Away For Too Long

Wow, it’s amazing what having a baby does to your free time!  Pretty much everything I enjoy got pushed to the back burner, household chores were set to simmer and baby tending became practically the only thing I did.  It still seems like all I do is housework and caring for the kids, but hey, that’s my job, right!  lol  I’ve been meaning to update this blog with Fidget’s birth story, but it’s really kinda hard to do blog work when you’ve only got one free hand and let’s face it…Fidget wants to eat all the time, so when I’m not being held down on the couch under 12lbs of baby, I’m attempting to motivate myself to clean.  at least the laundry is getting done again, the kitchen is staying pretty clean and everyone is fed.  So there are some dust bunnies that might be planning a coup hanging around in the corners, but everyone is fed and clean and that’s what matters, right?

I have managed to get some crafty things done.  I’ve still been getting my Monday nights off so I can go to Craft Night.  I’ve set aside the crochet hooks for now and have been knitting.  I’ve got 2 things going on the circulars, but one I set aside because I changed my mind about its destination.  I’m still going to finish it and maybe when things settle down after Bug starts school again (he’ll be a Kindergartner this year!) I’ll start up my Etsy shop.  I’ve got the name all secured and a few things already crafted…I just need to find the time to properly list things…and have access to the car so I can go to the post office.

Anyway, I probably shouldn’t talk too much about the 2 things I’m working on because the one is a present for my close friend, (Auntie) Shannon, who is having a baby in October.   Let’s just say: baby blankets.

On the kid front, Fidget is doing well.  He’s nearly 3 months old and is already holding his head up well, loves his tummy time, is reaching for toys, “talks” and smiles a lot (when he’s not cranky) and is sleeping through the night (from 8 or 9pm to 5 or 6am).  He’s also a total mama’s boy!  He loves me and kinda cries when Daddy holds him…He doesn’t nap real well during the day, just catnaps while he’s taking a bottle.  Occasionally I can get him in his crib for almost an our; sometimes less, sometimes more…I guess I can’t complain too much, I do get the whole night.

Bug is doing well, too.  We haven’t done too much this summer.  It’s kinda hard with a baby in tow…one who always wants to eat.  It never fails that as soon as we get somewhere I have to break out a bottle and find a seat…I’d love to take him out and let him ride his bike out front, but after the pitbull attack on the young woman from down the street, I’ve been quite a bit hesitant about walking in that area (it’s 2 houses down and the homeowner denies that the dog was his (he claims he was dog sitting) despite the fact that it’s been there for many months and already attacked 2 other dogs (with no report filed).)  He whisked the dog away while the EMT’s were working on the girl and gave the Animal Control officer a wrong number for the supposed owner…seems a little skeevy if you ask me!

Anyway, we have made some time just for Bug, which has been nice.  Darling Hubby took a Friday off and we him to a little amusement park.  It was nice because he didn’t have to wait for anyone else (we usually go with a group) and he could pick and choose what rides he wanted to go on.  I even took him on the little roller coaster and Darling Hubby said his smiling face was the best.  Last Friday I met up with Little A’s mom at one of the local parks and we let the boys play.  After lunch I took Bug and Fidget up to their house to go swimming.  Bug really liked that.  Even with the wind blowing I was hardpressed to get him out of the pool.  I was freezing!  lol  Fidget loved the visit, too, cause he got to see The Kissing Bandit, Little A’s nearly 6 month old baby sister.   We put them on the floor together and she rolled right over to him and gave him a kiss!  I wish I had my camera!  lol

I do have pictures of the boys and our recent outings, but they are still on the camera and, well, it’s really hard to edit pictures with one hand!  I’ll get to it, eventually!  I really should get off the computer and go clean the kitchen before Darling Hubby gets home and wants his dinner!  lol  I think at some point I’ll make some time to finish writing up Fidget’s birth story to post.  I’ve got it started, with pictures and everything…I just need to find time…Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day!

36 Week Update

Week: 36 weeks

Weight gain total: 32 lbs…as of 36 weeks 1 day…So not happy with this, but I think part of it is that I’ve been eating crappy things and snacking a lot because I’m hungry (probably because the baby has dropped and my stomach has more room…and I also think Baby Fidget is packing on the ounces cause he’s had the hiccups constantly lately and from experience, every time Bug had the hiccups, he had a growth spurt.

