Photo book for Gabe's 1st Year

Click here to view this photo book larger

Build your own high-quality photo books at Shutterfly.com.

I finally put together this long-overdue photo book commemorating Gabe's first year. I did one for Mia for 2009, and one for her 3rd year (ages 2-3).  I enjoy doing these but it can take  a bit of time and a lot of thought trying to narrow down exactly which pictures to use! But I know I'll be thankful to have this years from now to remember the times from when Gabe was a wee one.  He just had his first haircut today and I'm not sure he's so little anymore!

Anyway, the above link is for curious long-distance grandmothers who can't yet view the photobook in real life.  Although trust me, I'm sure the real life viewing will be a lot more satisfying than a digital viewing!

PS: If you ever have any "free photo book" Shutterfly coupon codes and will not be using, throw it my way. I know a little gal who has a birthday coming up in about 3 months and I'd love to use it for her too!

Oh, Experience.

I almost fell apart laughing last week when I was looking through Mia's desk trying to help her find something. If you don't know every intricate detail of my life (which, I truly hope you don't), then you might not know/remember that Mia's desk is my old desk from growing up. My parents were wise and bought really sturdy furniture that thankfully we've been able to pass onto our children. I love that that piece of history is being passed on. What I wasn't expecting to find though was a real piece of my history tucked away in Mia's desk.  I know for certain there are more -- I just don't know where -- but in one of the drawers of this desk was a journal I kept from 1994-1996, the years in which I was in 6th-8th grade, and oh my...were they ridiculous.  REE-dic-YOU-luss.  Like, awfully funny, and just as equally embarrassing.

I initially opened up to this page, and almost peed my pants.

Life was hard for this sister in the middle of three brothas

It sounds like a pretty typical story from 1994.  We don't mean to, and we don't realize it, but we somehow get in this me against the world mentality. I shared it with both Brer Luke and Brer Jackson and we all had a chuckle.  Ain't nothing like 18 years of experience to add some perspective to that story!  And now, hand me a tissue while I shed tears that it's ACTUALLY been eighteen years since that occurred.

The next one was from 1996.  Oh, for shame.

"6 notes!!!"

I love, loathe, and cringe that I was so obsessed with my gal-pal friendships.  But, I was entering my adolescence  and friends were such a big deal.  (BTW, Erin, if you're out there, trust me that I have very fond memories of our friendship and am way thankful we were such good friends back in the day!)

Part of me was ridiculously overjoyed to have found this journal.  Now, I could read and remember and relive all the silly, excruciatingly awkward moments I captured from the tender ages of 12-14 and therapeutically laugh out loud at how simple my life was then in comparison to now.  How could I not want that?

Let's also discuss how much my penmanship improved in about 2 years. If only my handwriting was that easy to read now! Blame it on the rush, rush, rush of life with little ones.

The other part of me was so embarrassed and also a bit turned off by how, as I put it, "shallow," my self-dialogue was.  I was pretty naive, and that's not always a good thing. I was very focused on petty things.  I had the vocabulary and the brains to describe it, but I was seriously lacking in maturity.  [See Erikson "Identity vs. Role Confusion" (Adolescence, ages 13-19)] Who wants that??

Reading various parts of this journal (and I couldn't bring myself to all of it--some of it was just too mortifying) reminded me that we're not all there yet, and we never will be--at least in this earthly life. 

If I could snatch my journals from college (which are much pithier, as I spent far more time on the phone or with friends, or yes, even studying than I did journaling), I would probably come away with similar sentiments -- "Wow, gurrrrl, you really didn't know very much, did you??"

Sometimes experience is painful, awkward, or confusing.  Sometimes, it's pure delight.  Or a mix of the two.  Or just somewhere in the middle. Whichever way it turns out, all I'm going to say is I'm thankful for the perspective that comes on the other side.

Next time you find yourself in a pickle, remember this: Your life just got a whole lot more interesting, because you were presented with a challenge you had to navigate, and you learned a whole lot of something about yourself and about life.  You've not arrived, but, you're getting closer. And stronger. And hopefully, wiser, my friend.  We don't always get it right the first time, but oh, how sweet it is when we do the next!



I want to get back into journaling.

Do you journal? If so, do you allow yourself to go back and read what you wrote, or is it a closed-book once it's written? How long have you journaled, and how does it help you?

