Growing up too fast!

Sarah turns 9 months old on Thursday. She's growing up too fast! When I became a parent (10 years ago next week), I thought the "little kids" stage would last forever. And at times, it sure felt like it. Sometimes, it STILL feels like it.

But today I went into Sarah's room because she was screaming for me. I usually find her in the corner of the crib, on her stomach, her face as close to the corner as she can get it. I was surprised to find her standing. That's the first time she's pulled herself to a full stand (past kneeling). Oh, she's growing up too fast!

Sarah and Joseph

Guess who is two months old today?! That two months has really gone by quickly. It does pass more slowly at night. I was trying to change a diaper last night and couldn't keep my eyes open! I've fallen asleep doing a lot of things, but never changing a diaper. It was only 12:45 am or close.

But I survived, as all mothers (somehow) do. And isn't she worth it? I just took these pictures of her. I was calling her name and she was looking around for me, but I think I was still too far away to focus on. (If I get too close with the camera, the flash takes over.) She gave me a couple of half smiles and I tried to capture them.

She's survived two months. Kudos to her parents for not failing in their efforts.

These next pictures are of Joseph...well, his feet anyway. This shot is from this morning. I couldn't resist getting the camera when I noticed a size 4 sandal paired with a size 5 church shoe. Each shoe was on the wrong foot. I told him to stop so I could get a picture of his feet and he stopped to hold one up to the camera for me. I finally got him to show me both at the same time.

And this picture is nearly 12 hours later. He'd fallen asleep (finally) and I noticed his feet. At least this time he got the left church shoe on the left foot. I suppose this means he has two left feet. Apparently he has no lungs because I don't know how he's breathing under there!

Silly Joseph. He turns two in two and half weeks. He's already practicing his terrible two tantrums. He's really quite good!

Announcement

This is almost as good as announcing the birth of the baby...almost.

I am announcing the BIRTHDAY of the baby...27 August 2009 (Thursday).

Our appointment is for 7:30 AM. We have to be to the hospital at 5:30. Good thing the drugs will make me sleepy. I'm going to need a nap! :)

Last Minute Prep

This baby isn't coming for another 4 weeks, but I feel like I'm making last minute preparations already.

For example, I just barely made dentist appointments for the oldest 4. School starts in 2 weeks. I thought for sure it would be impossible. Surprisingly, I got all 4 of them in on Thursday afternoon. I love smaller communities...even though we're driving into the "big" city to get to the dentist. I was just hoping I could get it done before the baby got here. That should be plenty of time. :)

Another last minute prep. I swept and mopped the kitchen floor this morning (let the spill fest begin). Yes, I did say the baby was not coming for another 4 weeks. But around here, this qualifies as last minute prep. I'm not sure it's going to get done again before then. It's embarrassing to admit, but I'm really the only one who cares much and I'm getting less and less likely to attempt it.

One more last minute job...the laundry room floor. That room is quite disgusting. There is cat food and cat hair littered around, thanks to a momma and 6 kittens living in there. We have an endless supply of boots and shoes "kicking" around in there, too. There are some other things that shouldn't be there as well as the normal dirt and stuff you would expect to find at the outside door to a farmyard. I tried to get the kids out into the garden to weed while the temp was cool this morning. I found them out there harassing a cat. But when I suggested they find some big sticks and beat the rugs, they all gleefully went searching for the biggest stick they could find. How do I make the garden so exciting?

I've had a little rest now and I'm back to my last minute preps (namely the laundry room horror). Swimming lessons are in an hour. There's always something.

I hope she likes blue!

I finished crocheting the baby's blessing afghan last week. I noticed my fingers going numb near the end of the project, so I was anxious to get the colored afghan finished before my pregnancy progressed too far. (I make an afghan to use at church while the babies are tiny. Then I pack it away to give to them when they are grown.)

So I was in a bit of dilemma. The baby MAY be a boy, but the doctor wasn't sure enough to get himself into trouble by saying anything definite. I watched the ultrasound video. I sure can see why he would think it could be a boy.

Well, I don't have a lot of patience and finally decided to get a nice, soft blue yarn and get started on that Sunday afghan. I want to get the blanket done before I have too much more numbness in my fingers. (I crocheted TONS of afghans - baby and regular sizes - when I was pregnant with Daniel. The numbness was so bad that I didn't get complete feeling back into my finger tips until months after Daniel was born.) I figured that a very pale blue would still work for a little girl. I mean, really. I LOVE blue. It's not just a boy color!

