July 2008

July 01

Made it 2 months!

Grace is two months today!  That's pretty exciting!  She is growing (up to 3-6 months clothing wise) and smiling and all around pretty decent kid.
Her brother (I will say) in order to celebrate decided to spray the inside of the dining area with a hose that he was told to keep outside.  I take partial blame for this, as I was working in the kitchen and (heaven forbid) turned my back on him for .00004 seconds, which is apparently enough time to  decide the garden no longer needs water, but the dining room floor (including, but not limited to: the table, three chairs, Grace's car seat, my cell phone, part of this computer, my brand new tennis shoes, and some craft supplies I had on the table.)  I must say that my initial response was that of death to toddler, but I was very impressed with how calm I stayed and I supervised his cleaning up every drop of water.  Grace calmly stayed enthralled by her mobile (I might really have lost it if she were screaming...) while the clean up took place.  Elijah has apologized (and immediately asked to play agua again... don't think so kiddo...maybe when you are 16...) and has given hugs and all is forgiven and I will probably be laughing in a few days time about this...still...  what possesses a almost 2.5 year old to do such things...sigh...
So here are my two favorite pictures of my two favorite kids.
This shirt needs a little change:
Party
in mom's bed
4 AM
At least she's happy at 4, but I would rather it be 7...oh well...beggars can't be choosers right?

Elijah's thing when he sees me feeding Grace, he thinks it's fun to feed his baby "elijah's milk."  How sweet!

I'm uploading pics to the album as well.  Happy Grace's two month birthday!!!!
July 03

Hot, but oh so much fun!

So the rain gods kept the day dry and rather hot, but we had a blast tie dying this morning.  There were seven moms and our kids.  I wasted a ton of water with the sprinkler pool and the baby pool, but it's just one day.  Jerry and I set up the tent and the moms all ended up over there after the dying was done.  I hope that everyone's projects turn out nicely.  It was nice to hang out and talk and not really worry about where the kids were (thank you fence!!!)  Elijah kinda kept to himself and Grace was just as charming as ever winning people over with her smile.  I also got rid of 6 jars of jam!  No one was allowed to leave without taking a jar!
Over all, it was quite fun.  I have a ton of dye left over, so I either have to pour it out or go get some shirt.  Jerry found this new site so maybe I can put some things on there and sell them as a test market.  Though Carmen mentioned that there maybe a place for some tie dyes in her store... we'll see.  I had cobalt blue, fire red, dark purple, and a denim blue.  10 bottles of dye in all.  It was a lot, but I wanted to people to make sure they were able to dye what they wanted.
SO now, I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep.  Elijah is napping peacefully and Grace is here in my lap talking to me, fighting off sleep...silly girl... and that's all she wrote...hehehehe!
July 04

About Elijah -- a 2.5 year retrospective

Conversations in the car:
E: Here comes the choo choo track.
e: 'ijah ride choo choo?
E: One day maybe.  You had your birthday party in a caboose.
e: 'ijah ride choo choo?
E: One day you will ride a choo choo.
e: (long pause) no 'ijah ride caboose choo choo yesterday. (didn't even know he knew the word yesterday.)
E: You rode the caboose yesterday?
e: uh-huh.
E: (giggling) Okay.
e: 'ijah ride engine choo choo NOW.
E: You want to ride in the engine now?
e: uh-huh.
E: Where are you riding the engine to?
e: Ride choo choo to airtport (not a typo, he puts a t in the middle of air port.)
E: That's not a long ride. (as the traintracks run right beside the airport.)
e: Ride choo choo to airtport.  (very final.)
E: Alrighty!
Later while passing a McDonalds:
e:Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy!!!!
E: Yes Elijah!
e: chickenfries
E: Not today buddy, sorry.
e: (long pause) Mommy? Chinkenfries pleeeease?
E: I like how you asked, but not today buddy.
e: (sighs) okay.
The newest songs:
"The wheels on the bus go round and round, up and down, wah-wah, shhshh, move on back, beep beep. Twinkle Twinkle little staaaaaaaaaaar."
"Row Row Row Your Boat. Twinkle Twinkle Little staaaaaaaar."  (Do you see a pattern?)
"Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Twinkle Twinkle Little Staaaaaaaaaaaar."
"Lassy, lassy, this way and that way. twinkle twinkle little staaaaaaaaaar."
"Happy momma (instead of happy birthday) happy momma, twinkle twinkle little staaaaaaaaaar."
Pretty much anything he starts to sing, ends in a rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  And it's oh so top-of-the-voice-rousing!  But it never fails to crack me up.
He still is having trouble with the beginning sounds of some words.  We thought it was just "ch" "th" and "sh", but it's many letters.  The thing that I don't get is that he can say the letters in other sections of the words.  For example, he says "'uppy" for puppy.  Obviously he can say "p", he just doesn't on the beginning of the word.  He still is new at the whole speaking thing, but we will talk to his doctor about it if it doesn't improve by the time he's 3.
I can't believe that he is going to be 2.5 in 9 days.  It's amazing actually.  So I am including two pics of the kiddo.  One from two years ago, a year ago and one from yesterday...sigh...

July 07

Grace's 2 month well check!

My little girl is 12.6 pounds (90%) and 22.5 inches long (50%) and I don't know about her head circ, but it must be okay since they didn't say anything about it...
She is a healthy little bit.  She has eczema (big surprise there) and cradle cap.  Both are nothing to worry about.  She smiled at the doc the whole time...well, until the doc messed with her hips and then not so much.  She handled her four shots as well as can be expected.  I nursed her immediately after and it was a little pathetic with the sniffling and tears, but she is fine and happy once again.  We didn't dose her with Tylenol and so far she has no fever, so I'm thinking that she may not need any at all, we'll see.  We decided to forego the Roto-Virus oral vaccine.  If she were in childcare or around more children that were, then I might reconsider.  It's a newer vaccine and Elijah didn't get it.  Although, it's not one we can put off.  I don't want her sick and apparently roto virus is highly contagious.  I'm actually wondering if that's what I had last September (when we found out I was preggo with her.)  Elijah and Jerry didn't get it, but I was insane about washing hands during that sickness.  I don't know.  We have a two week window.  But I think we'll just hope for the best.  She is moving her head all around and responding to sound and sight stuff.  So all in all a perfect baby.  The doc did grumble a little about her sleeping in bed with me, but I just brushed by it.  I am aware of her at all times.  Mostly she sleeps on my arm because that's how we fall asleep at those midnight feedings.
So here she is in all her glory.

July 11

Naps, guilt, and growth, oh my!

Naps:
Or lack thereof.  sigh... I have had to fight Elijah down for his nap lately and it's been getting later and later.  Then he totally didn't go down for a nap at all on Wednesday and Thursday.  I need that break.  Both days he ended up in his room until I told him he could come out, but he was not quiet and I got no rest.  I don't need a nap, I just need down time.  Grace is low maintenance.  Even if she isn't sleeping, she is chill... I mean seriously, she's 2 months old... not a whole lot of trouble.  But when she's crying and I'm trying to get Elijah asleep... sigh...
So I was beside myself.  I don't like being in a bad mood in the afternoon and I don't like being snappish toward Elijah, who was crying at the littlest thing because he was soooo tired.  Anyway, Jerry came home today and I took Grace and laid down with her and Jerry got Elijah to fall asleep in his own bed.  Sigh...  At least our afternoon was better because we all three got some rest.
Guilt:
So the issue seems to be that Elijah won't go down for a nap because he wants some undivided attention.  I want to give it to him, but I also want to give undivided attention to Gracie.  I feel very torn.  On one hand, I feel like I haven't gotten to bond with Grace as much as I want and on the other hand when I give her complete attention, I feel like Elijah acts out because I'm not giving him enough.  I know it's not going to be easy.  I know that the kids are fine.  I'm not neglecting either one.  I know that Elijah will get over it, it's an adjustment to suddenly have to share your folks (I had trouble sharing my folks with my friends when I was in middle and high schools, I can't expect a 2 year old to adjust super quick...) but I still feel guilty about it.  I feel like I'm not being the super mom that I should be.  It's an unrealistic standard that I have set for myself.  I did this with Elijah and I've done it again with Grace.  I need to relax and not worry so much about what's going on around me and be the best mom I can be.  There are days when I let Elijah watch too much TV, because I am just beat.  I function best on a schedule and I'm thrown when I have really busy weeks, like we have the last week or so.  But today went well and I hope that these days continue.  I know that eventually the guilt will pass and I'll feel better about being a mom and chill a bit.  Things will either get better or they won't and I will be the one that will adapt.
Growth:
On a MUCH lighter note...the girl child apparently grew overnight... we put her in a sleeper last Friday.  It was a bit big, we had to roll up the feet and the arms.  We put the same sleeper on her on Tuesday and no rolling was required.  I really forgot how fast they grow!!!  I'm going to add a video as soon as it finishes uploading... for now, there are new pics in a new folder...
July 16

