Photo Dump

I go nuts for stuff like this.  Our friends' grandma crocheted it for the baby.  Chris has known them since he was 10, and she's so nice she makes me a sweet potato pie every year on my birthday because she knows it's my favorite- and she makes the best sweet potato pie on the planet.

Mp3 players are more adorable when shared between 6 and 7 year olds.

We had a pretty busy weekend, but Saturday in particular was a long day.  Slim had baseball practice in the morning, we had errands to finish up, and it was my niece's 4th birthday party.  Her party was planned for the afternoon, but my dad just bought a projector off eBay and wanted to include a movie night.  Since it doesn't get dark around here until 9:30pm during the summer, we were there for about 10 hours, and didn't get home until midnight.  I barely have the stamina for that kind of thing right now, but I made it and we all had a good time- and it is really cool watching a movie on a big screen in the woods.  It's like our own personal drive-in movie theater.

The birthday girl was pretty cute.

Dear, pretending like she doesn't love the camera.  Also- she carried that purse like that for like 6 hours, not sure why.

Hello Kitty theme- here's the birthday cake I couldn't have. Waaaah.

Piñata time- Slim hit that thing like she was going for a home run and I thought for SURE she was gonna let go of the bat and kill somebody.  Spoiler alert: she didn't.

Swimming!  It was hot outside, but this pool doesn't get very warm so you have to be pretty desperate to get in.  I was and I did, but I didn't last long.

Can you tell what we watched?

Glow stick adorned audience.

I parked it here about an hour before we actually started the movie.  It was quiet!  Plus I ensured myself a good seat.

33 Weeks

The baby is... growing and kicking and taking up a lot of room these days.  According to baby center it's probably around 4 pounds, (the size of a pineapple!)  By the end of the day the baby's feet are way up in my ribs and I already feel like I'm going to burst, so I can't even imagine what it's going to be like if this baby doubles in size by the time it's born.

I'm feeling... tired.  During the day I do alright, but I'm pretty beat by 5.  By 6 all of my muscles have started to ache.  By the time I fall into bed I'm pretty uncomfortable, but despite my aches and pains, the baby's sweet dance moves, and the sheer weight of my belly just pulling on me, I pass out from exhaustion.  I wake up 2-4 times a night to pee, but I always waddle right back to bed and I'm out.

Cliche (or not!) Pregnancy Symptoms... Nothing interesting, just tired.  My belly button looks pretty flat after a meal but it hasn't popped out yet.  I think it will before the baby comes out.  No stretch marks on my tummy, but a few on my hips.  I'm rocking the signature pregnant lady waddle, and I often underestimate how far I stick out and bump my belly on stuff when I'm walking by.  So basically, I'm just big.

Gestational Diabetes... I've been getting really tired of my food limitations, so the past couple days we've tried breaking out of the rut and finding new recipes.  It's gotten harder, too.  I'm supposed to be be able to have 45 grams of carbs at meals, but really now it's more like 30 is my limit.  At breakfast I only eat about 15 grams.  A friend who had this when she was pregnant sent me some recipes on pinterest and lent me a few cookbooks.  Half of her family is persian and she gave me a couple persian cookbooks that I'm excited to try out.

Other than that it's going fine, I only get 1 or 2 high numbers in a week- and they're not that high.  I wish I didn't have to meet with the nutritionist every week, but I understand why they do it that way and I'm just going to suck it up and finish this.

I'm enjoying... the laid back pace of summer.  We have a low stress routine that's working for us, and it's been nice.

I'm looking forward to... all of it.  Baby shower.  Baby time.  Hell I'm even looking forward to bed time tonight.  I must be particularly tired this morning while I write this, because all I seem to be able to think about is sleep. Zzzzz.

WORK and MONEY and STUFF

I've often worried about my children being "spoiled" with material possessions.  Given their particular situation, for about 4 years they've always had at least biological family member trying to overcompensate for their absence with cheap gifts.  On top of that there are others who just also happen to love them, and occasionally buy them things.  Then god forbid we want to be the good guys and actually buy something every once in a while.

Some of the affects have been rooms inundated with too much stuff, asking for everything they see, and acting like 'stuff' is all that could ever make them happy while simultaneously treating EVERYTHING as disposable because "Nana will just buy me a new one on Saturday if I ask."

I don't want them to be 'spoiled' because spoiled children are annoying, but also because I don't want them to think they need excessive amounts of material goods to be happy.  I think our culture is a little obsessed with "stuff"- I know I get sucked in from time to time.  The biggest problem with it is that nothing is ever enough.  Even if you had endless amounts of money you couldn't buy enough junk to make you happy, and most of us don't so our junk comes with debt.

We've combatted these issues by

• excessive talking and lecturing, (you're creating waste, it's bad for the planet, you're taking advantage of your grandma and that's not nice to her, blah blah blah)
• by enforcing the 'one in = one out' rule 
• and when times were really desperate we've said (and enforced) "If you have any new stuff when we pick you up it's not even coming in the house, it's going straight to Good Will."  (Yes we've also pleaded with their Grandmother to cool it, since she's the main offender- she has laid off the shopping a little.)