Then I was at Wal-Mart last night. I have been trying to find a blue flannel that didn't have little pictures all over it - just a calm, simple pattern. I found a gingham type print of dark blue and then chose a navy blue blanket trim. So if this baby ends up really being a girl, I hope she likes blue. If not, it will be a funny story about how she was once 80% boy.

Then again, I bought some pink flannel several months ago that I haven't washed yet. So if I can just hold on until the next ultrasound, and hope for a definite answer, I'll be prepared for either outcome.

I'll post pictures of both afghans when I finish the blue one.

80%

We had our 2nd ultrasound this morning. My bladder was near bursting and they called me back half an hour late. I love doctors' offices.

The baby seems to be healthy and was moving about during the ultrasound. Unfortunately, it wasn't moving around enough to give us a really clear view, so the doctor wasn't exactly sure what he could see.

He's 80% sure it's a boy. He'll look again in 4 weeks. Until then, we need to get some boy names rolling around in our heads. I have a girl name all ready.

I hadn't really had any impressions either way what this one was. I would like a girl to even out the numbers in the family, but I've been wondering how Joseph would feel being surrounded by girls. So either way, we'll just be glad for a healthy baby.

So this story has a sequel. Until next time...

Baby Must-Haves

There are many baby products on the market and I'm sure many of them are useful. I am a little suspicious though and don't like to buy many new things without trying them out or hearing a good recommendation. For those of you like myself, I have a couple of good recommendations.

You've already read my recommendation for the baby swing. Refresh your memory here.

I would like to suggest the next two items as necessities.

First is Aquaphor oinment. It's made by Eucerin. It's kind of like suped up petroleum jelly. I have been using it since Daniel was a baby and have been recommending it since then. It clears up diaper rash nearly overnight and seems to be less irritating to broken skin. It also works wonders on chapped skin of any age. It's not cheap (approx. $8 a tube), but worth the price. Buy at least two so you can keep one at home and one in the diaper bag. I use it often on Rebekah since she scratches herself to the point of bleeding. Curse her dry skin!
Find it at Wal-Mart and Walgreens and most pharmacies.

Second is Hyland's Teething Tablets. These are little white, dissolvable pills. They relieve teething pain almost immediately and are homeopathic. Since they are all natural, you don't have to worry about overdosing. This is very lucky for us, because Daniel, Nathan and Leah all helped themselves to the bottles I had around for the current babies. I've just started using them for Joseph (yes, we've entered that stage...yes, it's going to be miserable for a while) and I'm sure that Rebekah will find the little bottle eventually. That's just how she operates! The bottles come in different pill counts, but expect to spend $5-7 for a bottle. I'm about to pick up a second bottle for the diaper bag. Find these in pharmacies as well.
*I did try Orajel teething medicine for Daniel and found that it just slipped right off his gums and wasn't very effective. I've never gone back.

Happy Halloween to you

Here's Daniel at school for his Halloween party. This picture was taken less than 45 minutes ago. Talk about FRESH!

We're attending our ward Halloween party tonight. Our last function as local residents. We've now spent two nights in our new house. We still have a bunch of junk to move over.

I had a dr.'s appt this morning. My blood pressure is up (for me) and my hands and feet are beginning to swell. Thirteen days until this baby is here!

Closing today

We have our closing scheduled for 3 pm this afternoon. This means I'll be cleaning much of the day tomorrow.

We got a better look at the roof and more information. It's not the best fix (and, uh, I could have done it that well), but it looks like it will be ok for now. We're still getting $150 credit to have it properly done when we're ready. It's because of a bunch of cables that are fastened to the outside of the house. (Apparently, part of the house was once used as a call center of some sort.) When they put the cables up, they drilled through the siding and now water drips along the roof and cables into the hole. And it's on the back side of the garage, leaking into the sheathing of the garage wall = no damage to the walls of the house itself.

