Less than one week until Thanksgiving. Less than four weeks until my due date. Crazy!!!!
According to Babycenter, our wee one weighs almost six pounds, like a crenshaw melon! (Once again, never heard of it.) She'll be considered full-term in one week, and the doctor confirmed last week she is in the head-down position, ready to go!
The doctor also prescribed an iron supplement for me, since my blood test last week showed I am somewhat anemic (not horribly low, but "enough that I want to do something about it," he said). Something about "forgetting" to take my prenatal vitamins. (I kind of hate swallowing pills... so now I get to take MORE pills. That technique definitely backfired.) Also found out I tested positive for the Group B Strep bacteria; if positive, they give you antibiotics during labor so the baby doesn't catch the infection when he/she is traveling through the birth canal.
I am thankful I don't have insomnia every night.... but it's been occurring frequently enough that I feel a little impaired! Not as resilient as I'd like. Irritable, forgetful, exhausted. I guess it's good, because I am really looking forward to having this baby outside of me... which involves labor and delivery and recovery, things it would be easy to not look forward to. I will take interrupted sleep, with a tiny baby beside me, over middle-of-the-night alertness ANY DAY. Or night.
Because of the operating at 75% feeling I've been surviving in, I didn't take a picture of "36 weeks." Sorry. :) It came and went, and I stayed in my sweat pants. :) Plus Caleb was pretty sick Friday, a nice cold with goopy nose, congestion, and cough, so I stayed comfy with him and we had a pajama party that day. We played "the airplane game" on the Wii and I honestly got a little nauseous with Caleb's flying skills. We had lots of Lego time and matchbox car time, too. He's pretty much back to normal, for which I am thankful. And so far, Sean and I have not gotten it. We are thankful for that too.
Talk soon!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Sleepless in Santa Maria
What do you do when you are wide awake at 4 a.m.?? Teach yourself how to make a mitered corner hem, of course!!
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Lately I have had some trouble sleeping. When I lie down, even for an afternoon nap, my mind races with ideas and projects, mostly sewing projects. Could it be the nesting instinct?? On this particular occasion, I had been awake since 3:30 a.m., and decided to actually get up and be productive if I was going to be awake for awhile. (I was-- I went back to bed at 5:30, just enough time to snuggle for a few minutes before Sean's alarm went off.) I had several ideas or thoughts I wanted to research, so it was a productive morning.
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Lately I have had some trouble sleeping. When I lie down, even for an afternoon nap, my mind races with ideas and projects, mostly sewing projects. Could it be the nesting instinct?? On this particular occasion, I had been awake since 3:30 a.m., and decided to actually get up and be productive if I was going to be awake for awhile. (I was-- I went back to bed at 5:30, just enough time to snuggle for a few minutes before Sean's alarm went off.) I had several ideas or thoughts I wanted to research, so it was a productive morning.
Last time I was at the craft store, I had found some flannel on clearance for $2/yard, so I bought enough to make 16 napkins. I've been wanting to make some cloth napkins for everyday use, partly to spend less in the food/toiletries area of our budget, partly to be "green" and cut down on the disposable paper products we consume. I've transitioned to using mostly cloth rags for cleaning and cooking; it takes us about a year to go through 12 rolls of paper towels. That's still one roll a month, but there are some things like bacon grease that it's nice to be able to clean up and throw away. Anyway.
I had cut out all my napkins, but ran into a problem when hemming them. If you just turn under the edges and make 90-degree folds, the corners are really bulky (and kind of ugly and un-professional-looking). So the other night morning when I was lying awake, I decided to figure out a solution to my problem. I actually found several tutorials, with pictures! It's not super hard to do, and the results are fantastic.
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| beautiful napkins, folded in half! |
Today I finished sewing the last of the napkins, which are roughly 7" x 8.25"-- not the standard 20"x20" dinner napkin, but a nice size for the average meal. (Shall we call them "luncheon napkins"?) Traditional square dinner napkins are pretty huge! I figure I won't feel guilty using one for lunch and tossing it in the laundry.
They are officially DONE and ready to be put into circulation! I'll let you know how we like them.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Maleia's Baby Quilt
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| Remember this sneak peek from an earlier blog post? |
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| the finished product! |
I am so happy with how it turned out. It was a little hard to part with it, actually! I think Terry and Ana will appreciate the yellow "aloha print" especially. :) They both have spent quite a bit of time living in Hawaii, and consider it "home."