Endearing Moments

No relation to the story - just a fun picture of the gal

The other night, Mia warmed a few hearts during a small-group bible study...

Sunday nights at our church, we're meeting in classrooms to discuss a set of bible readings we've done Monday-Friday of the previous week. One of the stories we read the other week was about the Golden Calf in Exodus. Last week, Greg explained the story to Mia in his own words, and on the way to church Sunday night, he reviewed it with her.  An elder is leading our small group's discussion, and Greg told Mia that he might ask the little kids some questions, and that it would be okay if she answered. He also told her that he would probably speak up in class.  So anyway, that's a little intro....

When we had moved onto the Golden Calf story and the elder was segueing into that, Greg leaned down to the floor (where Mia was sitting), and whispered, "This is the story we talked about!" and as soon as Joe finished saying, "Who can tell me what happened when Moses went up on the mountain?" and was kind of looking at the kids--but not directly at Mia--Mia immediately piped up and started telling the story, in her own words, not even raising her hand, and looking directly at Joe.

It sounded a little like this:

"Moses went up on the mountain to talk to God, and the people stayed at 'the down of the mountain' and, and, and, and, um...and the people took their necklaces and their earrings off and they made a baby cow out of their jewelry."   

(It definitely took her a lot longer to say all that than it did for me to type it...it felt like it lasted 3 minutes in real life but she was probably talking for maybe a minute.)

Joe said, 

"That pretty much sums it up. It sounds like you've been studying that this week."

It was really cute and she spoke very confidently and clearly; I think everyone could understand her, and meanwhile Greg and I were trying to not cry because it was a very proud moment. I saw two people across from me whose eyes were watering, and I had to take Gabe out a minute or so later and people were looking at me like, "Awwwwwwh" and becoming kinda weepy.  I was actually hiding a little bit behind Gabe while she was talking because while I wasn't embarrassed, I could feel myself getting red from all the attention I know she was bringing our way.  It was a good thing and it was really cute. I think the clincher in her story was "baby cow." That probably sent everyone over the edge. 

And then, Gabe.

Silly boy eating frozen blueberries before dinner

how to sign "milk"

This story actually took place the night before.  Greg & I went out on a date (woohoo!) and our babysitter, "Miss K," was to put both of our kids down for bed.  I explained to her how we put Gabe down, especially if I'm not there to feed him right at bedtime, and that swaddling helps him feel comfy and cozy.  When we got home, both kids were asleep and all was well.  Miss K told me later though, that when she was rocking Gabe to sleep, he got his arms out of the swaddle and was banging his hands at her chest. She thought he was just moving around until she realized he was holding his hands in her face signing MILK (looks like you're milking a cow).  She thought it was so precious he was doing that to her, and meanwhile I was in shock that he actually knew to do that, and I also though it was just a tad hilarious.  Hey, LADY, where's MY MILK???  Especially since he was hitting her in the chest. Oh, Gabe. Those moves won't work when you're older!!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Somehow, and I really haven't figured this one out yet, but somehow, we've crept up to 9 months. Today, my little baby boy is 66% of the way through his first year and has almost matched his time time in the womb with his time outside the womb (38 weeks).  It just keeps on zoomin'.

Because of the time of the year, I am reminded about what I was up to about this time last year. It's just how I do.  We were still prepping for this baby boy.  We were still hunting for clothes and things that he would make his own, that would somehow define "Gabe." Now that he's been here so long (!), he no longer needs definition.  He's just such a sweet, happy, cuddly little boy. I'm not sure I want him to grow up.

Mia, on the other hand, well, she is growing up a bit too fast too.  She's always hung out on the small side, but I do declare her limbs seem to be growing at an incredibly fast rate as far as I can tell.  Whenever I check on her sleeping in her room, I see more of a little girl and much much less of a baby. I also realize I need to stop calling her a toddler.  She is NOT a toddler anymore. She's a little girl.

She is also picking up more conversational tidbits and types of humor in her daily dialogues.  "Mommy, I really want you to do this, okay?" (Wonder where she heard that line??)  She even did a mashup of "be careful little hands what you do" with "if you're happy and you know it."  Girl's got a melodic brain, that's fo' sure.  And I love that she's just a little bit silly.

I have a friend who is constantly reminding me to enjoy these times with them as they're little, because it goes by too fast.  As they get older and become more and more independent, Greg and I have been able to enjoy a few more outings with just the two of us, but it's just a tad bizarre to realize Mia is already the older sister telling the babysitter or family member where things are, or how we do things, and Gabe is the little guy falling asleep on someone else at bedtime. It's just a tad bittersweet.