Anyway, I'm really grateful that we've got plans to replace the carpet since we were overcome with the stench of pet odor in the master bedroom. She must have a had a good air freshener going when we walked through before! I've got to shampoo the carpets that aren't being removed and clean, clean, clean. The bathrooms and kitchen were left in a pretty state and the walls of the house are badly in need of paint. Have I mentioned that I'm having a baby soon? It may even be sooner!

Speaking of having this baby, my delivery has been formally scheduled with the hospital. We have to be there at 5:30 am on 13 November. That's exactly 4 weeks from today!! I'd be dishonest if I said I wasn't looking forward to the drugs that will force me into sleep. I wish I had some already! Now if I could just find some way to keep the nurses away from me so I can really get some rest! :)

I have been scrapbooking some old pictures of myself. It was because of a challenge we had with our ward SB group. I caution you, one of them is of me in a bikini...so peek at your own risk!


Rebekah was arguing with me because she thought these were pictures of her. I think I've finally convinced her that Mommy used to be little, too!

Walk Through this afternoon

We finally have our walk through this afternoon! FINALLY! We have some measuring that we want to do for new carpet.

The seller was supposed to investigate and fix a leak in the roof of the house that has been leaking for a while (years). It took the roof guy nearly 3 weeks to get his lazy behind out there and all he ends up doing is caulking the roof where it's leaking! He was supposed to pull back some of the roof and make sure that the water didn't do any internal damage, and the inspector was supposed to get a peek, too. After that, he was supposed to flash the roof where it meets the side of the house its butted up against. Instead, he decided that he could determine that there was no internal damage from his viewpoint and just caulked it. When the realtor mentioned that it was supposed to be flashed, he said that would be another $150 to go back out there and do that. So they're thinking they're going to give us a $150 credit at closing.

Unfortunately, they're dealing with a cranky pregnant woman who is irritated that it took this long to even get to the roof and that this genius roof guy just made his own decisions. If they're going to give us a credit, it's going to be for more than $150! And I want a different roof guy!

SO, if we can work all that out, there is a chance that we could close today. If not, then likely tomorrow. After a day's wait, we can start ripping out carpet and moving some stuff over. Hopefully, the carpet can be installed at the beginning of the week.

We have one more week in this ward. I am teaching one more RS lesson. They did call a new teacher to replace me, but she's unable to teach next week, so I guess I'm subbing! That's kind of what happened when we left Washington. It must be tradition.

I had my dr's appt. today. I hit 190 lbs. Ugh. I hope this is a 35 lb baby! I'm now on weekly appointments. I get to go back on Halloween morning. Right in the middle of moving.

I did have some productivity this morning. I did a load of laundry, swept and mopped the kitchen/dining/laundry/bathroom floors, and made two loaves of bread before rushing out the door just before 9:30. I was a little late for my appt., but I'm sure it made little difference in my wait time.

I made just one scrapbook page this week. I would probably make more if this chair was a little softer!

This one is from Rebekah's blessing, nearly two years ago. She has changed a lot!

I've nearly finished the blessing outfit for this baby. I worked on it several days in a row and then took a long weekend. I need to get it finished in the next day or so. It's a little jumper with a jacket, so there's the reason for taking so long. This little guy is getting blessing during an Idaho winter...he needs a jacket! :)

Not nesting

I think I'm supposed to be "nesting" right now. Since I've been having to keep the house pretty clean, I don't have a lot to do that isn't constantly being done. And I can't get the nursery ready or the little clothes prepped because they are in storage for another couple of weeks.

I have accomplished some things lately. I finished the baby's Sunday afghan (blue) and his flannel crib blanket (purple). I tied Leah's blanket (pink/purple/yellow) and got it on her bed last Saturday. That was quite an adventure. I had to lay it out on the floor and roll myself into a ball to tie the darned thing. I made the binding and sewed it on during Saturday's Conference sessions. I was very relieved to realize that I was all caught up on kids' blankets! I don't have any that need to be started or finished right now. YIPPEE!

I performed a miracle yesterday and spent a couple hours quilting the quilt on my frame yesterday. It's been at least 6 months since I advanced the fabric to a new position. I finally did yesterday. I'm still not quite 1/4 done. (And there's another one to put on after this one is done.)


I cut out the pattern and material for the baby's blessing outfit today. I had to sit down several times during the process to give my back a rest. I could have used another 4-5 inches in height on my cutting table. I'm short, but today it just wasn't enough!