It was definitely a labor of love. I'm really thinking I could/should start an Etsy shop! Sewing is becoming quite an enjoyable pursuit-- though I manage to experience my fair share of frustration during the process, too! Or maybe it's just the learning curve as I figure things out. :) What do you think? Tote bags? Burp cloths? Rag quilts, like this one? All of the above??? Something entirely different? I have no idea. That's part of the adventure of life!
Friday, October 26, 2012
33 weeks
We are 33 weeks as of 10/25!! I'm starting to experience the lower-back discomfort, some aches in the joints and fatigue in general.... as well as excitement! I had an OB appointment today (10/25), and got to have another ultrasound. I really thought I wouldn't get to have any more, but they said they wanted to take a look so I said, Sure! It's such a miracle. It never gets old. This time the technician even gave me a DVD of the experience, showing motion just like a live ultrasound (unfortunately, without the benefit of the sonographer's commentary of what those gray blobs are!). I am grateful to get to share that with Sean and my parents. They said everything is looking good-- lots of amniotic fluid; my cervix looked great; the baby's measuring right on track for the gestational age, in the 46th percentile for most measurements (very similar to Caleb!); we could see all four chambers of the heart pumping away. I think she's going to look a lot like Caleb. Can't wait to find out! We all have predictions on hair color-- some think dark, some think blond. I'm going with blond. :)
It's hard to believe that there are only a few weeks left before Chloe is born. Most of all, I really want to enjoy the time with Caleb being essentially an "only child." I've been kind of sentimental about it lately, wistful and almost sad to lose this time with just him. I know my attention will be divided, especially in the newborn stage. I will just have to make it a point to have one-on-one time with him later-- and hopefully, carve out time for each of our kids to have one-on-one time with each parent as the years progress. He and I have had some really neat conversations lately, at the table, around the house, or in the car. I love how much we can communicate now! He is quite the talker, very verbal and willing to share his thoughts. I want to encourage that! Sean and I both love getting inside his little brain and understanding what he's thinking. Usually it goes something like this...
C: What doing, Mommy?
M: Mommy is making oatmeal for breakfast.
C: See ee-oh [oatmeal]?
M: Ok, let me stir it and then I can pick you up and show you.
C: See ee-oh?
M: See? Mommy is stirring the oatmeal.
C: Caleb stir it?
He likes to help me cook. He says, "Blue fire!" when I turn on our gas range. He even pushed a kitchen chair up behind me one time recently when I was working at the counter and stood up on it so he could see what I was doing (it must be frustrating to stand below counter height!). It was funny to turn around and see him right there next to me.
The other day, he tripped and landed on his bottom. I had to laugh when he asked, "Mommy kiss it bottom?" Um, no thanks, sweetie. :) I love ya, but even your mother draws the line at kissing your bottom! (I did give him a kiss on the cheek, though.) He's been calling us "sweet pea," probably because that's a term Sean and I use for him. I handed him his cup of milk and he told me, "Thank you, sweet pea." Being his parents is just awesome. We love it.
He's getting really good with colors, and even some letters. He knows orange, black, brown, yellow, green, blue, pink, and sometimes purple, sometimes red. He can consistently recognize A's, O's and M's (though he thinks W's are M's too, can't really blame him!). He consistently identifies triangles, circles, hearts, and stars. Still working on squares and other shapes like diamonds or rectangles. He knows the difference between airplanes and helicopters. He's learning so much!!! I really want to get his version of the ABC song on video, because it is the cutest thing ever. It's quite recognizable, even if some of the letters are missing or have a creative pronunciation.
One of his favorite questions is, "What ____ say?" He'll ask, "What a chicken say?" He knows lots of animal sounds-- rooster, doggie, kitty cat, duck, pig, etc... What's more interesting is when he asks things like, "What a zebra say?" uh..... Not sure! "What a palm tree say?" Hmm... Sean's answer: "Coconuts!!"