It's Olympic time and we've been watching some of the events with Mia, which has prompted some gymnastic-like moves from her, and a new wardrobe ensemble.

Monday morning, while Greg was getting ready for work, Mia appeared in our room donning this outfit saying she was doing gymnastics.  The imagination is already flowing and it's crazy to see what they pick up on and how inventive they become to make something happen.
(She also called the rainbow rice above "pepper" and pretended she was mashing potatoes. Methinks just a few Paula Deen episodes have influenced these pretend-moments.)

There are definitely some days that drive me up the wall, when I think we've completely lost our marbles (and in many cases, we probably have), but we're zooming on through. Fakin' it...till we make it.

It was the best of times...

It was the worst of times.
-Charles Dickens

Say it with me now.


Nothing in life ever stays the same for quite too long!

Summer in Florida is a constant flux of heat, sunshine and rain, and with it can come endlessly long days ... certain things make it much easier, like weeks of VBS, girls nights, and anniversary dinners, so the good certainly balances out the bad, and we definitely needed some balancing out around here.

With teething comes a few more long nights (with short bouts of sleep), so occasionally I've felt like this bear:

all out-of-sorts & upside down

Afternoon storms make a tired girl crash on the couch:

Anniversary dinners mark 5 years!

eating our hearts out at Texas de Brazil (a Brazilian steakhouse)

And there's hardly nothing a quick trip through Target can't solve:

In other news, we may have found a new hangout spot for the local ladies with little ones. Call me cliche, but I've always wanted a place where the kids could be free to play and run around while I enjoy a latte.  Unfortunately, Starbucks can only do so much for tots + bebes, but enter Monkey Bizness at our local outdoor shops, and we're already in love.  An indoor jungle gym of sorts, a bounce house + slide, and even a crawlers area for Gabe!  There's also an art room in the back if the kids get a little spent running around.  We spent a couple of hours there today and tuckered both kids out pretty well and I can definitely say I'm really looking forward to going back!

Gabe owning the "crawlers" zone

Mia painting "happy trees," complete with hippie braid

Braden coloring a car

Welcome back, moments of sanity. I needed you!

The Baby Days

[Disclaimer: This is totally one of those blogs that hipster people of the blog world make fun of, because it's like a play-by-play of our days and probably completely over the top, e.g., "and then, we walked outside, and I opened the mailbox, and grabbed the mail, and threw the junk into the recycling bin, and then I opened the garage door, ad nauseum, ad nauseum, BLA BLA BLA." But as Greg noted to me personally, most of this is for my own record.  So BOOM. Enjoy!]


Things are going and moving along as they should.  We're really in a good groove right now and I couldn't ask for much else, save my recent intolerance to eggs (a once favorite food of mine)!  I'm investigating that and considering various possibilities* but for now my mornings are starting off with some soaked oatmeal and a little coffee and then this is generally how the rest of our day unfolds...
(I'm documenting this now, because the newborn/baby days tend to be a blur and I know I'll forget this if I never record it)


Mia tends to wake up around 7-7:30am, and if Gabe hasn't woken up prior to that (anywhere between 4-6:30am), he'll usually wake up by then, if not usually by 8.
He'll feed, Mia will be done watching whatever morning show Greg hooks her up with (usually Sesame Street) so he can get ready for work, and she and I will eat breakfast [she usually eats toast, fruit, or "noats" (oatmeal), or sometimes a smoothie or a muffin I've previously made].  I have lately been scarfing down {soaked} oatmeal every morning with a little cup of joe and some cream and that tides me over for a while.

Then, if there's not some other pressing obligation, I'll start doing laundry or cleaning up the kitchen or if those are somehow miraculously taken care of, I'll get ready to go out (although sometimes we never go out)!  After breakfast is when at-home duties are attended to, or when we get ready to head out for an errand or a playdate, or sometimes when dinner prep begins (if a crockpot meal or meat needs thawing.)