Wednesday Friendsday

We have had a great two days!  Yesterday Angela came over and we finished up the dye from the tie dye party.  And today was Wednesday/Friendsday with Kristie and Kate.  We had a very nice time.  We love our Thursday playgroup too, but this is just the three of us (a fourth may be added) and we get a little more of chance to sit and talk.  With our Thursday playgroup it gets a little more difficult to do that, but still it's manageable.
My parents (and possibly my aunt) are coming on Sunday!  I'm excited to see them.  We're going to the beach and play lots while they are here.  I hope the weather holds and nothing tropical comes our way.  They are doing a house exchange with a friend of mine, so it's nice they don't have to pay for a hotel.  Though mom mentioned bunk beds.  Right now we have no place for them.  I think that when Grace is in her own bed we will move her into Elijah's room and move all the toys across the hall as a separate play space...we'll see.
Jerry got his summer bonus at work the other day and we are talking about things we need for around the house.  We both realized that for the past bonuses/tax returns/stimulus checks we have gotten things for the house or for the kids (i.e. fence, play set, yard tools....) and that we should do something for us.  First we are doing something for Grace, by setting up a savings account for her.  Then we are buying something for just us...
i have exciting news, but I'm waiting until my folks get here first...no I'm not pregnant...  I'll post on Sunday I promise!!!

T-minus 4.5 hours and counting....

...I honestly am making this out to be bigger and it is... hehehehehe... I made my mom promise to not look at the blog after tonight, so I'll probably post tomorrow.  It's a big deal to me...probably not so much for the rest of you... but hey, it's my blog!!!!
July 18

Okay... I simply can't wait...

Okay...so the big secret, which in all reality isn't that big...
I decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love.  10 inches.  That's allot for me.  I was really really nervous, but I think it all turned out okay.  I belong to a mom's group that will be doing a fundraiser in March and I think I will donate again. So here are the pics:
BEFORE

DURING (that's 10 inches... doesn't look like it, but it is)

After

After tucked behind the ears.

I like the cut.  I'm a little worried abotu what's going to happen when I wash it and then don't take the morning to flat iron it, but the stylist lady promised it would look okay curly.  So we shall see.  But I'm happy with it.  Jerry likes it and neither of my kids are too scared of me.  Though Elijah kept looking at me all weird when I came home...ahh, well, he'll adapt.
So that's the big news.  I hope it wasn't too anticlimactic.
July 26

What a week!

Okay...
So I got my hair cut on Friday.  We had a tropical wave hit us on Saturday.  In between bans Jerry and I went out to Costco....and.... bought a Wii!!!!!  I'm so freakin' in love with this thing.  It rocks!   We wanted to get something for just us with Jerry's bonus.  The last bonuses/stimulus check/tax refund have gone to the house or things for the kids and we decided to treat ourselves.  We want the Wii Fit too, but it's sold out EVERYWHERE!  But regardless, I have lost 3 pounds on this thing just playing the tennis game.  I love it.  We only use it when the kiddos are asleep.  We are not letting them play...it's ours... not theirs.
Anyway, on Sunday my folks and aunt arrived.  They had been visiting a relative in SC so they only had a 2-ish hour drive up.  They all loved the hair.   And, of course, the kids!  I thought I would get so much done with three helpers here, but I really didn't do that much.  We went to the Blue Moon Galleries on Monday (since it was scorching hot!) and I think that a friend and I might start selling stuff there... we'll see (side story on that: Carmen is not accepting consignment sales anymore, so I had to pull all my stuff out of her shop...sigh... I hope that she can continue to keep the shop open, and I disappointed to not have an outlet anymore, but maybe this is for the best.  Depending on rent at the BMG, I may come out better...we'll see...)   On Tuesday, we hit the beach in the morning.  I'm always so tired after a beach day.  It's exhausting getting up and out the door with two kids.  My folks took all the beach stuff the day before, so it was already set up for us when we got there.  The water was perfect, as was the weather, but it was still tiring.  Our playgroup met there last week, but Elijah is still a little scared of the water, so it was pretty much paying 3 bucks for Elijah to play in the sand.  It's only worth it if I can get in the water...not that possible with two kiddos... but with extra hands to help out, it was worth it.  Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market and got some yummy fresh veggies to grill out that evening and have with lunch.  Thursday, Jerry had the day off, so he and my dad did stuff in the yard, mom played with Elijah outside, Mavis held Grace and I made Grace a super cute dress!  It was so easy (the dress that is) and it's reversible.  So I will be making them to sell (if we go ahead with the BMG thing) with matching reversible sunhats (how freakin' cute will that be?)  I have a pattern for overalls that I'll make for boys (and girls too!)  Then on Friday they went home.  I was so sad to see them go.  My friend Amy and her fam switched houses with my folks for the week.  It was nice for them to not feel they had to stay in a hotel, and have their own space for sleeping.
After the folks left we took Elijah to Fit For Fun and let him play for a bit, picked up my stuff from Carmen's and came on home.  Today we took the (abundance of) recycling to the drop off and went in search for a Wii Fit.  No luck... but c'est la vie.  We'll get it eventually.
Okay... I'm going to add some pics...and yes, mom I got your e-mails (I wrote the thank you letters already) and the pics are on their way!
July 28

Big Yawn

I guess Miss Grace is hitting a growth spurt.  She wanted to eat alllllll freakin' night last night.  Oh well.  I shouldn't complain.  She went back to sleep after each feeding.  And really how hard is it to roll over and feed the child and then go back to sleep... not so much.  Elijah is still coming into my room to tell me that he's going to sleep with Jerry.  Night before last he came in to tell me it was dark (we usually leave a light on in the kitchen, but didn't that night.)  Last night Jerry left the light on in his room and had put a pillow over his head... Elijah was worried because he couldn't see Jerry... Helllllo do you not hear the snoring?  Silly boy!  Did I mention that Elijah can wink now?  Just one eye, but it's really funny!
ANYWAY, so we all slept in the big bed for nap today and it simply wasn't enough for me.  I'm exhausted.  And I have a heat/sleep headache that won't go away.  I think we will head out to play in the pool in a bit.
This weekend, I put on a piece of clothing that was given to us as a hand me down.  I just forget about our kid's skin issues.  I didn't pre-wash the clothes.  I didn't ask the donor what type laundry detergent they used... Grace broke out EVERYWHERE!   Poor thing.  SO now I am in the middle of a massive clothes washing!  One friend gave us 4 huge boxes of clothes up to 2T, so it's taking a bit.  I'm on the 18 month stuff now.  Sigh...  Oh well, better to do it now than later I guess.
Okay.  That's really it... I added new pics to the month 3 album as the girl child will be 3 months this week!!!!
July 30