Along with what different objects "say," he also likes to ask, "What (is) the ____ doing?" What Mommy doing? What Caleb doing?... and the other night, What the moon doing, Mommy? Uh... shining! It's fun to see the wheels turning, and he's already close to stumping Mommy! I'm a little worried for when the "why" questions start, if I'm already having trouble! It's fun. :)
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| 33 weeks + Caleb! |
It's hard to believe that there are only a few weeks left before Chloe is born. Most of all, I really want to enjoy the time with Caleb being essentially an "only child." I've been kind of sentimental about it lately, wistful and almost sad to lose this time with just him. I know my attention will be divided, especially in the newborn stage. I will just have to make it a point to have one-on-one time with him later-- and hopefully, carve out time for each of our kids to have one-on-one time with each parent as the years progress. He and I have had some really neat conversations lately, at the table, around the house, or in the car. I love how much we can communicate now! He is quite the talker, very verbal and willing to share his thoughts. I want to encourage that! Sean and I both love getting inside his little brain and understanding what he's thinking. Usually it goes something like this...
C: What doing, Mommy?
M: Mommy is making oatmeal for breakfast.
C: See ee-oh [oatmeal]?
M: Ok, let me stir it and then I can pick you up and show you.
C: See ee-oh?
M: See? Mommy is stirring the oatmeal.
C: Caleb stir it?
He likes to help me cook. He says, "Blue fire!" when I turn on our gas range. He even pushed a kitchen chair up behind me one time recently when I was working at the counter and stood up on it so he could see what I was doing (it must be frustrating to stand below counter height!). It was funny to turn around and see him right there next to me.
The other day, he tripped and landed on his bottom. I had to laugh when he asked, "Mommy kiss it bottom?" Um, no thanks, sweetie. :) I love ya, but even your mother draws the line at kissing your bottom! (I did give him a kiss on the cheek, though.) He's been calling us "sweet pea," probably because that's a term Sean and I use for him. I handed him his cup of milk and he told me, "Thank you, sweet pea." Being his parents is just awesome. We love it.
He's getting really good with colors, and even some letters. He knows orange, black, brown, yellow, green, blue, pink, and sometimes purple, sometimes red. He can consistently recognize A's, O's and M's (though he thinks W's are M's too, can't really blame him!). He consistently identifies triangles, circles, hearts, and stars. Still working on squares and other shapes like diamonds or rectangles. He knows the difference between airplanes and helicopters. He's learning so much!!! I really want to get his version of the ABC song on video, because it is the cutest thing ever. It's quite recognizable, even if some of the letters are missing or have a creative pronunciation.
One of his favorite questions is, "What ____ say?" He'll ask, "What a chicken say?" He knows lots of animal sounds-- rooster, doggie, kitty cat, duck, pig, etc... What's more interesting is when he asks things like, "What a zebra say?" uh..... Not sure! "What a palm tree say?" Hmm... Sean's answer: "Coconuts!!"
Along with what different objects "say," he also likes to ask, "What (is) the ____ doing?" What Mommy doing? What Caleb doing?... and the other night, What the moon doing, Mommy? Uh... shining! It's fun to see the wheels turning, and he's already close to stumping Mommy! I'm a little worried for when the "why" questions start, if I'm already having trouble! It's fun. :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Homemade Pizza
Two or three weeks before we moved away from Colorado, I found an amazing high-altitude pizza dough recipe. The ONE time I made it, it was amazing, at least. I thought I'd share some photos from that adventure, since we've been having a "heat wave" here in Santa Maria, oh, getting way up into the 80's.
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| Here's the yeast proofing! |
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| nice ball of dough |
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| the dough after rising |
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| ready to put it in the oven!! |
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| YUM. Just yum. |
Of course, it was a hot summer day when I decided to heat up the oven to 500 degrees so I could try this awesome recipe. We had a "picnic" in the front bedroom, the coolest room in the house at the time. Caleb very much enjoyed his pizza, and we enjoyed a fun dinner. :) I'd like to make it more of a family tradition to have homemade pizza for dinner regularly, since I have fond memories of doing that growing up!
Monday, October 22, 2012
32 weeks (backtrack from 10/18)
From Babycenter:
In other news, we are only about 8 weeks out from meeting our little girl Chloe! We are excited! We are planning on arranging a tour of the hospital soon, and I have the pre-registration form ready to go. I am in full nesting mode! Which at the moment, means buying curtain rods, making cloth napkins, and organizing baby clothes! I need to figure out what we are going to do regarding a changing table/dresser. Good thing babies don't need much, and the things they do need are easily procurable (namely, breastmilk and diapers!).