Cravings/Aversions/What I’ve Been Enjoying This Week: I’ve been kinda in a funk this week, so my eating has been off.  Lots of junk food…trying to be better today!  I made some homemade banana bread Tuesday, so I’m eating a couple slices of that for breakfast, drinking more water (to ward off those pesky Braxton Hicks contractions that I seem to be getting a little more) and trying to not snack all day…

Sleep: My sleep has still been hit or miss.  Monday night I couldn’t get comfortable no matter what.  My lower back was killing me..pretty much everything below my waist was hurting.  Even with the big body pillow, I just couldn’t settle down.  I’m pretty sure that because of my lack of sleep my mood was pretty sour and I was snapping at everyone most of the day (so not loving those pregnancy hormones!)  Tuesday night I actually got a decent amount of sleep, waking twice to go pee and once just to roll over.  I woke up feeling refreshed and my mood is much lighter.  Hopefully it stays that way.  The body pillow really made a difference last night, too.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get more sleep tonight.

Belly Button and Stretch Marks: Well, my belly button has started poking out a little more.  I think there are the same amount of stretch marks…I haven’t really been paying attention to them…lol

Baby: Baby Fidget is still wiggling around like crazy and often has the hiccups.  Add to the fact that he seems to have shifted lower into my pelvis, I’m in pain quite often, esp when standing/walking.  I’m at the major waddling stage.  I feel like I’m walking like a wounded penguin!  lol

Nesting: This week seems to be my “nesting in full force” week.  Saturday I scrubbed the entire upstairs bathroom…and by scrubbed, I mean got down on my hands and knees with a sponge and cleaned all the nooks and crannies.  It took me pretty much all day to accomplish because I had to take frequent breaks, and I took an extended (7 hour) break when we went to a friends house to see about taking their old TV and TV stand for our living room since they want to get an new one, and so Bug and his best buddy, Little A could play.  Since we decided to take the TV and stand this Saturday we’ve been doing some major rearranging of our living room and office.  In order to put our old TV stand in the office we have to completely move everything around, including take out some wall shelves to accommodate taller pieces…this means I need to completely rework where things are, but the good news is, I’m dusting!  lol

Appointments: I had my weekly appointment this past Monday.  I was, once again, supposed to see Dr. Vu, but, once again, she was over at the hospital delivering.  I saw Dr. Wallingford who I really like.  He’s like the grandfatherly dr and just has a good bedside manner.  He told me he thinks Baby Fidget is about 5.5lbs and probably by the time I deliver he’ll be in the 7lb range…anything below 8.5lbs and I’m happy!  I have another appointment for next Monday with Dr. Vu (again).  Hopefully the 3rd time will be the charm!  lol  I also get to be the recipient of the Group B Strep test…fun!  I may also have her check me to see if there is anything going on that might give me the early delivery date.  We’ll also schedule my weight check ultrasound for the following week (38 weeks).  I’m getting excited that I’ll be full term next Wednesday.  I’m still hoping for an early delivery, esp since Baby Fidget is sitting so low…fingers crossed.

Preparing for baby: I haven’t done much preparing for the baby specifically.  There are things we still need to get…maybe this weekend we’ll go out and see about finishing up the last of the tasks.  It is supposed to be a rainy weekend anyway.  Why not go out looking for a touch lamp…lol

Other stuff on my mind: My raging hormones!  I swear my family thinks I’m a homicidal maniac or something.  I can go from perfectly fine and happy to royally pissed off to having a complete and total crying meltdown in seconds flat…and I know in the back of my mind what I’m getting worked up about is totally not worth getting worked up over…I just can’t help it.  At least I’m not making jello for anyone this pregnancy (there’s a funny back story about me making jello for Darling Hubby when pregnant for Bug…)  Anyway, I’m hoping that the next few days are better…I’m really not liking myself when I get like that and I’m sure my family is pretty sick of me, too…At least I laughed this morning when I dropped the tv remote and it busted in half…maybe that’s a good sign…

I was also getting a little worried about finding someone to watch Bug for us when we need it and thankfully our friends (Little A’s parents) have offered to watch Bug whenever necessary, even if it’s in the middle of the night.  It’s actually a load off my mind and Bug would really be happy hanging out with his best bud.

