around in circles of happiness to see Elijah and he just stood there for a minute.  i looked at him and said, "well, are you going to say hi?"  elijah looked at me and proceeded to pull his pants down.  it was freakin' hilarious.  we were all laughing our butts off... what the heck kid?  finally we moved on into the house and the kids spent most of the time running up and down the hall and then coming a crashing in to their parent.  it was quite amusing.

my folks arrive on thursday!!  we have a play date tomorrow and then playgroup on thursday.  jerry is taking thursday through monday off!!!  i'm really excited about this weekend.  the weather is supposed to be sunny, but chilly.  i don't even care.  it could snow and i would be alright with it... well maybe not snow... but ya know.

it seems like there was something else i was going to blog about, but i can't remember what it is...ahhh, pregnancy brain.  okay, i'd better go disconnect the computer before this storm gets too close...

just gotta explain these pics...  the first one:  elijah has figured out how to turn on his lamp on top of his toy chest/bookcase... this is how we found out how he does it...sigh...

the second pic:  this is how i found elijah when i went in to check on him before going to bed.  what a sweet little kiddo... anyway... that's that...  i added other pics to his 2 year album.

March 12

Surprises and the Babymoon

So my folks got here on Thursday.  We went to a local amusement park on Friday morning that has an indoor toddler playroom since it was POURING rain.  Friday evening I was supposed to go out with the ladies from our playgroup for one last MNO before Rachel has the twins... but it turns out that the MNO was a SUPRISE baby shower for me!  Everyone was in on it... I couldn't believe it!  We went out to dinner and then Carmen opened her store and we had a little party in there.  It was sooooo much fun!  I love being surrounded by such a positive mom force.  I know we don't always agree on everything and we all have different parenting styles, but regardless, all the women in our group are so accepting and supportive.  I feel very blessed.  I was given many fabulous gifts!  A very nice way to start off a great weekend.

So Saturrday morning, Jerry and I went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast.  It was very nice to not have to sit there and entertain a toddler while waiting for the food to arrive.  After that we hit the road to Myrtle Beach.  When we got to our condo, we were WAY early, but they let us check in anyway.  Very nice.  We were on the 17th floor across from the ocean.

  It was very nice!  The weather was rather cold and windy though... I didn't care!  We went to Broadway on the Beach for lunch and then saw 10,000 BC...not a good movie, but once again...didn't care!  We got some food and went back to the condo and did NOTHING!!!!  It was so nice!  Jerry slept until 10 on Sunday (I was up at 7 due to a starving belly, but after I ate, I sat around and watched movies...)  After Jerry got up we went to the outlet mall and walked around and had lunch.  My folks arrived around 2 with Elijah, so we went back into parent mode.

We met the parents for dinner and then came back to the condo.  Elijah had pretty much skipped his nap, so it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to put him down.  On Monday, we dropped Elijah off with my folks for a couple of hours and just sat around Atlanta Bread Company and talked to each other.  It was very nice indeed.  Now we are home and back to the daily grind...sigh...

My folks had a very easy time with Elijah and I think that everyone feels even more prepared for Grace's arrival.  Elijah only woke up at 5:30 and mom  crawled into our bed with him and he went back to sleep.  WAHOO!!!

Oh, I forgot!  The swing set arrived and has been assembled thanks to my dad and Jerry (incidentally Tom and Jerry...hehehehehe) We haven't anchored it yet, because we need to mow under it and adjust a few things, but it's all good!  Yesterday I went and picked up a basketball hoop (the little outdoor kind) from a guy selling it for 5 bucks on Craigslist.  When I got there, he said I could just have it!!  How nice!  So I think we are all good for entertainment for Elijah for a while.  I will pick up a wading pool as the weather gets warmer, but that's it for the back yard.

Okay, we have some friends coming over for a play date this morning.  I guess I should try to look alive by the time they get here!  I'll upload pics of the view and the swing set later.

March 16

How does this work?

So on Friday we go for our midwife appointment.  I actually only gained .2 pounds in two weeks.  So, I'm feeling pretty good about things.  Thinking grace just had a growth spurt a while back and that's where the weight gain came from.  Two weeks ago I was 30 weeks pregnant and measuring 31 weeks.  This week I am 32 (ish) weeks pregnant and I am measuring 35 weeks!!!  How is it possible to grow tummy-wise and not gain but .2 pounds!?!?!?!  Whatever!  Anyway, now we are almost 33 weeks and here is a pic of me now and a pic of me with Elijah at 33 weeks and 4 days...

I guess I'm not that much bigger.  I can't believe how much lower he was already.  Mary (the midwife) thinks that Grace will come early and my labor will be shorter.  We'll see.  I think she is nervous about not making it to the hospital on time (she lives a little farther away.)  We went over our birthing plan and Elijah's birth story.  She wants us to call her immediately if we feel like we are going into labor.  Told her not to worry... I don't want Jo Shmoe the doc delivering our kiddo.  So we are seeing her again in 2 weeks and we'll start pelvics then.  Grace is head down and I fell like she's trying to jam her way down into my cervix, but as the picture shows she is still higher.  It's all good!  She'll come out when she's good and ready (just hopefully not 234897071238947980754 pounds!)

Okay, dinner is ready.  There are other things to blog about, but I wanted to post these since I had requests for them!

March 18

How to say goodnight....

I know the video is long, but I think it's rather funny.  I walked back into Elijah's room the other day to find this...please note that we do NOT cover our child with toys at night... We have no clue where he picked this up, but he does the same thing for his dolls.  One can only hope that he won't do this to Grace...sigh....

March 27

Easter and play dates and babies, oh my!