Wednesday/Friendsday

We had a great day today!
We'll start with yesterday and move on...
We went to a baby shower yesterday.  It was quite a shower and nice to hang out with other moms in support of a mom to be.  Elijah ate WAY too much sugar, and hence no nap... BOOOO!  I also decided yesterday that I would sell my stuff at The Cape Fear Music and Arts Festival with my friend Kristie.  We will have a booth there and just chill.  I'm excited about it, but I have a ton of stuff to do.  I need to finish sewing on the faces of the snuggle buddies, make some hats to match the super cute new dresses I have, AND I need to sew the buttons on said dresses... then I just have to label and tag everything... Doable, but time consuming.
Anyway, today was a great day.  We met our friends Katie and Kristie at a local pool and had a great time.  I love hanging out with these women and their kiddos.  Elijah is the oldest of the bunch, but he's pretty good around them.  After a GREAT nap today Elijah and Grace and I have been hanging out in the nice AC.  It is just too hot to be outside right now.  I know that sounds horrid, but it really is too HOT!   95 with a heat index way above 100... not so much for the outside.  But we are playing and having fun inside!
Cute Elijah story:
Sometimes on the way home we go by the airport and over railroad tracks. Elijah is well aware of this and points it out every time we go this way.  The other day Elijah was playing with a toy that he was pretending to be an airplane.  Here is the conversation:
E:Where are you flying?
e: To the airport.
E: That's a good place to go.
e: Yup. Over the choo choo tracks and down down down to the airport.
It just tickled me that he thinks there RR tracks in the sky.
I LOVE MY KIDS!!

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.

November 2007

November 04

DIY....WHATEVER!!!!

okay...so yesterday we decided that enough was enough.  we needed to fix the freaking dryer.  mostly because i'm getting lazy about hanging the clothes up...it's a little hard while trying to keep an eye on a running toddler.  getting him to help only lasts for a bout 2 minutes before he starts throwing the clean clothes onto the dirty ground.  so ANYWAY, i look up changing the belt on a dryer and find that (supposedly) it's not that hard.  so step one is done, the instructions are printed out and ready to go.  this morning i get up and we decide to at least get the front cover off the dryer and get the old belt off so jerry can go get a new one while elijah and i are at a birthday party.  while this wasn't the easiest thing to do and the instructions (which were generic and not specifically for our model...hmmmm) weren't spot on, we accomplished this task.  i'm feeling all good about this thing and feeling the sense of pride that fellow blogger claire talks about when she achieves some household task.  so we go to the party and jerry goes to lowe's (home depot didn't have the part...) and all is good.  elijah falls asleep on the way home and i come in and put him to nap in his bed.  jerry had the belt and we go to work.  after a couple of hours and many cuss words, we realize that we need to pull the dryer out and use the back access panel to get the freaking belt on the pulley and engine drive (look at my use of dryer parts....oooohhhhh, aaaaahhhhhhh....).  by this time said toddler is up and cranky and hungry and demanding attention from father and mother who are trying to not say cuss words around said toddler and not slice their arms off from the sharp edges and random dryer parts.  finally with my last bit of energy (no nap for mom today) i get the !@#%$% thing to go on like it is supposed to and jerry can goes attend to a now very poopy toddler and get said toddler fed.  while he does that, i put the dryer back together (sounds easier that it is, but  I DID IT!!!!) and we load up the dryer and test it out!!  while it running nice and quiet i go and get ready to shower, because i have been lying in dust and grime behind the dryer and while we vacuumed back there, we don't have a fancy dyson and it doesn't clean as well as the fancy (read really want a fancy) dyson would....sigh...  i have just gotten my hair down and my sweater off when i hear a squeak come from the dryer.... i stop and think, it's just adjusting itself.... nope.... it gets louder and if at all possible louder than it was before we "fixed" it... SUPER SIGH.... so i get in the shower all annoyed, with a headache beating in my head and try to ignore the squeaking.  jerry finally goes and shuts it off, because really it's just that annoying.  after the shower we talk about what to do and decide to go look at dryers at lowe's...nothing... sear's...nothing...  well i say nothing, and i mean nothing we want to spontaneously spend money on.  so we decide over dinner at the food court in the mall that we will tough it out until january when all the after christmas stuff goes on sale, and we can get a dryer we really want and do some research on which ones are good and which are not... 'til then, i'll be in the back yard hanging out clothes if ya need me!

November 07

YAY!!!!

I just heard today from my friend Laura that her sister just had her twins.  I think they were only a couple of weeks early and apparently she was to be induced, but went into labor on her own!!!  Anyway, she gave birth to the baby boy around 11 (weighing in at a whooping 7 pounds!!!) and the baby girl at 11:30 (weighing in at 5.9 pounds!!!!!) both were delivered vaginally!  I'm just so freaking impressed by that and I hope they don't mind me sharing.  I've been telling everyone I know.  I mean first to carry twins that long is fantastic and then to give birth in such an amazing way.  I don't know if she had drugs, but either way...DANG!!!!   I think it's great that she was given the option.  When I freaked out for a few minutes about possibly having twins, that was my biggest concern, that I would automatically have to have a c-section...I was calmed down by several people that told me that it was possible and happens in this county, so that's good to know...not that we're having twins, but ya know...  ANYWAY, the kids and mom are doing fine and that's great news too...and I guess the most important thing...ya know all healthy and stuff.  Just wanted to say great job and announce the arrival!!!!

November 11

lazy lazy sunday

i am still in my pjs and it is 4:45.  i did do the laundry and finish up the kid's in the family's christmas gifts.  but that's about it.  elijah is still in his pjs too.  jerry is in comfy clothes.  he did go out and get us sandwiches (i am CRAVING egg salad so he got me one... nice hubby.)  elijah has played hard all morning but inside. we broke out the potato head full of potato heads and he has gone crazy with putting those together all afternoon.  he took a really good nap and i watched heros on the web while jerry watched football.  after elijah woke up we pulled out the air mattress and feather blankets and now we are chilling on that watching football and playing potato heads.  elijah thinks it's all funny.  we've needed a break.  jerry and i have both been really tired this week, so doing absolutely nothing and staying in our pjs all day has been quite nice.  part of me feels guilty that we stayed in on such a nice day, but the other part of me is completely fine with taking a day off.

anyway, it's been a nice weekend too.  yesterday we went out for breakfast and then to a park.  jerry had to go into work for a bit while elijah napped, then we just hung out.  next weekend will be more hectic.  i am going to pass your plate to get our months food on saturday.  i need to finish the rest of the family's christmas gifts as we will only see them at thanksgiving.  sunday we are going to see jerry's folks.  sometime in there we need to do all the laundry and get the house ready to go.  we leave on thursday morning and will have thanksgiving on friday afternoon.  i need to make a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie before we leave too.  when we arrive i will make a sweet potato casserole and a green bean casserole.

this past week rachel and i threw a baby shower for a woman in our play group.  we were a little worried since it was outside, but the wind died down and it was quite nice. and everyone had fun i think.  i did have a little traumatic moment.  we were playing on the playground and i was talking to another mom.  elijah moved out of the way to let another kid go down the slide and all of a sudden i see my kid falling.  there was an opening on the other side of the slide.  i thought my heart was going to stop.  however, he fell in the best possible way.  he step backwards and there was no floor (obviously) and just fell straight down and landed on his feet!  then his knees buckled and he fell backwards onto his head.  i did the stupidest thing possible which was grab up my crying kid.  i should have let him get up and come to me to make sure there was no spinal injury, but hindsight and all.  anyway, he's obviously okay and was just shaken.  it was a big fall...about 7 feet.  i was scared that he might not want to play on big slides anymore, but he was fine at the park on saturday.  it just scared me lots!

i feel like i'm fighting a cold.  my throat has been scratchy for a few days and i just feel worn out.  i went to the doc earlier this week for my eczema.  i have it on my eyelids and it is not comfortable.  unfortunately since i'm knocked up and all the only thing i can do for it is hydrocortisone cream.  so far that seems to be helping, i just look all rough and scaly around my eyes... oh well... there are worse things in life.

speaking of the baby in the belly.  i have bee feeling some beginnings of movement.  not like kicks yet, but definite movement in the belly area.  this morning in particular.   it's just so cool.  i didn't feel elijah until about 16-18-ish weeks.  i don't know if i ever wrote about it.  but when i was about 16 weeks with elijah i had to go get my heart looked at to make sure things were okay.  i guess i was the healthiest person they had seen all day and the ultrasound woman let us see the baby after finishing with my heart.  elijah was kicking my placenta at the time.  jerry said the other day that maybe that was the beginning of his happy feet (we say show us your happy feet and he starts dancing this little run in place dance.)  anyway, it was really sweet...

okay... the boy child needs attention apparently...