It's been almost 3 years, but I think that we're finally to a place I can feel good about with the girls.  They appreciate (as much as a kid can) the stuff they get and the stuff they have, and they've accepted the rules and don't argue about it any more.  They can manage their stuff, they don't ask us to buy them useless crap, and they know how to say "No thanks, I don't need another pair of boots right now."

On top of that they've begun to occasionally work for money, which I think is AWESOME.  We don't pay our kids for chores.  We believe a certain amount of chores just come with being in a family and help the kids learn how to take care things they'll be responsible for as adults.  I might consider paying for certain chores, but then every time I asked them to do anything they'd want to know how much they were going to get paid for it and I'd rather just save myself the argument.  

(Skipping arguments like that is how I save my sanity- it's why Mister only has strappy sandals and no flip flops.  I don't want to argue over which are appropriate every time we leave the house and dude seriously- you're not going to die without flip flops.)

Anyway, we don't pay the girls but they've done chores for friends and family for cash.  I'm super proud of the girls for being motivated and capable enough to do jobs people are willing to pay for, and I'm really grateful we know people who are willing to provide the opportunities.

Mister is definitely behind the curve, which I think is understandable since he's quite a bit younger.  He's still stuff obsessed and he still asks people to buy him things a lot.  Since he has been so spoiled (much worse than the girls- sometimes because he's younger and sometimes because he's a boy) he sometimes confuses 'love' with 'presents'.  If someone who typically spoils him says 'No,' he gets really over emotional about it.  Then, the other night he told Chris it seemed like we don't really like him because we don't let him do whatever he wants.  At "Uncle T's house" (Chris's dad) he can do whatever he wants so "Uncle T" must love him more.  Chris tried to explain to him that he gets to do that because it's a special occasion, and if he lived there it wouldn't be like that all the time.  He told him that as parents it's our job to have rules because it's the only way for him to grow up and be healthy.  Chris did his best, but at 7 years old I doubt Mister really gets it yet.

Anyway, last night at dinner Mister kept talking about trying to sell his stuff and I finally got it out of him that it's because he thinks it's the only way he can 'work' to earn money.  It turns out his sisters are setting a good example!  I'm really glad he wants to work like them, now I just need to figure out how to make it happen.  

The problem is he's not nearly as capable as they are yet, (4 year age gap here guys), so he's not exactly 'qualified' for any of the things they've done so far.  Still, if I tell him he has to wait until he gets older he's going to be disheartened, and I want him to start learning this lesson now.  He can do things of value, so if he has something age/ability appropriate to do he can see how it feels to work hard and earn something for it.  (Something beside a "Great job!" a "Thank you!" or a sticker.)  So, I encouraged him to keep 'practicing' by doing a really great job on his chores at home and promised that I would let all of our friends and family know that he's up for hire this summer.  I told him he might have to be patient, but that eventually a job would come up.

Now as far as managing their money- I'm not even going to jump that hurdle yet.  They can spend their money on whatever they want.  Ultimately, I think personal experience is the only way to learn when it comes to money.  We give them an idea of how we manage our money, and when they're getting ready to move out on their own we'll give them advice- which they'll ignore- and when they're in trouble we'll give them advice again, and eventually they'll figure it out.  Such is life.

Numbers

I have been pregnant for 32 weeks and 5 days.

I have known I was pregnant for 27 weeks and 3 days.

I've taken about 175 prenatal vitamins.

I've had 11 appointments with the nurse practitioner, 1 appointment with a social worker at the clinic, 3 sonograms, 1 EKG, 1 3-hour glucose test, 1 gestational diabetes class, and 3 one-on-one appointments with a nutritionist.

I've gained 25 pounds (ALL in the second trimester) and lost 13 pounds (8 during morning sickness, 5 since the GD diet) in the last 8 months.

I've been on the gestational diabetes diet for 5 weeks and 3 days.

I've tested my blood sugar 108 times.

I've counted a bazillion grams of carbohydrates, gotten up in the middle of the night to pee hundreds of times, felt hundreds of baby kicks pokes and rolls, and though I spent many days feeling nauseated I've thrown up exactly zero times.


If my baby were to arrive exactly on its due date...

I will continue to be pregnant for 7 weeks and 2 days.  That's 51 days.

I will have 6 more appointments with the nurse practitioner.

I will have 7 more appointments with a nutritionist.

I will test my blood sugar 204 more times.

I will take 51 more prenatal vitamins (that's one more refill at the pharmacy.)



229 days down, 51 to go.

I can do it I can do it I can do it.

Chalk Art

Ever since chalkboards started 'coming back' a few years ago I've loved them.  I just really like the aesthetic- it feels old fashioned and homey to me.  I wanted to make a piece of chalk art to hang above the baby's crib, but I was debating over what was the best way to preserve it.  After all chalk is usually temporary, but in this case I wanted it to be permanent.