Helping Gabe in the Bumbo

For a while there, we were getting out every single day. I call it part of my "save-my-sanity-postpartum-plan," but it really only lasted for a while as I began to realize it was an unsustainable practice that left me on the go just a bit too much and a little drained, with stressed-out hungry kids (Gabe included). So now, even though I still love and need to get out during the day and see the rest of civilization, we do it much less frequently and on more of a relaxed schedule.  If it works, it works, and if it doesn't, well then, we just make do.  I've tried to be more purposeful in my grocery shopping so that we have more of what we need at home and don't have to make trip after trip to the store.
It was definitely one thing when it was me and Mia and we could "quickly" (in toddler-speed) run into a store and grab something, or even peruse the aisles a bit longer and have fun, but it's another thing when you're hauling an infant either in his carseat or in a baby carrier.  There's just more to mentally attend to and it makes quick trips just not-so-quick.

So now, we only get, if possible, 1-3 mornings a week.  There's usually at least one grocery store visit, and one morning where I have a girls bible study and Mia and Gabe come with me.  Occasionally we go to the chiropractor, have a playdate with other toddler friends, and every other Tuesday we dash out early in the morning to pick up farm fresh eggs and dairy products.  While I tend to loathe getting up early Tuesday mornings for this pickup, it's good for getting us out of the house while life is hustling around us, and oftentimes I stop at Target or Nutrition S'mart (a health food store) on the way back while Gabe is still snoozing and Mia's well-enough entertained and finish any other shopping we may have.

Miles of Smiles after an outing

We eat lunch anywhere between 11:30am and 1pm, and I feed Gabe one more time before naptime, and swaddle him, put him in his swing, and get Mia ready for naptime.  Right now our process is to read 2-3 (short) books, say a prayer, sing some (short) songs and I leave, and Mia goes to sleep pretty soon thereafter after playing with her baby doll and/or singing to herself.  Thankfully, Mia is handling naptime so much better these days than she was months ago.  I think the whole Mommy-is-having-a-baby-and-there's-so-much-change was harder on the both of us than I realized, and her fiery resistance really reared its ugly head at naptime.  So much so, I thought we were doomed.  However, most days now I'm thankfully seeing her nap for about 2 hours and our lives are all much the better because of this.  Usually when I walk out of her room, Gabe is peacefully snoozing in his swing and he'll sleep extra long in the afternoons.

I don't know what I'm going to do when he outgrows that swing, because it's my saving grace every afternoon!  He'll nap in his bouncy seat or in his crib in the mornings, but he won't take very long naps in his crib in the afternoons.  I just don't know how to transition him into that just yet and I'm okay with him in the swing as long as it works.  I guess when it stops working for us, we'll reevaluate and move on to the next thing (which would be the crib, I guess).  He is swaddled for his afternoon nap and at night.

Caught sleeping!

Mia tends to wake up between 4-5pm and we get a quick snack, check the mail, and she likes to watch another show.  Right now she is really into "Max & Ruby," based off the books by Rosemary Wells.  It's a pretty cute show, but she's obsessed with it right now.  "I WANNA WATCH MAX!!!"  It's been so nice out though, that even though I love that Gabe sleeps so long in the afternoons, it'd be a nice time to take a walk before dinner.  It's really the best time of year in Florida.

Greg tends to get home between 5:30 and 6 and if dinner isn't started by then it usually will be by the time he gets home.  You could say our roles are very traditional right now -- something I never imagined years ago knowing myself, but it just works for us.  Dare I admit it, it's just better for us this way!  Gabe is usually awake for dinnertime, and then we might do some light activity after dinner, and then it's usually bathtime for Mia (and occasionally Gabe), then bedtime with Daddy, and I get Gabe ready for bed too.  He doesn't always go to bed as early as Mia does, but lately there have been more times when it's syncing up than not.

Making a cake from scratch with Daddy -
Happy Valentine's Day to ME!

Getting Gabe down isn't tricky in the sense that it's hard for him to fall asleep, but sometimes it's hard to know when he's done eating.  He may fall asleep after eating, only to cry a bit when I lay him down, so I try to feed him one more time to make sure he's totally full, offer him his pacifier and lay him down in his crib.

Thus far, he's been much easier to put to sleep at night than Mia was.  I attribute that to a) us as parents being a bit more chill, relaxed but purposeful about "sleep training" and b) Gabe's temperament.  He just seems more calm.  He doesn't necessitate lots of coaxing and coddling as much as Mia did, although the other night he seemed legitimately fussy and just needed to fall asleep in my arms in the dark.  After having a rough time with Mia (which, bless her heart, much of it was our fault in creating bad habits), we are so thankful -- at least for the time being -- that Gabe is an easier sleeper.