November 18

hmmmm...

Where did this week go?  What did I even do this week?  I'm sure we did something.  Let's see... I have decided to not make slings to sell anymore.  I couldn't find anyone who would insure me and I'm nervous in this sue happy world.  So I was a little bummed, because I had all these materials and nothing to really do with them.  The fabric I can of course find something to do with, but the rings...  Apparently the Maya Wrap was recently recalled due to some faulty rings.  Carmen was bummed because that was one of her biggest sellers, so she ended up buying all my supplies off of me.  She's going to make them herself to sell.  So that was sweet!

So with that money I got supplies to make Christmas Ornaments to sell in Carmen's shop.  I need to finish a batch tonight so that she can get them out by Thanksgiving.  I'm also knitting little bells to sell there too.  While we are away for Thanksgiving I'm going to work on some more hats and mittens.

I don't remember the rest of the week really... Thursday was rainy and then it got really really cold, and then this weekend has been a whirlwind.  I went to Pass Your Plate on Saturday and made our food for the month.  Today we went to see Jerry's mom.  His dad had to have his other leg amputated earlier this week and is in a rehabilitation facility to learn how to walk and take care of himself and whatnot.  This is a great thing, I only wish it had happened after the loss of his first leg... but everyone (including his dad) is very positive about this and I am encouraged as well.  I hope that this is a new beginning for them all!

This week is going to be a little crazy.  Elijah needs a haircut, I need to bake some pies for Thanksgiving, we have b-day party on Tuesday morning, and I need to get us all packed to leave early Thursday morning.

Elijah's sleeping is getting better.  He's staying in his room until at least 5:30-6:00 in the morning.  Last night he only woke up twice and it took less that a minute to get him back to sleep.  I hope that this trend continues.  We are still in his room while he falls asleep, but I sit in there and read my book and Jerry just sits in there.  It seems to be working.  He signs that he wants to go to sleep in his bed for nap, but he plays and gets hyper, so we bring him back out to rock for a bit and then after he settles down he gets to go back to his bed.  This is taking longer than I would like for him to settle down, but I think that it will get better soon.

This baby in the tummy is a crazy movin' baby.  Especially if I drink OJ or coke (I treat myself once a week)...man, I can't imagine what my tummy will look like once this kiddo gets bigger and I can see the movement.  It'll be like an alien....now it just feels like one.

I guess that's it.  I'm really tired this evening.  I guess even this short trip today wore me out...even though i slept a bit with Elijah at nap time...hmmmm... I may not make it through The Amazing Race tonight...we'll see...

November 20

emotional ball of...well, emotions

Today I went to pick up Rachel and MR to go walk before a b-day party of a friend.  When I walked in Rachel told me she had a present for the baby to be.  What a nice surprise.

I need to stop and give a little back story for this to make sense... Jerry wrote about this a while ago on his blog...see his fatherhood link and then scroll down to "froggie"...ANYWAY, we bought Elijah this little frog toy when he was really little and he played with it all the time.  We used it in the car to keep him calm and hooked it to his play mat and to his stroller.  On a walk he figured out how to get it off and it became lost.  I was really upset about it and maybe even cried a bit... I know it sounds dumb, but I really liked that stupid frog.  We have called Elijah our little tree frog from day one...symbolism and stuff....

So to my surprise... I have talked about this frog for ages.  And Rachel found one in a used kids store here and got it for us!  It was so sweet and I just started crying.  Rachel is used to my little outbursts.  I know that I wear my emotions on my sleeve, but when pregnant or breastfeeding, it's much worse.  I cried at a stupid Bud commercial shortly after Elijah was born...sigh...

But this is getting ridiculous.  There is a Sear's commercial out there about a little girl that loves clothes, but she has to wear a uniform to school, but next year she won't and so her mom buys her this wardrobe as a surprise for Christmas... stupid Sear's commercial...

Then I was dumb and watched Akeela and The Bee... stupid heart warming movie...

I've started ignoring commercials because I am betting that during the dumb holiday season they are only going to get worse...

Anyway, thanks to my friends for putting up with my emotional butt and a big hug to my hubby for not making too much fun of me... of course, he knows he's got to live with me for the next 24 weeks...

November 25

Turkey Day Adventures...

So we left on Thursday morning to go to my folks.  I thought that surely there wouldn't be that much traffic, and for a bit there wasn't.  But we hit Raleigh and from there until Greensboro it was slammed...moving, but slammed.  We got to my folks in about 6 hours (not bad with 4 stops.)  Elijah did really well and immediately felt at home with my folks.  He was wandering around their house finding the toys they have for him.  My folks just got a brand new TV (about time as their other one was about 25 years old...not kidding, it was at least that old...so old that Habitat For humanity wouldn't take it!!) It's really nice...flat panel, HDTV, HUGE!!!  It was difficult to come back to our boring TV today...hehehehe....

I made the sweet potato casserole that evening and unpacked the pecan and pumpkin pies.  My mom and dad made us spinach pie (one of my favorites!!) and we had dinner then chilled out with the big TV.  Elijah didn't sleep very well and gave Jerry a hard time the first night.  But was a happy guy by breakfast time.  On Friday we went to meet my Aunt and Uncle for breakfast (we left Jerry to get some rest) and run some errands at Ingles (I miss Ingles!!!)  then came home and played at the park with my little cousins.  We came back up to the house and went on and fed Elijah lunch so he could take a nap.  He only slept for about 45 minutes before he was up.  He knows how to open the doors at my folks house, so there was no going back to sleep.  But he was fine.  It was a good day.  We did a little Christmas gifting and enjoyed (way too much) yummy food.  That evening as I was brushing Elijah's teeth, he kept crying and grabbing his cheek...the whole day he had been doing odd things with his tongue...yeah, the elusive 2 year molars we have been waiting for are suddenly making an appearance.  I have been feeling his gums back there for weeks and there was nothing there...Friday night...there's a huge gaping hole with a tooth sticking out... no wonder he didn't sleep well.  Luckily we had IB with us and he got a dose of that and fell asleep and slept well for the night.

Saturday was the laziest day ever.  Elijah is all about fire lately.  When we read Goodnight Moon, he points out the fire on every page it appears.  Friday dad made a fire and Elijah woke up on Saturday and immediately started signing, Opa fire.  My dad went out in the freezing cold (before eating his breakfast) and made a fire for Elijah.  Elijah is very timid of said fire, so he stands across the room and stretches his hands way out.  It's very cute.  He'll point to the fire and say, "hot hot!" so I guess it's good to know he realizes it's hot.  Mom took Elijah out on a walk in the woods, which he wasn't thrilled about, but was fine.  Meanwhile my dad and I sat around the fire and were lazy while Jerry worked on a computer program he's developing.  We had planned on going out to a movie, but nothing looked appealing...well, we didn't want to watch anything too in depth like American Gangster, or scary like The Mist...so we just went out to lunch at My Father's Pizza (super yummy!!!) and came home to put Elijah down for a nap.  We did watch Spiderman 3 during nap time.