Theoretically, my ideal delivery would go something like this.  I go into labor in the morning (a Friday would be good), say around 7am.  We get ready and drop Bug off at school by 7:45 and head over to the hospital.  I labor for a few hours, deliver naturally (probably with an epidural and no tearing!) around lunchtime.  Darling Hubby then goes out to pick Bug up from school at 2 and we have our first family of 4 gathering before dinner time!  I know that’s not how it’s going to work, but a girl can hope, right!  lol

Here’s this week’s picture, taken by Bug. Please pardon my hair…I’d been cleaning and rearranging the office most of the day and hadn’t hopped in the shower yet.  Does Fidget look lower from the last 2 pictures?  He does to me, but I’m having a hard time telling.

36 Weeks Pregnant

Busy, Busy, Busy

It’s been too long since I sat down and composed a post.   I’ll fall back to my typical excuse…life got in the way.

Let’s see…I pretty much need to sum up the month of July!  The 4th of July was a day spent at home.  It was Darling Hubby’s birthday so we fried some chicken, made some KFC style coleslaw and ate out on the patio.  I made a pineapple upside down cake, which is Darling Hubby’s favorite.  We decided to forgo the fireworks downtown.  None of us really like /traffic and Bug doesn’t like loud noises, so we sat at home and watched the downtown fireworks on the news.  The next day we went over to our friends house so Bug could play with his buddy, Little A.

They had a grand time sword fighting in the bouncy bounce

and swimming in the chilly (it wasn’t so bad once you got in) pool.

The next Friday, Auntie Shannon joined Bug and I on a trip to the playground.  We packed a picnic lunch, loaded up the wagon and walked over to the playground.  Bug had so much fun hanging with his cool Auntie Shannon.  They played on all the equipment from the swings to the slides.  I had fun catching up with an old college friend and coworker.

Over the weekend, we went down to visit family.  Saturday we stayed with my parents.  Bug had fun riding in Grandpa’s wagon as it was pulled behind the tractor.  We were collecting rocks to bring home with us to make a stone wall at the bottom of our driveway and it was easier to load the wagon than to carry them!  Saturday was also a good day for wildlife at my parents house.  We saw a Mama deer and her fawn, who was the bounciest thing.  There was a baby bunny and even a tiny hummingbird.   I have pictures of all that, but I haven’t edited them yet…

On Sunday we went to see some of Darling Hubby’s family.  His father, brother, wife and kids came out from New Mexico for a visit.  We hadn’t seen them since Christmas ’07.  It was a nice visit.  We took a ton of family pictures.  Here are some of my favorites.

This past weekend, I got together with Auntie Shannon and 2 of our neighbors and we had a multi-family garage sale.  We didn’t make much money, but we got some stuff out of our spare room and will be donating most of the stuff that didn’t sell to Goodwill and the books will go to the local public library for their book cellar.  I finally got my spare room back and can now move around in there and have room to hang my laundry to dry on rainy days.  Overall, it was a nice weekend.  We had a good time talking and learning more about each other and were able to trade a bunch of stuff with each other.  We picked up a ceiling fan to put in the spare room…the only room with a ceiling light that doesn’t have one (aside from the dining room, which has a chandelier).  We got some new books, a table to go next to our papasan chair on the porch (which we were going to sell, but Darling Hubby decided he liked it too much and took it back) and some other miscellaneous things.  I think I might ask our neighbors if I can have the old black rocker they had.  It’s kinda beat up and needs to be recovered, but it was nice and might be worth the effort of fixing  it.

Other than the big things on the weekends, I’ve been working on finishing Bug’s blanket for school.  I have all the 2″ squares crocheted and sewn together.  I just need to figure out how to attach the fabric backing.  It looks really nice.  I’ll post about it later when I get pictures taken. I’ve also been crocheting various things to give my mil for a convention they are having.  On my Monday night craft night I started making this bag.  If it works out well, I might make one for myself with smaller holes so my stuff won’t fall out.