He's a longer sleeper too, something I'm also not taking for granted.  While he has occasional regressions, like he did a few days ago, last night he slept from 10 to 7:30am!  He's such a good little guy and having had Mia first, I know how blessed I am to get that much sleep.  His sleep regressions the other night meant he got up 2 times in between 10 and 8.  It's always just a stage, which is what I keep telling myself.

Having two now means a few different things.  For one, I've realized it's really easy to overdose on just taking care of the baby. At first, that's all I really could do, and I was glad we had extra hands around to take care of Mia.  But now I realize they are both my responsibility and while Gabe sometimes has more pressing concerns than Mia does, I can't let her feelings and her need for emotional connection and support fall by the wayside.  That's something I'm trying to be more purposeful about.

Totally unscripted senior-picture like poses of
Mia with her baby in the Moby wrap // LOVE!

Secondly, as I alluded to before, while I enjoy being on the go, and Mia does too, I've realized for feeding and sleeping purposes, it is just not a schedule I can constantly maintain.  It also is not very restful for me, and I find it physically draining. So, forcing myself to slow down has actually been a very good thing for our tiny people and for me.

Thirdly, I've realized it is actually making our days more purposeful.  It's forcing me to be a tad more organized, whether that means with meal-planning or designating my days to do x, y, or z.  I can't do everything in just one day so I have to spread out my tasks.  Even though I've been mothering for almost 3 years now, I think I took for granted some of the free time I had with just one child and I didn't have to plan as much.  Now, I plan and carve out my time a bit more carefully.  And I stand in awe of women with more than 2 kids.  Do tell me, how do you do it?  I'd love to know and learn from you.

We have good kids and good health and a good life.  It is really a good, blessed time in life. I couldn't ask for much more...maybe a little reprieve from my own brain, but that's about it ;)  Naps are good, too.

*One of my considerations is trying the full GAPS diet, if even for a few weeks or a month to see if it reverses my egg sensitivity and improves what I believe might be eczema on Gabe's arms (not bad, very mild).  If you have any interest in trying it with me, please let me know! I could use a buddy in this diet experiment!

Making a list & checking it twice

Spaghetti Noodle Brain: have you heard of it?

Girls have spaghetti noodle brains and guys have waffle brains.  For girls, everything's connected like a piece of spaghetti. For guys, each thing has its own separate compartment, much like a waffle. And never think for a guy that each box in the waffle is full of thoughts, because it's not!

I definitely have spaghetti noodle brain.  This is related to that, which is related to this, which means I need to do this, which means...AHH!! I'm going crazy. I have an iPhone, which often helps me with spaghetti noodle brain (I can "quickly" look something up if I'm forgetful at the store), and I also have a pen & paper at home so I can jot something down real quick if I need to. I'm a visual-verbal-kinetic person, so to remember the sensation of writing something down and then reading it really helps me stay on track.

So, now that you've taken a quick walk inside how some of my brain works, I say all that to say, I'm finally doing my freezer meal planning. Probably about 2 weeks too late, but hey, better late then never, right?

The Freezer Meal Plan

Currently I have 3 "grains/legumes" soaking: black beans, quinoa and lentils.  (In case you need a quick primer on how to soak said food items, check out Healing Naturally by Bee's cheat-sheet!)  I loved everyone's suggestions from the freezer meal suggestion post and am incorporating the recipes I already know first, and in time I think I might try yours as well.  So far a lot of my planned freezer meals are soups.  With winter coming often comes depressed immunity, so maybe I'm just psychic and am hoping my soups made with homemade broth will keep us on the up & up.  Because I'm pretty sure my sleeping won't :-\

Here's my plan, should the Lord will me to see that these recipes actually meet their fruition before bambino's born!

• Chicken Quinoa Stew
• Hamburger Barley Soup
• Black Bean Soup using "Sofrito"
• Lentil Soup
• Chicken Enchiladas (probably this recipe)

Last weekend, I already froze what we didn't eat of Wellness Mama's 5 ingredient Crockpot Chili - bean free, which was was super easy and tasty.

I'm also planning to soak great northern beans so I'll have beans ready for our White Chili recipe, and in my crockpot right now are chicken bones simmering so I'll have some more chicken stock to use in all these said recipes! (My freezer stash of chicken stock is quickly depleting).  