We drove home today and man, it was a long drive.  The weather was all dreary....yawn.  We did stop and see my other aunt and cousin for breakfast this morning.  So that was fun.  But still....

I must say that both Thursday and today the police force was OUT!  We saw a TON of people pulled over.  We also saw a bunch of dead deer on the road.  I know that it is that time of year, but there were some gruesome looking road kill on the side of the road and I just know that those had to be bad accidents.

Oh...funny story...

Thursday evening we were sitting down stairs watching football and just hanging out.  There is a big window looking out onto a footpath and my mom;s cat jumped up at the window.  Elijah loves looking at this cat (though the cat is skiddish...but through the window is okay.)  Anyway, my dad is not the biggest fan of cats (or at least acts like it) and has always threatened the cats in our lives...never hurt them, but definitely threatened them.  Anyway, the cat was clawing at the window screen.  We had just been talking about the cat's name (kitty...) and dad said, "You know what that cat's name is going to be if it doesn't stop scratching at the window..."  and I giggled and said, "dead cat dead cat..." Elijah looked right at me and then at the cat and said (and I kid you not) "deadcatdeadcat..."  I thought we were all going to die from laughing so hard.  Here is a child that doesn't say that much, and clear as day says dead cat of all things!!!   At least I didn't say something a lot worse!!!

November 27

Why don't these things come pre-programmed...

Ahhhh, potty training...sigh... so this morning marked the beginning of the training.  Here is my day so far:

8:00 - out of poopy diaper and into big boy training undies (love these because while the absorb very little, so little on can feel wet/dry, they have a vinyl outside to keep my couches from being ruined.)

8:30 - go on a walk, return home go immediately to potty.  dry undies, no pee in potty.  put undies back on...

9:00 - go to potty...wet undies, manages to pee on rug in bathroom...sigh...why didn't i already remove rugs?  oh well, they needed to be washed anyway.  boy child refuses to put undies back on... fine naked boy running around...closed all rooms with carpet in them.

9:30 - pees on floor, put boy child on potty immediately and back on with 2nd pair of undies (why do we only have 4 pairs?) he pees two drops in potty whilst i clean up pee on floor...

10:00 -  after asking every 5 minutes if he needs to pee, (answer always "no") we go sit on potty...low and behold the undies are what? wet... (liar) we sit and read and talk about wet and dry and he refuses the undies again.  fine...

10:15 - after a juice and asking every 5 minutes, boy child runs to potty and sits and goes!!!  he leaked on the way to said potty, but he almost made it... success maybe?!?!

10-30 - starts to pee while playing and i look up at the sound and cheer him on to the potty where he pees an extraordinary amount considering he's left a puddle the size of a small lake (well to ant it would be a lake) on the floor.  stays on potty while i clean up another mess... really happy the weather is warm enough to have the windows open.  both times he's peed in the potty he gets to "wipe" and flush the big potty as a reward.

11:00 - boy child says he's hungry and i convince him (after much struggling) to put on undies before eating...don't want to have to wash the high chair cover too.

11:30  - lunch... again every 5 minutes "do you need to potty?" "no"

12:00 - getting ready for nap...into a diaper... out of what? soaking wet undies...sigh...

12:30-2:23 - nap...no pee to clean up...wahoo!!!

3:00 -  convince boy child to get out of diaper and be naked again...not very cooperative...doesn't want to stay off furniture...sits on potty for almost 1/2 hour with no success...super sigh...

it is now 3:52.... he had an orange for snack and i am betting that he is storing up the pee.  if he would pee in the potty we could go outside for a bit in undies, but alas alack there is no rationalizing with toddler boy child.  i'm doubting my stamina for keeping this up for the next few days.  it's exhausting.  maybe if jerry were home it wouldn't be so bad... why don't they come out trained?  where is evolution in this matter?  opposable thumbs were more important than learning to pee in the toilet?  whatever!!!  maybe things will go better tomorrow... we are definitely having a bath tonight... i feel gross... i know pee is sterile and all, but that doesn't make it any better...

November 28

well, everyone needs a break...right?

well, elijah did well this morning... of course, rachel called and we decided that playing downtown was much more fun than potty training.  so jerry and i decided that this weekend we will tag team the training and we are resorting to bribery.  we are going to make a chart and get stickers for the chart and elijah.  it'll be easier with two.

so jerry's coworker, bonnie, had her twins yesterday via c-section.  she was scheduled for next week but went into labor yesterday.  as far as i know both mom and the the two girls are doing well.  we'll go visit tomorrow or the next day.

on monday, i took care of mr while rachel and erin went in for their 20 week ultrasound and they found out that....they are having twins!  what is the likely hood that i would know three people who have had/are having twins.  this is insane.  but also really cool.  so many babies!!!

we go to the midwife on friday for a check up and to schedule our own ultrasound.  i'm excited.  i really like seeing the baby on the screen...

okay... that's it...elijah is sleeping and i think i may join him...we got in a little late, but i always like putting him down late sometimes.  it makes night a little more difficult, but it makes the afternoon go so much faster!  be well!

November 30

It's Friday...WAHOOOOO!!!!!

So the potty training is getting better I guess.  He had no accidents yesterday evening (we had playgroup in the morning) and this morning they were limited.  He runs to the bathroom after he lets  little pee out... still cleaning up behind him...sigh... anyway, we have the chart up and that's a huge hit, so we'll see.

This afternoon we picked up Jerry, dropped Elijah off at Rachel's, and headed over to see Mary the midwife.  Everything is going smoothly.  Strong heartbeat (only ONE!) and I measuring perfectly.  We made an appointment for our ultrasound for the 14th of December.  I'm really excited!  We didn't do an early ultrasound...didn't feel that there was a need.  I am looking forward to seeing the little one on the TV.  The place we are going is a place where we went last year for some extra ultrasounds (docs thought there was something wrong with Elijah's kidneys...he just needed to pee...hmmmm....isn't ironic?) and it's really nice.  You get to see the baby on a TV screen placed above your head so you don't have to crane your neck to see the screen.  The only problem is that the appointment is at 1.  That sorta sucks.  I don't really want to take Elijah with us, but I also don't want to have to put Rachel out.... hmmm, I wonder if my folks would like to come down for the weekend... mom... dad...?  wanna come down for a long weekend?

We are getting our Christmas Tree tomorrow!!!  That's exciting!!!  I have almost all my shopping done.  We are doing only Made in the US/Europe or second hand stuff for Christmas.  This has been challenging to say the least, but I finally finished Jerry's shopping, and now it's just Elijah left.   We were thinking the Rody but now we are thinking not so much...space issues, rowdiness issues, he already has ride on toys....though nothing that bounces...hmmmm....  so now we are stuck.  I found a kitchen set that was made in the US and I went to take a look at it and the store was sold out and they weren't sure they were getting anymore...sigh... we have found a little basketball goal...that's a possibility... he just has so much already.  Well, see...

Okay...I need to check on my latest addiction....Facebook...so easy to get soooo sucked into...