In the weight loss/exercise department…well, I was pretty bad when we visited family and ended up gaining 3lbs because I kept noshing on the cookies that I baked to bring…sadly, I haven’t been good about working out lately either.  In the past 3 weeks I’ve worked out once…and that was yesterday!  I am happy to report that by watching what I’m eating I’ve lost those 3lbs I gained and one more to boot!  I’m officially down to 148!  I’m trying to be good this week and work out more, but so far I haven’t been sucessful.  Maybe tomorrow!

Cthulhu and Play Dates

So this weekend was fun.  Bug had a play date each afternoon and he had so much fun.  Saturday morning we ran to Joann’s to get some yarn for the blanket that I’m making for Bug to take to school and then we did our grocery shopping for the next 2 weeks before doing a little yard work.  In otherwords, digging up the 4 rose bushes and a hosta in my front yard that just needed to go.  They were climbers that were not in a place to have anything to climb and so entangled with this very tall grass that there was no easy way (read: a way without getting completely scratched to shreds by the inch long barbs) to clear out the grass without removing the bush…plus, I was never a fan of those roses…they came with the house…I want to find something else to put in that bed.

Around 4, our friends dropped off their son Little A to play so they could go to dinner and do a little Easter shopping.  Bug and A had so much fun, despite Bug getting injured by a thrown toy early on in the afternoon.  A little TLC and some juice and he was back to playing.  While they were engrossed in playing with some cars, Darling Hubby ran to Target and bought a Spider-man Bop bag so the 2 could smack it around a bit (it’s what they were doing with a hard toy when Bug got hurt (just seconds before I could utter the warning to stop before some got hurt, mind you)…we figured a $4 bop bag would be a good investment so there were no more injuries.  While no one else got hurt, there were lots more tears.  Bug must have been overtired because ever little thing set him off before A’s parents picked him up.  Needless to say, Bug had an early bedtime!

Sunday was a pretty lazy day.  I did a little cleaning and prepared for Bug’s second play date of the weekend, the little girl I used to baby sit, Baby Girl…She’s not a baby anymore, though!  She’s talking up a storm and she was so different from the last time I watched her.  The only thing that shut her up the entire time she was here was when Darling Hubby came in the room…she’s never cared for him, despite the fact that he was only around a few times when I watched her and he’s never done anything to scare her.  She just has a thing against him…Anyway, her and Bug had a great time.  Together they played with cars, had car races, played with trains, cooked all sorts of foods and drinks with Bug’s play kitchen.  We colored and read all sorts of stories and she even “read” several stories to us.  It was cute that most of the stories were the same thing over and over and had nothing what so ever to do with the pictures in the book…It’s something Bug has never done, so I enjoyed it while it lasted.  Oh, and they even enjoyed the new bop bag.

On the crochet front, I haven’t been working on the Gatsby sweater, not because I haven’t wanted to, but because Darling Hubby asked me to make him a “pin cushion” of sorts to use at work.  He picked out a Tiny Cthulhu and I set to work creating it.  I made the head/tentacles/body and wings according to the pattern, but Darling Hubby wasn’t fond of the arms and wanted it to have some legs, so we sat down together and perused Ravelry to find some other patterns I could use.  We found a couple of frog patterns and I whipped up a couple arms and some short stumpy legs.  I finished him this afternoon and took a couple pictures to share (although they don’t really do it justice.)  I think he’s pretty darn cute for an evil, soul sucking, terror evoking, being.  😀

Darling Hubby will take him to work tomorrow and show him off to his buddies and put him to use.  In the mean time, I feel justified in working on Bug’s school blanket since I finished an item for Darling Hubby.  😀  So far I’ve finished up the black (school roof, tires and door) and white squares (windows) and I’ve started on the red (school squares).  I have about 5 done and need 36 total.  I think I’m going to curl up  with my F hook and watch Heroes and Castle and knock out some more red squares.  I think I’ll have this blanket done in no time…I just have to keep justifying my working on it.  😀