It was another busy weekend. Two more of them coming up and then we are done for awhile for the summer? Maybe?

Tim got his mojo back last week. He totally killed the final two tests on his 2005 SQL certification tests, without even studying or worrying about it. I remember the first test he took (1 of 4), we had spent months studying and getting ready for it, and he was so worried and now look. He rolls out of bed, staggers to the test site and is home earlier than expected having passed. Sheesh.

Then, he competed in the Badger State Games inline 1/2 marathon on Sunday near Appleton. We drove up to his parents on Saturday night after finding a dog sitter for Pluto and ... I don't know what else we did on Saturday. Uh. Oh I got up early with Morella on Saturday so he could sleep in, did breakfast and then took her to storytime at Barnes and Nobles to see Spot the dog followed by a trip to Borders so I could get snack and buy a baby book for Crouton. Morella's mood turned foul at some point in Borders and we left. Came home and she took a nap while Tim and I napped, putzed and got ready. I picked up vegetables, went online to talk to my little brother about my Mom (she is in the hospital currently) and then cooked a bunch of food. Tim mowed the lawn, weeded and did some laundry.

We got to Tim's parents late, but it was a super easy transition for Morella because they got a crib! She is so at home in cribs. I hope that doesn't say anything for a future behind bars...

Anyway. Tim went out to buy soymilk and look at the course with his Dad after she went down and I stayed up making some cookies for my friend Sarah who just had a baby. After that Tim and I screwed around on the Wii fit, which declared me to be obese. Tim is looking forward to the result after Crouton. Ha ha. I am too.

Sunday Tim did his race and got 7th - middle of the pack, along with a score of 1 hour and 1 min or something. Pretty good considering he didn't train obsessively for that like he had with previous races. Again, just him knocking out goals one after the other! While waiting Morella mysteriously melted down and threw one of the biggest tantrums to date ... my goodness. Where are they coming from? Why are they happening? She's on so many eating strikes lately that we can only assume it's from teeth. I cannot wait until those blasted teeth are in. Sigh.

After the race, we went back to his parents and had lunch with amazing jello (Morella scarfed that down) and took long naps. It was so nice. Upon waking Morella was beastly, so we gave her some Motrin and took her outside to play with a plastic car that you can ride in for an hour or so before packing up and heading out to visit Sarah. It took us a while to find her place -- lots of driving around sleuthing it out, but we eventually found it.

Of course Sarah doesn't look like she just had a baby, and what's even more amazing is that BOTH of her kids were sleeping! Yeah, she said that happens a lot. Man, everyone has assured me that Crouton and Morella will not sleep at the same time. Wouldn't it be a nice surprise if that wasn't the case? In any case, it was nice to visit with Sarah, Dave and her Mom with just Morella playing with Ruth's toys. We only lasted about 50 minute before Morella started melting down again. Sarah brought out her new son and he looked just like a little Harrison Ford! Adorable!

They suggested Mary's family restaurant for dinner and we hit it before heading out of town. Morella didn't eat a thing, spilled her apple juice and started chatting wiht the patrons on either side of us. Ugh, this girl was barely containable. She didn't sleep most of the ride home, we picked up Pluto and then made it home before the fireworks started. I was able to put Morella to bed without a problem and then after a little internet time went to bed myself.

Gah. Another night of sleeping propped up because of this cold and Crouton. It just feels so creepy to me to sleep sitting up. When I got up this morning I actually thought to myself "It's okay, we are in the final countdown to having to do this..." Really? Am I starting to think of Crouton as in the final countdown? It seems a little early still to do that. It's only a little over 35 weeks...there are still plenty more ... I mean if you went by how Morella did then it could be another 7 weeks. That's like TWO MORE MONTHS! Lots of people have said that super active babies tend to be born earlier, but this kid is super active (kicking as I type this now) and I don't know. I just don't believe it. I guess we'll just have to see.

This morning we did playgroup at the park and Morella opted to swing for most of it. Crabby once again. Came home in time to vacuum before Lowen and Sigrid showed up to look through oodles of jewelery and help themselves. Ate lunch and then put Morella down for a nap around 12. She has been sleeping since then...I hope it's a solid three hour nap. That girl needs it!

Speaking of needs, I need some more tylenol. It feels like a headache day to me. :( But I love the cooler, windy weather. It's a nice break from the heat.

Okay back to the grind.