June 2007

June 03

feeling better

sorry about the big bummer of a blog... but thanks for the kind words.  sometimes it helps to write things down...even if they aren't what's totally bugging you...  anyway...this weekend has flown by and that makes me sigh... yesterday someone was supposed to come look at our futon, but bought another one before looking at ours...though it turns out that's a good thing.  someone coming forced us to clean the office, which forced us to clean some other rooms and we realized we really like the futon and want to keep it... so that was good and we had a productive day.  today i went to a baby shower in the morning and then we went to rachel and erin's for dinner.  so it was a good day, but i wish it were saturday instead of sunday...sigh...
one of the things we did was re-assemble elijah's crib.  he kept rolling off the bed and ended up sleeping almost upside down...so back into the crib...we'll see how it goes.
we finally got rain that we have so desperately needed this weekend thanks to barry...(tropical storm) so it's been nice to not have to worry about the garden for a few days...though we did need to hang up some clothes...
also we found out that the weed wacker isn't broken, it just flipped a reset button...ahhhh, the joy of electric, right?
so that's about it i guess....maybe more exciting things will happen this week!
June 08

who needs thumbs anyway?

so i started the car today to cool it down while i got elijah in his seat and as i turned around i closed the door on my thumbnail...i have shut my finger in a door before, but i forgot how freaking bad it hurts!!!!  my nail immediately started bruising underneath and the back of my thumb swelled up.  it still hurts quite bad.  even if it's broken though (i don't think it is) there is nothing anyone could really do.  anyway. that's all about that... stupid thumb... hmph!
last night i went out with some girlfriends to see waitress.  it's a GREAT movie and i highly recommend it.  it's not the best acting in the world, but the story is really good.  i love that the main character writes letters to her unborn baby... it's a great witty movie.  very chicky-flick...
i added some pics of elijah.  his new thing is running and playing hid and seek in the laundry that's out drying.   he can also pull off his diaper through his pants now, hence the diaper pin in the front of the wrap.  with his hair pulled up into a pony tail he looks a little like a baby sumo wrestler...
we went to the beach yesterday and it was absolutely perfect.  it is burning hot inland, but the beach was perfect weather and the water temp is actually cooling right now.  so that was good.
we have decided to move our playgroup from the beach to each other's houses.  this is fine except for the space issue at my house...but i think when it's at my house i'll set up our new screened in thing-y outside and fill up the pool and offer inside and outside play.  it wish we had a fence so the ditch wouldn't be an issue, but life will go on...
okay, elijah is stirring from his nap....
June 12

a new week

so my thumb is all better...well it doesn't hurt anymore, it still looks rather gross... sigh...
this weekend i mowed the lawn and then finished weedwacking the ditch.  we also got a potty seat for elijah and are starting the training...nothing too big, just getting him used to sitting on the pot...
last night i stayed up way too late working on hats to drop off at carmen's.  the web designer is taking longer than expected to get her site up, but hopefully it will be up within the week.  she's 38 weeks preggers and we would be surprised to see her at group on thursday...but you never know.  i have a new item.  i have made baby dreamcatchers.  they are small and they have an origami crane in the middle of them.  i made them all different colors.  i think they are quite cute personally.  i'll post a pic at the bottom of this...
i am hosting group this week.  we are making father's day art projects... it should be fun...and messy... but mostly fun.
jerry is going to pass your plate for our next round of food.  i really love this place.  they use really fresh ingredients and supply you with the nutritional info so you can choose things that are healthier for you.  since it's his turn to go, i'm in for a long day... sigh...
last night elijah had a sorta hard time.  at around 11 he woke up and had his fingers jammed into the back of his mouth...sure enough i can feel the bumps of his 2 year molars coming in... so we gave him some IB and jerry got him back to sleep.  he stayed in his crib until 4:30!!  i brought him to bed and then he slept until 5:50...yuck-o!  I made him stay in bed until 6:45, by then i was over fighting him, so we got up...sigh...  this wouldn't have been that bad if i hadn't stayed up so freaking late working on stuff...oh well...
we went to story time today and elijah did GREAT!  he sat in my lap the whole time and for the most part really listened to the story.  we went down to carmen's after that and i talked to a woman about slings for a bit...she had the cutest little girl...so pudgy still...  rachel was with me this morning so we went for smoothies and then came back here for lunch.   tomorrow is going to be all about cleaning.  i think that i will do some example ideas with elijah for thursday.  we're doing hand print art and i think it will be super cute, but trying... it's hard to control a child's hand, but it'll be okay...
okay, i have stuff uploading and need to work with it...here's the pic of the dreamcatcher...



June 14

the BEST husband in the WORLD

I have the best hubby... here is why...
He always answers the phone at work when I call.
He sends me flowers just because.
He kisses me three times every morning before leaving for work (one fore each word in the sentence I LOVE YOU!)
He likes my folks.
He likes my friends.
He watches chessy girlie movies with me and doesn't make too much fun of them.
He encourages me to go out and spend time with my friends.
He doesn't get mad at me for not cleaning the house or having dinner ready every night.
He keeps the baby every other night.
He reads bedtime stories like they are the most exciting books ever written.
He loves me and our son.
He works hard so that I can stay home.
He listens to me complain, even when he's had a horrible day.
He listens to what happened during my day, including the finger painting and EJ's poop stories.
He knows when to agree with me...even if he doesn't.
He knows how to talk me down from a rant.
There are so many other reasons, but these are just some off the top of my head...  I just love him so freaking much!!!!!
June 17

when 52 inches, isn't 52 inches and other weekend fun

sigh... my kid has been crying for almost 1.5 hours straight.  i gave him some IB about 20 minutes ago (have no idea why i waited that long) for his teeth, and jerry took over the rocking.   poor guy.  i have no clue what's going on.  he usually gets fussy right before bed, but not like this.  anyway, i think he may be finally asleep...an hour past bed time...  though he's been sorta off all day today.  i hope that tomorrow is better.  jerry went back to bed this morning and slept until 10:30!  he needed it!  we were going to go out for lunch, but elijah fell asleep in the car before we got anywhere near the restaurant.  so we did a drive through thing.  came home and elijah slept for about half hour more.  once he woke up we played outside for a bit in the sprinkler.  we decided to go out for dinner, we went to this place boodles, but it was closed for some mysterious reason, we wanted to go to smokey bone's, but it's been closed down... so we ended up at our old stand by, atlanta bread co.  it was fine, but it was weird that everywhere was shut down... oh well.  (elijah is sleeping now...thankfully!!!)
so the title of this blog's story:
on saturday we went to costco to get some things and decided to wander around.  we came across this closet organizer that would be perfect for elijah's room.  so we find the measurements (52 inches long by 18 inches deep by 72 inches high...) our biggest worry is the 52 inches.  we have really small closets in the four smaller rooms.  so we come home, and i measure, not once, but twice (i am a good this old house... measure twice cut once....type of girl) from base board to baseboard and it is EXACTLY 52 inches.  so after nap and snack we head back to costco to by the organizer.  we get back to the car only to find out the #$%^ thing won't fit in the trunk...SOOOOO after removing the car seat, putting down the back seats, moving the stroller, all the while trying to calm a grouchy baby that wants to get out of the cart so he can push it into the road... we decide that it will fit if we take it out of the box, and hey, why not since we've measured and everything...and oh, on the way  home we can stop by the recycling bin to get rid of the outer box so we don't have to bring it back out... GREAT!  so we get it in the car, get home, get it out of the car, and get everything out of elijah's closet, get elijah busy "sorting" books and start putting said organizer together.  everything is going great, it's going together really easily, lalalalalala...UNTIL!  we get to the final base bracket.  it won't fit without bending the poles in.... well, okay, so let's take the feet off the poles...everything is fairly even (except apparently the back wall of the closet) and surely that will give us enough space... SOO we move everything out, take off the feet, slide it all back in, AND........
IT STILL DOESN'T FIT!!!!  for some unGODly reason we don't have the air on and have a window fan going and now Elijah has decided that climbing on mom while in the small a$$ closet is fun.... so I am freakin' burning up and irritated and we can't return the darn thing because we threw the stupid box away because I FREAKING MEASURED TWICE....  so jerry says...."well, let's rip out the base boards."  okay.... so we rip them out, not prettily I must add, and start over AGAIN.  this time is works and everything fits in place...well, almost everything....  in the 18 inches wide they don't take into account that there are drawers and baskets that need to be pulled out and shouldn't be in front of a wall...SUPER SIGH....  so we decide to put the drawers in the middle and make it so we can just reach into the baskets.
all in all, i really like the end result and am giggling as i'm recounting the story, but man yesterday, i thought i might melt the thing down to drop on top of costco.  i still can't figure out why it didn't fit to begin with...but what's done is done... and the end result is pretty.  we have moved the dresser out of elijah's room and moved stuff around so that his room is also his playroom, instead of having stuff in two rooms.
on another note, the flowers jerry sent me last week are almost in full bloom and really very pretty!  they are purple irises and yellow lillies.  i'll have to take a picture....
happy dad's day to all the dad's out there!!!!