So I got a call during breakfast Easter morning that Rachel had her twins!  Baby girl was 5 pounds 13 ounces and baby boy was 7 pounds 6 ounces!!!!  that's a lot of baby!!!  They came home on Monday night and all are doing well.  They are super cute and so little!!!

We went up to see Jerry's folks for Easter and his sister and her kids were there.  I totally forgot my camera...sigh... but they all had fun!

We have been so busy with play dates this week.  But it's been soooo nice out that I'm glad we were able to get out and play with friends!  I went over and helped out with MR this morning while Rachel and Erin took the twins in for a check up.  Rachel's brother was there, so that was nice.  We took the kiddos to a local park.  I don't understand people that think that it's okay to bring their really big dogs to a park and let them run loose.  I don't care how nice your dog is, if a kid is scared of a dog, the last thing they want is one running straight at them.  Sigh... we ended up leaving sooner than anticipated because of these people.  Sigh... oh well.  The kids still had fun playing and it was nice to visit with Rachel's bro.... (very nice of her to have the twins while he was on Spring Break...hehehehe!)

Elijah is sacked out.  But I have a feeling it won't be for much longer.  So I'll add some pics and relax a bit myself!  Hope you are having the same great weather we are!! (74 degrees baby!!!!!)

March 31

So yeah...

I'm definitely bigger.  Megan is right... I just wanted to live in a delusional world.  My skin on my belly actually hurts.  It feels bruised... oh poor me...  I am supposed to be taking it easy in the words of our midwife.  Not so easy when your toddler thinks it is funny to run away from you and then stop to see that you are coming after him and then take off again...sigh.  This week may be the last playgroup we go to for a bit.   There is a birthday celebration on that day... and it's actually supposed to not be raining.  I know we need the rain, but I'm going a little insane with the kiddo in the house.  I sent him out to play in boots and a raincoat this morning (I mean it's 60-something degrees...)  This afternoon we jumped in puddles and got some swinging in between showers.

I had this grand plan to make a bunch of all in one diapers to sell in the store, but I realized I needed fleece and not flannel and so I have all this super cute snuggle flannel that's just been sitting around.  What's more is that the snuggle flannel is on sale again for 2 bucks a yard and man I just want to buy it.  It really is the cutest stuff ever.  So, since I don't want Jerry to divorce me, I had to come up with something to do with all this flannel.  I came up with Snuggle Buddies.  I have made bunnies and bears.  They are really cute if I do say so myself.  I have a big and little one of each.  They are pretty much just stuffed and then I stitch on detail.  I'll get pics soon and post them here.  I think that I can sell them fro fairly cheap.  I mean I'm using less than a yard of fabric for two (one small and one big) and then the embroidery thread is a whooping 20 cents.  The fill is 4 bucks a bag and I use about half a bag per 2... so ya know.  They would be cute shower gifts or a gift for a sibling...maybe the sibling could give the smaller one to the new addition...  Jerry thought about making many different sizes akin to those stickers you see on the back of cars showing the family members.  All good thoughts....

Going back to being huge... What gives the general public the right to comment on a pregnant woman's size?  I was standing in line at JoAnne's and the cashier asked when I was due.  I've just started saying soon... you say May and they look at you like your an alien.  This woman a couple people behind me said, "well you must be having twins."  "Nope...just the one..."

I don't mind my friends talking about my size, but random people on the street... "Wow, you are HUGE!"  I mean you honestly wouldn't go up to someone and say, "Wow!  Your butt is HUGE!"  I mean you honestly can't hear it enough.  I know Rachel had it hard... though she had some good comments.  After telling someone her twins were a boy and a girl and STILL they asked,  "Are they identical?"  (this honestly happened more than once.)  Rachel would say, "Not from the waist down."  I mean people honestly just don't think before speaking.  I mean I know that I'm big.  I am carrying this little girl all up front.  Her feet are actually on top of my ribs.  Elijah liked to stuff his feet under my ribs.  She is head down though and her head is nestled down into my pelvis.  My mom is coming down next Thursday and staying until after the baby is born.  We have an appointment next Friday.  Mary the midwife will do a pelvic and do the Strep B test.  So we'll see if anything is happening.  We walked around Target this weekend and man I had to sit down through some contractions.  Braxton Hicks I rarely feel.  I have to actually have my hand on my tummy to feel the tightening.  But nothing consistent.  I'll be 36 weeks when we go in... so we'll see.  I practice squats in the shower, and I honestly feel like her head is just going to come right on out.  (Sorry hope that's not TMI!)  I guess it would be nice for her to come out nice and quickly, but I would prefer to make it to the hospital!

On the toddler front.  Last week I sucked it up and started making Elijah go to sleep for nap in his own bed.  I had been rocking him and I really like that time with him.  It's our cuddle time and most of the time I just fall asleep for a bit with him and then put him into his bed.  So it wasn't going great.  I was putting him in our bed and cuddling him.  This weekend, my super smart husband just made his nap time routine match his bedtime routine... duh!!  So it works great!  We have a little relaxing time in the big chair (usually watching 15 minutes of Curious George) and then he picks out 2 books, I read them, sing him a song, cover him up and leave.  We were sitting in the room a couple of days.  I asked him today if he wanted me to stay in there and he said, "No, bye-bye mommy."  I gave him a kiss and left the room... 10 minutes later...  I probably shouldn't write this...he'll probably not do this anymore!  But it's nice.  I will miss our little snuggles, but I'm glad that this wasn't a struggle we had to deal with after Grace arrives.  Not that there won't be regression on every front, but alas alack...

Okay... that's all for now.