Friday Photo: The Fashion Diva



My old college friend Karen sent us a box of her daughter's outgrown clothes which we received this afternoon. Morella helped me open the package and then take out each item of clothing exclaiming over every piece. When we had finished looking at all the wonderful items of clothing she picked out the pink tutu and teal tank top to wear...as in she tried to put them on. I helped her a bit, and here we have the end result.

Those who have known me the longest know that Michael Jackson was once a big part of my life. Not because I had a huge crush on him or thought he was the bees knees, but because my Mother did. She had posters everywhere, listened to his tapes constantly over and over, watched Moonwalker a thousand times, quoted facts about his life to us on a daily basis, and make scuplutres of him out of any median she could get her hands on. One the most memorable sculptures was made out of newspaper, tape, paint, porceline finish (found at a craft store) and ... well anything else she thought would help. I wonder what ever happpened to that bust. Hm. Anyway. So to have my Mom lose her BFF and now first iconic crush must really be depressing her. I can just imagine that this is one of those things that she would have called Carla and talked hours about. Instead who is left but me? I can't talk tonight. I need to go to bed. I had Tim take the day off from work and call in sick to help me. He ended up with a compromise of working from home.

Sigh. Okay. To bed with me. I have to feel better. I just have too!

This night's "sleep" really sucks, but the kicker is that tomorrow (today?) is going to suck even more.

This has to be about the worst day of this entire pregnancy, right next to the norovirus birthday party. But no, I had help that day. Today was just ... awful. This cold is just wrecking me. I have had a pounding headache all day, my nose won't stop dripping, my throat was so unbelieavably sore. Last night was super sucky because I couldn't breath both because of the cold and Crouton's moving is so uncomfortable.

I really wanted to call in sick. To take a break. Except I couldn't do that. I could barely take a stupid nap this afternoon because of the breathing and nose running issue. Thank god So you Think You Can Dance was on to help keep my mind off the my next tylenol dosage.

Now watch. Morella, who barely at 400 calories today is going to get it. For a moment, I almost wished I had my Mom help...except you know not the Mom I have now. The Mom from when I was 10.

I feel very lonely today.

Oh my. I think I am sick!! Like a cold or something. It started with a few sneezes and now I have a runny nose and that extra fluid is making my throat hurt a bit, plus I am tired. It could also be coincidental to turning on the AC. I really hope that is it. I don't want to be sick! More importantly, I don't want Morella to get sick. :(

I bought a kiddie pool today and bottoms to a maternity swim top lent to my by my friend Rachel. I thought I would never wear it...now look I went out and got brown bottoms to go with it. Sheesh. It's because Thursday we are planning on the Monona Community pool. I also got Morella a new swimsuit from Old Navy. It's a full on shirt and bottom...I like that it's good sun coverage to my pale little flower. Though to be honest, I don't think she burns easily. She maybe fair but she can handle the sun pretty well.

Tim and I watched Bedtime Stories tonight while I sorted through more jewelry. It was an okay movie. I mean, better than anything else on TV right now that is for sure.

Okay. Going to bed early for a change and hoping that by tomorrow I will be as right as rain. My friend Sigrid is going to baby sit Morella for an hour or so tomorrow morning while I go to my doctor's appointment. I think she might be nervous. I am hoping that Morella's reunion with Zilla the deaf bulldog will ease her seperation anxiety.

Tim was a dearheart and made brownies for me tonight. It's awesome because I am going to give some to Sigrid for watching Morella. Plus I had a brownie sundae tonight just awhile ago and it was delicious! For dinner I made a spin on spaghetti carbonera -- I sauteed broccoli, some kind of green, garlic scrapes, and shrimp with oven cooked bacon (I just drained the fat straight into the sauce pan), then mixed it with a jar of alfredo and the spaghetti and voila! Fantastic dinner! I was even able to eat the sea bugs --- probably because they were sauteed with bacon. Bacon makes everything good.

I turned on the air conditioner today, except I didn't. You see Morella was up howling at 6:00AM this morning. We gave her Motrin and after that she seemed a bit better. Around 9:30 she took a lie down, in which I just left her door open and went and laid down in my bed to rest. I was really tired because yesterday my cousin had come into town and we had a big day on State Street (Memorial Union Terrace, State Street walk, dinner at the Old Fashioned and mocha's from Michaelangelo's) and the coffee had made it so that Tim and I were up until 12:30. I also think the heat has something to do with it...a little summer insomnia and daylight infusion.