June 20

it's raining!!!! Finally!!!!

After a long hot beginning to summer it is finally raining.  We are 9 inches under where we should be and under water restrictions.  It is raining a good hard soaking rain and it's supposed to continue into the night.
Right now I am waiting for the last five minutes of our pecan chicken to finish so that I can call Elijah and Jerry in to eat... that's right, I'm watching them out the window run around in the rain!  It's awesome.  They are so freaking cute!  I love warm rain that you can play in.  I have towels waiting by the door, and then they'll change clothes and have nice warm food to fill their tummies!  How awesome is it that my husband comes home after a long day at work and wants to play in the rain?!?  I took pics of them, I'll post later tonight when I have more than 3 minutes to post.
I just wanted to celebrate the rain and the playing in the rain!!!
June 23

getting my kid to eat..er...drink his spinach

So for a while Elijah really liked spinach, now not so much... not a biggie.  He's a great eater, but now we have all this frozen spinach in the freezer.  Everyday for his snacks Elijah gets a tofu smoothie and a rice cake.  I know that the tofu smoothie probably doesn't sound appealing, but they are really good.  I'll post the recipe in a moment.  Anyway, the other day I was pulling out the frozen fruit and thought...hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I put spinach in this smoothie?  So I made only a single serving (usually I make two servings one for each snack).  Gave it to Elijah and he gulped it down.  I tasted it before I gave it to him.  It wasn't bad.  I really didn't taste the spinach...so problem solved!!!
Anyway, here's the recipe:
1/3 cup of silken tofu
1 banana
1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit (if you use fresh fruit you'll need to add 6 ice cubes)
1 cup of fruit juice
1 tsp of honey (optional...we like it for the allergy factor)
We double this and mix and match frozen and fresh fruit.  We also use V8 Fusion juice.  It has 100% juice plus you get a serving of fruit AND a serving of veggies per 8 ounces.  And now we throw some spinach in there... yum-o (LOVE LOVE LOVE Rachel Ray!!!!)
So this afternoon Jerry and I are going on a DATE!!!!!!  Rachel is going to watch Elijah while we go see Ocean's 13.  I could care less if the movie is good or not, WE ARE GOING OUT SANS CHILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Don't get me wrong, love the kid, but I'm about to go crazy having to interrupt conversations with my hubby to deal with Elijah.  My folks are coming in July sometime and you better believe they will probably not see very much of me.
Speaking of the little darling... he's learning so much.  He's starting to test boundaries and picks up almost a sign a day, which is AWESOME!!  He knows about 10 words and close to 30-35 signs.  It's very nice to be able to say to him "stop whining and sign what you want," and he responds with what he needs.  He's becoming more independent, but still likes to hang out with us when there is a crowd, until he's surer.  His memory is getting better.  This is also nice.  He plays independently very well.  He loves to make noise and any new noise he learns is sure to fill the house fro a few days!!  He's right on track developmentally and that is always reassuring!
Okay, we have some bread in the oven about ready to come out (bread is the newest sign... one day I'll get some of these on tape and post links to them)  so gotta run...have a great weekend!
June 27

stupid nature...

So our garden was looking GREAT!!!  I picked our first tomatoes last Saturday morning, at that time our green beans were producing, the okra had lots of little okras on them, there were two squash forming, and there were about 30-35 roma tomatoes and 25-30 better boy tomatoes (all green.)  I went out monday to check on some tomatoes that looked like they might be ripe and BAM the stupid deer had gotten into the garden and eaten EVERYTHING except for the bell peppers.  They even ate the sunflowers out of elijah's garden.  I was so upset I cried.  I mean they ate everything.  I looked today and I have 1.5 okra plants that might make it.  The squash is beyond help.  I have three or four tomatoes (total) that have formed since the eating... Man...
SO THEN... the stupid rain comes...  and while we really need it, I really needed diapers to dry more.  BUT NOOOOO, so I hung out the diapers to dry (our dryer is out of commission and that's fine, until we need diapers...) and it rained all afternoon....SIGH!!!!   So I left them up overnight...at least they are REALLY REALLY clean... I go out at lunch on Tuesday to bring them in b/c it looks like rain again (but does it rain? NOOOO!!!)  Then go back out to hang them BACK up after Elijah wakes up.  While we are out there I decide to clean out Elijah's kiddie pool.  Whilst doing that... I get stung by a wasp!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THE NATURE?!?!?!   SO having not been stung by anything since I was like 7, I freak out that I'm going to have some reaction.  I bribe Elijah inside with a smoothie and call Jerry because now I am feeling rather woozy.  I call my mom just to be on the phone with someone in case something happens before Jerry gets home...man stings HURT!!!  My mom tells me to make a paste out of baking soda (since we don't keep meat tenderizer or tobacco juice just lying around...) and put it on the sting to help take the pain away... it does help, but I still feel like I'm going to be sick.  Elijah keeps coming over and kissing my leg,, which was really cute (Jerry told me later that Elijah was walking around holding his leg like I was and signing "help" and Jerry would kiss the leg and he would go back and play and then start the whole thing over again...)  So after all that, I was fine...what a wuss I am, but I was a little freaked out...
Anyway, today was better.  We went to the beach after our walk this morning and it was perfect.  The weather wasn't too hot, the water was calm, and there was no nature out to get me.  We stopped by Rachel and Erin's on the way home to pick up their tiller and to say good-bye.  They are leaving for a couple weeks of vacation... I'm in total denial and hope that the time will fly...
I am excited because I have scheduled some appointments for next month.  One is for my annual, and while that's not exciting, we are meeting the midwife we will go with for our next pregnancy.  i've heard such great things about her and I'm really excited to meet her.  I really loved my OB but they are no longer doing OB stuff.  There isn't another all woman practice in town, so we decided that a midwife would be the way to go.  The only problem is that she lives in Myrtle Beach (about 1 hour away) so if she isn't in town when we go into the hospital...she could be cutting it close to make it here for the delivery...but I'm not worrying about that now as we aren't preggers and we'll have some time to figure it all out when the time comes...
Okay, I've got brownies in the oven for play group tomorrow...let's hope nature continues to be nice to me...

November 2005

November 09

FINALLY!!!!

We are in our house!!!!!!!  We moved last Wednesday.  We finally got our cable and Internet today so we are here!!!!  It has been really fun shopping for all the stuff we wanted to get for the house.  My mom and aunt came down last Thursday and painted the nursery for us (among millions of other things!!!!) We woke up to a flat tire on Saturday and had to go to the mall to have it replaced.  While we were there we went into Sears and found a front loading washer for half off!!!!  I guess it was fate that took us to the mall...  That was delivered today as well.  Very exciting day off I must say!  Tomorrow I will pick up an opaque projector for a baby's room project and then I have Friday off for Vetran's Day!!!!  WAHOO!!!!  Next week is my last week teaching, then punch guy comes on Wednesday to work on some things wrong with the house, then I take my Glucose Tolerence test on Thursday (no sweets for Erin next week....boooo) and then we leave for vacation next Saturday!  I am so excited to be at my parents' house in the mountains!  If only there was a job for Jerry up there... Oh well, I am very content in our new little blueberry house. Eventually everything will be unpacked (I keep trying to twitch my nose and make things unpack...I've tired the snapping thing too...nothing hangs itself up...stupid Mary Poppins and Bewitched fooling me....) and everything will be perfect.  Until then I am enjoying our weekly trips to Lowe's and having fun learning new skills, such as changing the plug on our dryer to fit the outlet (it only took us 3 hours...BUT we did it ourselves!)
Little Ruckus must really like it here.  He has been super dooper active lately...not a bad thing at all. We went over the first stage of labor on Monday night and we learned how to simulate a contraction.  This is going to take practice, but I really believe I can do this with Jerry's help.  He's really good at keeping me calm.
Okay, enough rambling...time to eat!!!!!!
November 12