Sorry, no tummy picture this time! Stay tuned. :)
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth...My baby is comparable to a large jicama? Am I supposed to know how much a jicama weighs, much less what it looks like?? (I bought one, once, at the grocery store, for a salad...) It's been so interesting to see the comparisons these articles make: your baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage, or weighs about the same as a large jicama... It just seems like they pick weird vegetables for the comparison. What about a zucchini or a potato or something normal? :)
In other news, we are only about 8 weeks out from meeting our little girl Chloe! We are excited! We are planning on arranging a tour of the hospital soon, and I have the pre-registration form ready to go. I am in full nesting mode! Which at the moment, means buying curtain rods, making cloth napkins, and organizing baby clothes! I need to figure out what we are going to do regarding a changing table/dresser. Good thing babies don't need much, and the things they do need are easily procurable (namely, breastmilk and diapers!).
Sorry, no tummy picture this time! Stay tuned. :)
Friday, October 19, 2012
Three Years!
Three years is...
...shorter than a high school or college 'career.'
...less time than a typical (four-year) military assignment.
...longer than it takes to earn a master's degree (usually).
...longer than it usually takes to earn an associate's degree.
...shorter than the span from one Winter Olympics to the next.
Three years is how long Sean and I have been married! In some ways it feels like a lifetime; in others, like it has flown by in a moment. October 17, 2009 was an amazing day: the start of our life together. I'm really glad God brought us together. :)
Here are some stats of our last three years:
8 trips to Hawaii to see Nalani
5 trips to CA to visit family
5 camping trips (I think)
4 "homes" in first 6 months of marriage
4 TDY's (business trips) for Sean (I think)
3 10k races
3 beautiful kids
3 Christmases
2 miscarriages
2 moves
2 tours, at Schriever and Vandenberg
2 sinners in 1 marriage
2 out-of-state weddings of friends
2 big promotions for Sean, 1st Lt and Capt
2 garage sales
1 mortgage :)
1 major car accident
1 trip to Alaska to see Nalani
1 death in the family, Sean's granddaddy
1 "century ride" (Sean rode a bike 100 miles, better him than me!)
It's been a busy three years! I asked Sean if everyone's first few years of marriage are that full, and he didn't think so. We've done a lot of traveling. Caleb has been on either 14 or 15 plane trips in his short life-- I have just about lost track (obviously)! God has been so faithful along the way. I never could have anticipated, on our wedding day, where we would be now. But I wouldn't trade any of it, even the painful parts, because I know God has used them to grow us, refine us, and reveal more of Himself to us. I love my husband more than I did when we got married, and I can't imagine life without him.
We are looking forward to the next 30 or 50 years!
...shorter than a high school or college 'career.'
...less time than a typical (four-year) military assignment.
...longer than it takes to earn a master's degree (usually).
...longer than it usually takes to earn an associate's degree.
...shorter than the span from one Winter Olympics to the next.
Three years is how long Sean and I have been married! In some ways it feels like a lifetime; in others, like it has flown by in a moment. October 17, 2009 was an amazing day: the start of our life together. I'm really glad God brought us together. :)
Here are some stats of our last three years:
8 trips to Hawaii to see Nalani
5 trips to CA to visit family
5 camping trips (I think)
4 "homes" in first 6 months of marriage
4 TDY's (business trips) for Sean (I think)
3 10k races
3 beautiful kids
3 Christmases
2 miscarriages
2 moves
2 tours, at Schriever and Vandenberg
2 sinners in 1 marriage
2 out-of-state weddings of friends
2 big promotions for Sean, 1st Lt and Capt
2 garage sales
1 mortgage :)
1 major car accident
1 trip to Alaska to see Nalani
1 death in the family, Sean's granddaddy
1 "century ride" (Sean rode a bike 100 miles, better him than me!)
It's been a busy three years! I asked Sean if everyone's first few years of marriage are that full, and he didn't think so. We've done a lot of traveling. Caleb has been on either 14 or 15 plane trips in his short life-- I have just about lost track (obviously)! God has been so faithful along the way. I never could have anticipated, on our wedding day, where we would be now. But I wouldn't trade any of it, even the painful parts, because I know God has used them to grow us, refine us, and reveal more of Himself to us. I love my husband more than I did when we got married, and I can't imagine life without him.
We are looking forward to the next 30 or 50 years!
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