If I can be so productive tomorrow, I'm hoping to knock out maybe 2-3 of these recipes or at least get them started.  I accidentally picked up parsley instead of cilantro at the store so I won't be able to completely put together my sofrito just yet, but I can go ahead and chop the other veggies.  We ate that black bean soup with the sofrito last winter and it was really yummy!  Goes well with some kind of crunchy gluten free bread :D

-----

And speaking of the bambino, here's what I didn't tell you a couple of weeks ago, because it clearly meant NOTHING.

The Crazy Doctor's Appointment which nearly sent me into hysterics

I had my 35 week appointment 3 weeks ago and I had the Group Beta Strep test. This is a pretty important test because you are cultured to see if you are a carrier of GBS. If you are positive, the hospital protocol is to administer IV antibiotics during labor so hopefully you won't pass it onto your baby. Being a carrier does not necessarily mean you will pass it on to your baby or that he/she will get GBS, but it can be pretty serious if the baby gets it.  Fortunately, I passed my GBS test and was negative! I feel like I've had enough with antibiotics during my life so if I can avoid it one more time I'm quite happy. Well, while I was being tested for GBS, my doctor did an internal exam (um, hello! only 35 wks! -- was a little surprised to be honest) and told me I was already dilated about 2 cm, 50% effaced, and the baby was at the -1 station.  Her reaction really freaked me out.  She thought I would likely have the baby within the next 1-2 weeks.  As I said, I was only 35 weeks. Which meant at most, in her mind, I'd make it to 37 weeks. She then added, "Of course you could make it to your due date and then you'd be frustrated with me."

Well here I am, sitting on my heiny in my home, blogging, at 38 weeks.  And I'm not in labor.  And I have no idea how dilated I am at this point, or when the baby is coming.  But the doctor really sent us into freakout mode for a while, which was good because things needed to get done, but may have been a bit preemptive.  With Mia I never thought I would go early (and I hardly did, she was born within her 40th week).  I say it was preemptive because at 38 weeks, knowing I could totally go 2 more weeks and be just fine, I wake up every day and think, could this be it? Surely, I hope not, because I do not feel ready (must.stock.my.freezer)! And then again, other days I'm ready to get this show on the road!

The truth about labor ... and the bambino

I know, just as well as from hearing it with Mia, and from saying it to others, the baby will come when he is ready.  My chiropractor once told me some hormone between mom and baby sync up when labor is ready to start and before then there's not much you can do about it. So, I need to let things lie and just get on with my business.  The only reason I'd want him to come earlier is for health reasons, which is an entirely different subject---

This guy's growth is slowing down (he's still growing but no longer in the middle of his peer group with respect to weight), so we don't want him to fall too far down the percentile rankings.  Yet, all his other signs look good, including the amniotic fluid and his movements and breathing, heart rate, etc.  Maybe Greg & I just make small babies.  What more can we do?  I'm eating as much real food as I can stomach! ;)

Weekend Recap

And all of that to say, we had a great weekend and Halloween. Like another friend who is due any day (more so than I am), I'm glad we didn't have an October baby because it meant I got to experience one more fun weekend with Mia.  We took her to a horse farm way out in Oldsmar on Saturday and had a blast.  There was so much to do we literally couldn't do everything.  

They had plenty of farm animals to pet & feed, a hayride, "train rides," a pumpkin patch, hay to climb, pony rides, face painting, craft making, swings/playground, snakes, a tire swing...you name it, it was there.

A Zorse: offspring of a male zebra & female horse

And Mia was once again, Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween. But she figured out her costume this year, actually kept on the cape, and liked the hood.

getting ready for Kindermusik class

All prepped to "trick or treat!"

Cheesing with Braden in front of a totally decked out Halloween house

To tie this awfully long post back together, I'm still making lists, and still crossing off items. If I were to go into labor tonight, would I have everything ready? Not in my ideal world. We'd make do, though.  I'm 38 weeks, and this is Megan C., signing off.

Let's have a Nice November, shall we?

Redeeming the time...

I'm 37 weeks as of yesterday and October is almost over! I just knew September & October would fly by but I couldn't have expected it to pass this quickly.

Normally I'm not one of those DIY people who prides themselves on all that they accomplish, although in actuality I wish I was a bit more that way.  However, call it nesting or call it just getting down to business, Greg & I have been busy getting things ready in our home for baby #2, even if it still sort of resembles a train wreck around here.  (The problem is getting things out & then putting them away, it seems. A good lesson for all of us in this family!!)  Lately we've been very DIY-y around here, much thanks to...