There's only 5 1/2 weeks to go before this baby meets his crazy family. I'm glad. I've been having several contractions a day. They are most inconvenient and pointless, too. The baby is running out of room and trying to make larger accommodations for himself. Luckily, he's low, so my rib cage hasn't been too abused.

When we talk about Halloweens costumes around here, we say the baby already has his costume: Mommy.

We recently survived two weeks of school break. That's probably one of the reasons I haven't posted recently. I was glad the bus came around Tuesday morning. I had barely recovered from the summer and then the kids had two weeks off. It was a long two weeks.

It snowed twice during those two weeks. Last Saturday it snowed until sometime in the afternoon and didn't completely melt until Monday or Tuesday.

We really need the moisture around here, but we're trying to close on a house that needs some roof work and sprinkler work done. Rain and melting snow make the ground soggy and the roof continues to leak.

We've only had two people look at our house. The first were looking for a house they could put an apartment in and the second decided to stay in the city they were from. We almost had someone look today, but the agent's phone died and the appointment was never completed. The irony was that the agent was two houses down and I could see him on the phone. I knew he had called our realtor. I would have let them in if only they had asked!

If you wanted to check out my latest scrapbook pages, you could find them here. There are a couple of mine and some from other people, too.

And that's what we've been up to lately. You haven't missed much. :)

I could be sleeping

But I'm not sure how. I was almost asleep once, but then Leah came into our room whimpering that she had to go to the bathroom. I was so close! Now I'm dueling being tired with being itchy (there's another one right now) and having an active mind. Oh yeah, and someone keeps kicking me around.

The fact that I'm married to a nighttime lumberjack shouldn't be an issue anymore, but it doesn't help the current situation. He's sawed enough logs to build us a lodge in Yellowstone. How does someone snore while lying on their stomach? I thought that was a back thing. (No offense, Chad.)

My next desperate act is to take 1/2 a unisom and hope to slip into unconsciousness. That will make it harder to get up in the morning, but so does staying awake until 3 AM (since I know that from past experience).

At least the weather has finally cooled. My sweat glands are getting a rest. So are my olfactories since I don't have to smell myself quite so much. Now I'm finally comfortable, but the rest of the family is cold. Yesterday morning, the kids were wearing jackets to breakfast. Crazy.

I've been trying to clean the house up (seems I'm always doing this), but have been thwarted by an unseen force of laziness. I just don't want to do anything. Of course, the knowledge that if I do clean the kids will hide it under a fresh coat of clutter has me completely unmotivated. I mostly try to stay caught up enough to make it look nice for visiting teachers or some other visitors with limited notice. If anyone comes by and wants to venture past the living room, we're all in for some heavy embarrassment.

We've decided that it's time to get rid of the kittens. It's been a hard decision because they are so sweet and well-behaved. But we just feel a little silly paying $80/month for Daniel's allergy medicine and not even get rid of the problem. Unfortunately, we live in the country and are not the only ones with kittens to adopt out. I know I could "drop them off" somewhere, but it just doesn't seem responsible. I can take them to the shelter for a $15/kitty fee. It may come down to that.

I have a "due date" for the delivery of this ever growing baby. I like to think of it as an eviction date: 13 November. That's on a Tuesday. I'm not superstitious, but I still don't love the 13th. I don't have much choice, unless nature finally decides to take a part in this process. So now I can count weeks. That's 9 weeks from today, one week "early" if counting gestationally. This baby will be over 8 lbs. Luckily, I've not gained as much this time. It must be all the tomatoes this summer. Or the fact that I'm too lazy to get up and forage for food.

And now it's 12:30 AM. I'm supposed to be helping out in Nathan's classroom less than 8 hours from now. I guess it's time for that unisom. That or a big swig of Benadryl and a wack on the head!

Epilogue (the next morning):
I thought I was going to bed, but heard tiny meowing out in the backyard. I found that DARN momma cat with MORE KITTENS!!!! So at 1 AM I was running through my backyard in my pj's hunting kittens. I caught one then and put it in a little carrrier in the garage. I caught the other one this morning. I think she only had two this time. I'm going to use them for bait to catch that stupid cat and get her out of my backyard. This is the 3rd time in less than 15 months that she's used us for a maternity ward. That is one desirable female feline! I'm calling the shelter later today. I refuse to pay any $$ to get rid of this one. I'd still like to give the neighbors that abandoned her a large piece of my mind. That and their kids have been back recently, causing additional menacing problems.