the nursery

I started work on the nursery last night.  I got so into it that I didn't get in bed until midnight.  I have to be up this morning, one to feed the beast, and two because the opaque projector I borrowed from the library is due back at 9:00 this morning.  YAWN!  Oh well, good thing it is Saturday.  It's fairly chilly here, but our house has held the heat really well!  Good to know for our electric bill.  Yesterday I had some friends over for milk and cookies.  One of them brought her baby.  She is so cute!  And she's such a good mom.  She totally just let's the kid crawl around on the floor and play with stuff.  It did make me realize that our house is no where near childproof.  At least I had the cleansers up off the floor.  My other friend is pregnant as well.  She is due in March.  I am so glad little Eli will have a built in play group of friends.
I got an e-mail from another friend yesterday.  I knew she and her husband were thinking about moving up north to be closer to her family.  But they put their house on the market and had an offer in 48 hours!!!!  So they are moving on Tuesday!  I can't believe it!  It was so fast.  They have two kids and I am so sad they are leaving, but I understand.  She is going back to the airlines and can be based out of her hometown easier.  Plus there is a built in support system there too.  I hope to see them before they leave.
Today is my dad's birthday!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!!  I gave him his present way early but I sent him an e-card today.  I really like thecare2 website.  They have really cute cards and the donate money to great causes daily.  Anyway, we are going to the mountains in one week!!!!  I am so excited to see the family and stuff.  My aunts and mom are giving me a baby shower the day after turkey day.  And our crib is waiting for us up there too!  My friend Rachel is giving me a party at the library on Friday.  Between all these parties and all the eating, I will be surprised to be able to fit through the door!  Oh well....tis the season!
Okay, I had better get dressed and to the library... Oh these are the beginning photos of the nursery!!!

November 19

over the river and through the woods

...to grandmother's (to be) house we go...  I hvae been up since a quarter to 6 thanks to a little kicker I have in my tummy.  I think Jerry was up rather late last night and is rather sleepy.  I waited until 7:30 to wake him up... poor guy.  I will drive as much as I can today.  Maybe I can get at least to the other side of Greensboro.  Our goal is to get up the mountain before the sun is right in our eyes.  I think if we leave within the next half hour this is completely possible.  This is a new experience though.  i'm sure we'll have to stop every hour or so for me to pee.  I have issues with staying hydrated when traveling when I'm not preggers, so this should be an adventure for sure.
Anyway, we are very excited to be on vacation (even though there is a ton to do here...)  My dad is not feeling great, so I can't be around him too much.  Maybe us being here will help, I hope so.
I can't believe we only have about 10-ish more weeks until the baby comes!!!  I'm sooooo excited.  Last Monday the parents at the school had a surprise shower for me and then I had a shower at the library yesterday and my aunts are giving me one this coming Friday.  It's insane how much really cute baby stuff is out there!  We got lots of really nice gifts and I am sure there are even more to come.  The nursery is coming along, but I haven't finished.  I have 8 more pictures to paint and the we need a crib.  Hopefully we will get that this week while we're in Asheville.
Okay, I'm off to finish packing the car and load up sleepy Jerry.  Happy Turkey/Tofu Day!!!  Maybe I can post an entry while on vaca....we'll see!
November 22

vacation

so here we are in black mountain and it is really cold!  today it snowed all day long.  it wasn't cold enough to stick to the ground until this afternoon.  we may get up to one inch tonight though.  then it will warm up to the 40s.  it's rather pretty.  we went to look at stuff for the baby today.  we found a front carrier and a car seat for really good prices.  then we went to the same place mom got our new dinig table and bought 6 matching chairs.  mom said she and dad would bring them down at christmas in the truck so that should be interesting.
my cousin came by with her kids this afternoon.  they are really cute and are always ready to pose for pictures.  we are having thanksgiving day dinner on friday instead of thursday, so it will hopefully be quite here the next couple of days.  so far our vacation has been really nice.
on another note, i got the results of my glucose tolerance test back yesterday...sigh...i am at the high end of normal.  the top of normal is 139 and i am at 139... SO what this means is i have to cut out simple sugars...less fruit and juice and no cookies and sweets...though i am saying that turkey day does not count.  i can also choose to retest in a few weeks.  i think i screwed up the test by eating a protein bar the day of the test.  it has a lot of protein but also has simple sugars in it.  my weight is normal and i am measuring normal, so i think i'm okay.  my mom has been testing my blood sugar.  after eating the other day it was 159..a bit high...but i had just eaten apple cinnamon oatmeal and sweet potato biscuits (yummy!) and a huge thing of juice (100%).  this morning she took it before i ate and it was 79...a bit low, but i hadn't eaten anything since yesterday evening.  i'll get her to take it again before i go to bed.  i have been SUPER good today...
on another note... we went to see harry potter yesterday.  we went in the middle of the day while kids were still in school and shared the theatre with 5 other people.  excellent!  the movie rocks!  that's all i'll say in case you haven't seen it yet, but it was really good i think.
that's it for now... i'll try to write more as things happen..though probably nothing will....this is vacation after all....
November 23

oops!

so i tried to start a new album of just belly pictures, but i accidentally deleted all the pics instead.  now i will need to wait until we get back home to reload....ahhh computers...
we didn't get the snow we thought we would get, but it is still rather cold.  at least the sun is out.  today we may go back uptown to eat at a restaurant called TABLE.  it's run/owned by some WWC alum.  mom and dad said it is very yummy.
otherwise i am taking it easy today!
November 28

home again

we arrived back home on saturday afternoon.  on sunday we went to home depot and priced some things.  we went to once upon a child (a used kids store) and found a hardwood changing table for 55 bucks!  getting it home was challenging, but we made it.  we will refinish it and it will be perfect.  i'm glad we found it.  we were both getting discouraged at the high prices for particle board out there.
anyway, we celebrated thanksgiving on friday so that most of the family could be there.  it was lots of fun and good to hang out with family we only see once a year.  i was given a great baby shower and got very generous and beautiful gifts.  i also ate my fill of food and dessert.  since i barely passed my glucose tolerance test i am back on a strict-er diet.  but we decided that celebration days like thanksgiving and christmas don't count.  i really tried to eat smaller portions at dinner, but dessert i admit i went a little crazy.  there were just so many good things.  i think we had as much dessert as we had dinner food!
so last night we went to the dreaded wal-mart.  we got wall mounted shelves to open up the office a bit more and some curtains we needed as well as black out shades for the nursery.  i wasn't keen on the shelving idea, but now that i see them up, i really like them.  it really opens up the space.  now if we had more guests, we could put the air mattress on the floor in the office.  and the shelves were fairly cheap!  we could have bought a new book shelf for the same price as 6 packs of 2 shelves.once we got the assembly down they were super easy to install.  so the office is almost done.  today i plan on painting two more pictures in the nursery.  i want to finish those by the end of the week.  then we will move onto the other rooms.  the master bedroom is the biggest pain, and maybe it won't be all that bad.  then, of course, there is the garage.  jerry found a huge black widow in the garage yesterday and got a bit upset about it.  he thought it was because of all the clutter, but we live right next to woods, and we haven't been in the garage in over a week...so it was nice and dark and warm... anyway, we need to make a run to the good will and organize the garage for sure!  this to shall happen, but one thing at a time!
okay, i need to write thank you letters and get stuff in the mail before too late!
oh yeah, as soon as i remember what i did with the camera i will put up the other turkey day pic.