My brother & sister-in-law who graciously took Mia off our hands on Saturday and to the zoo. She had SO much fun and the pictures they took with her were incredibly precious. Greg & I were so appreciative of the time they spent with her and how they made her feel special. She is so blessed to have local aunts & uncles who take an interest in her. Here's some of the fun they had!

Ranger Mia

Her new giraffe - she requested Allison take her picture & show her!

Looks like she had a pretty stinkin' good time.  Allison said she sang the whole way home -- not in the least surprised!


While they were busy exploring the zoo, Greg & I had a quick Starbucks date, ran by Home Depot, and then hurried home to work on hanging curtains in 2 rooms, setting up the crib bedding (again) and framing some new artwork that had just arrived.
The curtains that we put up in the bambino's room were from Ikea and as such, were "no-sew" hemming, meaning I had to iron on adhesive at the hem where I wanted it to fall, and then cut it off. Having never done such a thing before I was very nervous I'd mess it up, so I probably spent about 50% longer on that project than was really required, but they turned out pretty well!

New curtains with tie-backs

Arbor artwork from art.com, frames from Ikea

New Anthropologie knobs on dresser/changing table

artwork as it is hung

Greg meanwhile hung up a double curtain rod in our room so we could hang some gauzy, airy, almost sheer and off-white curtains that will be the base of another set of curtains (to eventually be selected and purchased).  We have sliding glass doors off of our master bedroom, and with it come those pretty much unattractive vertical blinds, and the gauzy curtains soften up the look of the room quite a bit, while adding a touch of privacy.  Sorry, no pictures of that yet!

Since then, most of my time has been spent trying to enjoy these last days with Mia before everything changes again.
Last Friday, after my 36 week dr's appointment, we spent the morning with Miss Ashley & Amelia, Mia's little buddy. We completed a fall art project that included finger painting paper, stenciling out leaves, and creating a fall wreath.  Mia had a blast painting and running around with Amelia, and as always I loved spending time with Ashley. She is such a warm hostess and makes amazing cider!

Other than that, we've spent much more time outside as the weather has been beautiful...a slight breeze and sun, and Mia & I have taken our fair share of excursions outside of the house.
One morning to Wiregrass, another morning to the library, a stop at Walgreens (oh so fun), and yesterday, we redeemed a Groupon at a local German restaurant! Not your typical lunchtime destination for a mom & a 2 year old, but it was quite an experience and totally worth repeating.  I'm trying to make these days memorable ... not only for myself but also for Mia.  I hope she doesn't get cabin fever after the baby is born but there will only be so much that can be done initially. And since I'm all sentimental I've been snapping as many pictures as possible!

Train ride at Wiregrass - Ticket: $3

Sharing a lemonade from pretzel stand: $1.69

Lunch at Mr. Dunderbak's with Mommy: $10 (for Groupon) + $4 for tip

they have excellent homemade "pommel frites"

hopefully the only picture of Mia at a bar you'll ever see! ;)

 Enjoying a snack & my chai frap at Starbucks: $5.97

Running through the   "fields" of our front yard and picking "flowers": priceless

Greg would probably like everyone to know that on the day this picture was taken,
the yard was later mowed.
We do not live in the wilderness :D

I'm thankful we've come this far and have all the mixed emotions that come with being so close to the end.  I have my 37 week appointment tomorrow where all the normal stuff will be done plus another biophysical profile and a growth scan.  The bambino's looked pretty good thus far, and despite my fundal measurements not vastly increasing at this point, the amniotic fluid levels look good, which mean his growth is less likely in jeopardy.

If there was ever anything to complain about (and I shouldn't, because it could ALWAYS be ten times worse), it's that I've switched to Heparin now instead of Lovenox, which means I have to give myself injections twice daily now.  And since the syringes don't hold the full vial of Heparin, it means I actually have to give myself 2 injections, twice daily.  Yep, that's right, you did the math correctly: 4 injections. Aren't I lucky? I'll be put back on Lovenox for 6 weeks after the baby is born, so in a way, I'd actually prefer to deliver earlier than later if it means only one shot a day.  We'll see what happens though.  Everything else is pretty stinkin' good.

Enjoying this time while it lasts!