SO AMERICA: SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!

Anyway, I got about 4 hours of sleep last night. It wasn't solid and it wasn't restful = a nap for sure this afternoon. No one call me between noon and 3 PM.

A boring update

At least it seems boring to me. That's partly why I haven't posted anything for a while. I can't get excited enough by my life to consider it good reading for anyone else. But here I go anyway. I apologize in advance.


The kids finished swimming lessons on the 21st. Daniel passed Level Two and will be starting Level Three next Monday. Nathan did not pass his 2nd attempt at Level One. He just wouldn't float. I think he has trust issues. Leah did not pass her 1st attempt at Level One. I didn't expect her to. I was surprised she made it through the whole class since we almost dropped out after the 3rd day. Nathan and Leah can wait until next summer to try again. Rebekah faithfully accompanied me to the bleachers to watch every day.





On the last day of lessons, they all got to jump (or be dropped) off the diving board and go down the water slide. Leah only felt it necessary to go down the slide once. I'm glad I got a picture! (Though now I see that this Daniel, not Leah.)





I have been crocheting a blessing afghan for the baby. I got halfway through it and then started over because the matching (no dye lot) yarn I got for the second skein didn't match in color (white) or texture. So I have a lot of practice on that.

I did finally get back to my quilting frame. I quilted for about an hour and a half the other night. I stood back and couldn't see much progress. Very discouraging.

I finally made it back into my sewing room and finished the next quilt block for the year. This is June's. Here it is. Kind of weird colors. Definitely unique.

I have mostly made it through my morning sickness. (As evidenced by my recent return to quilting and sewing.) I have even started making menus and cooking again! It's a miracle! I still get really tired at inconvenient times. What is convenient? Bedtime would be good. That's usually when I can't sleep.

I got a new calling at church, too. I was a grouchy beast all through my morning sickness and just as I start feeling better and nicer, they release me! Now I teach the 4th Sunday lessons in Relief Society. These are the Teachings For Our Times lessons which come from the most recent General Conference talks. This means that there are no suggested discussion questions.

My first Sunday in RS was the Sunday I got to teach for the first time. To make it even more exciting, I was finishing up a project that I'd already started with my Primary class...Sharing Time. So we presented our lesson in Primary, then I walked across the hall to the RS room for my next big performance. I was glad when that day was over. I sat in RS yesterday and it felt weird. I was only out for about 13-14 months. It must be really weird to return after years in Primary or Young Womens!

I'm probably missing something else really exciting that I've been up to, but I'm sure we'll all survive without knowing about it.

Ultrasound Results

I have never been so close to wetting my pants as I was this afternoon. This was the 6th time I've had to drink a tub full of water for an ultrasound and I thought this would be the day that I went home with a very embarrassing pair of wet pants!

Apparently every other patient they had halfway through her pregnancy had scheduled her ultrasound today. I really would have waited a day or two. They were 20 excruciating minutes behind schedule. I was feeling so tortured, I would have told the nation's secrets! As it was, my eyes were watering.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. First, the doctor wanted to measure the baby's head. All seemed fine there. I REALLY wanted to jump up and run to the bathroom. Then he asked if we wanted to know the sex. We affirmed that we did and he moved "south." It was so obvious that I didn't need the doctor to tell me anything. He confirmed what I already knew. Leah is getting the little brother that she's been wanting. (WHY? Aren't her big brothers mean enough? Maybe she wants a chance to pay back the male race, but needs a victim smaller than herself.) Well, we joked about the view, the doctor measured a hundred more baby parts (ok, only 2 or 3 parts) and confirmed that everything was exactly as it should be. *Whew!* I was really glad to hear that part. FINALLY! I got to go to the bathroom. I've never enjoyed it more!

So now we can stop worrying about switching rooms for the kids. The boys' room is bigger and will be even bigger once we put the bunk beds together. Otherwise, we would have had to take 3 beds apart to change girls and boys and probably needed a little redecorating. I wonder how out of date my boys' clothes are. There are considerably fewer after Nathan wore many of them out. Even so, we probably still have plenty.