After some research online I decided to skip the hair spray trick and spring for some 'fixative' from the craft store.  I was still nervous, so before doing the piece I would hang above the crib I did a smaller test canvas.  I painted a typical piece of stretched canvas with 2 coats of chalkboard paint, sketched a quick graphic on it, and tried out the fixative.  By the time it had enough coats that the chalk wouldn't smear, this is what it looked like.

I was pretty disappointed.  I didn't get a before picture, but I think it's pretty obvious that's really faded.  I ended up setting the project aside for a few weeks.  Yesterday I decided I might as well trace the picture and try the hair spray- it's not like I had anything to lose.  Here's the picture with the chalk before the hair spray.

And here it is after 2 coats of hairspray, smear proof:

It's a little shiny but overall much better.  I'm happy with this, and now I can proceed with the bigger one I want to do for above the baby's crib.  The moral of the story is- try the thing you have under your bathroom sink before wasting 7 bucks at the craft store.

Here's the fixative spray I happened to buy (there are a lot of choices so some others might work better) and here's the hairspray I happened to have (that I bought like 4 years ago- we don't go through hair spray very quickly around here.)

Our Little Zoo

Meet Leia, our temporary house guest.  She's staying with us for a week while her parents are in North Dakota visiting family.  She's pretty adorable, and Toby loves her too.  She's also hairy.  Really hairy. But it adds to the cute, so we forgive her.

Having an extra dog around is a little extra work- especially the first night when she was homesick- but she's a good girl and we like her.  Besides, our friend who asked us to watch her has done so much stuff for us in the past we couldn't tell him no if we wanted to.  I'm gonna have to save his life or something if I'm ever going to be able to refuse him a favor.  Maybe one day I'll stop him from stepping in front of a bus or give him a kidney or something.

Now meet turd head.

Juuuust kidding, you know Charlie.  This picture was my attempt to take a selfie with Charlie while he cuddled with me.  It's hard taking a selfie with your cat.  Here's another try:

The thing about Charlie is that his life is currently in shambles.  We've dared to allow TWO EXTRA CHILDREN that DON'T LIVE HERE spend the days with us while their parents are at work.  And these two well behaved, school aged, kind, non-toddler children are ruining Charlie's life.  He hides upstairs all day long.  He yowls for about 5 minutes straight after I lock him out of our bedroom in the morning (it stays cooler in there if I keep the door closed).  At the end of the day he needs cuddles and pets for infinity time.  I know that's not grammatically correct but it's true- infinity time of cuddles and pets.  Then, when we eventually lock him out of our bedroom- which we have to do so he doesn't keep us all night- he scratches at the carpet and plays with the door every two hours- which keeps us up all night.  This was ruining my life, (and my carpet) until it finally occurred to Chris to lock him in the bathroom downstairs with his litterbox and water.  Smart guy, I'm tellin' you.  We wait until he starts scratching at the door the first time; we're hoping this way he learns not to do that.

We're also hoping, and thinking, he'll get used to having the other kids in the house.  I brought him downstairs today and held him while the kids pet him so he could see they're not evil.  Eh, he'll figure it out.

Anyway, this is our life right now.  It seems to revolve around a few adorable/spoiled animals.  We wouldn't put up with it if we didn't love it just a little bit.  I mean, c'mon, look at the cute.

And on the flip side, this majestic beast has been particularly well behaved lately.

One last gem before I go- we were over hanging out with some family yesterday and we got to meet their new kitten, Russell.

So cute, I could've died.

32 Weeks

The baby is... probably about 3.75 pounds now- at least according to baby center.  When I saw the doctor last week she measured my belly and I was right on- a good sign with gestational diabetes.  I can really feel how big the baby is getting.  It's getting harder to do simple tasks because the baby is in the way, and when it moves you can really see it on the outside.

I'm feeling... a little whale like but pretty good.  When I changed my diet about a month ago everything got smaller, and it felt great.  Now I'm still not really gaining weight, but my belly is getting bigger and I'm really feeling it in my back- especially by the end of the day.  Getting in and out of bed (which I have to do a lot to pee) is particularly tough.

Cliche (or not!) Pregnancy Symptoms... does choking on water like a dummy 3 times a day count? I don't know what's the matter with me, but in the past few days I keep taking a drink, holding it my mouth absent-mindedly, and then trying to breathe and inhaling some.  I feel like an idiot.  Maybe mommy brain is a real thing?

Gestational Diabetes... I think I've got the hang of it now, though I get pretty tired of it sometimes.  My fingertips are sore and I'm really missing certain foods- particularly when I see the kinds of treats others are making for weekend barbecues and holidays.  It won't be long now, though, and Chris is doing it with me because he's supportive like that.  We intend to mostly stick to it after the baby is born, too.  You just feel so much better when you make healthy eating a priority.

I'm enjoying... summer vacation.  It's flying by so far, and I hope it continues to go as smoothly.  The rational part of my brain is saying "This won't last!  They will get bored, you will get grumpy, this will get harder!"  But part of me can't help but think maybe not!  They're older, we're getting better at this, maybe this will be our summer!

I'm looking forward to... the baby shower.  It's still a month away but I feel like it's close enough I can look forward to it now!  We're having a big barbecue and inviting all of our family and friends, so I think it's going to be fun.