Anyway. So I laid down for about 1/2 an hour before she wanted out. She didn't really sleep, she rested, as I had done. I figured there was still plenty of time to head to the play group meeting at Walter so I asked her if she wanted to go to the park and of course she said yes. We headed out. It wasn't too bad. I took it slow. We got there and chatted with others ... turns out the boy with the possible swine flu did NOT have it. Whew!!! Still Morella is not coming with me on Wednesday to my doctor appointment. I pushed Morella in the swing for a long time and then eventually she moved to the slide where standing 4 minutes in the sun made me feel desperately sick and I wanted to go home.

We went home. It was a long, long walk. I closed the windows. Turned on the AC and after a while the house got nice and cool. The day wore on and around 10:30 I get up to get a drink of water and notice "hey it's kind of warm in here!" I check the thermostat and it says 81. Huh?! Tim then asked me if I turned it on outside and I said no.

So you see, I turned only the air on. The house was kept cool from the basement. That was nice, but now that the cool air is shooting through the vents I appreciate that much more. ;)

When we put Morella to bed, she cried that painful cry and we got her out to give her motrin and time for it to kick in. Let's just say that 1/2 hour of past bedtime she had, was the most fun she had all day. Geez! I felt mean putting her back to bed when clearly could have gone on for a lot longer. But toddlers need sleep, whether they know it not! She went to sleep after 5 minutes and we haven't heard a peep since. I hope she gets a good night's sleep and that those stupid teeth come in soon.

So Byron dropped off a bunch of jewelry, some of his old baby clothes and toys. Morella has been playing with those toys all day. One of them I suspect might have led painting on it, so she hasn't played with that one. The rest are plastic or unpainted wood. One of them is this little grasshopper that you pull around on a string. I put a string on it and pulled it to show Morella how it worked and I swear when the leg broke (a nail fell out, I hammered it back into a new place) she fought me tooth and nail over it! She loves it! It's so cute that she likes it. Awww.

My aunt had a ridiculous collection of watches. What should I do with them? Buy batteries and regift them? Find a friend who is interested in clock art? Hm. I was really pleased to find some old Ho Chunk regalia things liked a beaded belt, a three tier necklace and a hair ribbon. So cool. There was also a really, really old handmade indian doll there. I really wish I knew the story to it. Who made it, etc. Alas that information is forever gone. I'll take some photos of them later this week.

Here are some pictures from yesterday, I gotta get to bed before midnight tonight.

34 Weeks with Crouton!



For fun I decided to wear the same outfit I did the last time. I think I'll do it for the last one too...I wish I had done it all the way though, but that would have been impossible as I didn't get the yellow shirt until last month at a garage sale.



For extra credit -- I went and compiled them all so far. Please click on the photo to bring up the larger image.

Kind of a bummer to the day. I found out that my Mom's best friend passed away on Wednesday by reading it in the online obits. I called my Mom to see how she was doing and she had just found out a 1/2 hour before I called. I ended up talking with her a little over an hour. If you know me, then you should know that is an epic amount of time I spent on the phone.

In other non bummery news, I conqured my fear of driving to the west side and did just that with Morella today to get Tim's father's day present. While we were there we spent a little time at the play area in the mall -- what a madhouse. She had fun but after 10-15 minutes had enough. I quick counted 25-30 children in a small enclosed space just while we were there. Nuts I tell you.

Morella took a long nap. I took a little nap. It was so muggy today! I let her go without a shirt all afternoon with the exception of the park outing. I asked her if she wanted to go outside and she said yes. But when I headed to the back door she threw a huge fit and pointed to her stroller. She wanted to go for a walk. So we walked to the park at the of our street and she went on the swings for 25 solid minutes. Then we were done and came home.

She's a swing junkie!

I'm still glad it's summer though, even if it is super humid.

Morella has gone to the bathroom, closed the door and was relatively quiet (talking to herself) for a few minutes. I went in there to investigate and found this. She was sitting on the back of the toilet, washing her hands in the cat water. How did she get up there? Sheesh. She was quite proud of herself and very, very chatty. She had a full on conversation with me about ... something. One day her words will make sense, right?

Anyway. It was a busy day. I am sitting on my bed right now with my feet up, utilizing the many pillows I have and resting. I would be on the desktop computer looking at the better pictures and stuff but my feet can't totally handle that right now. Plus, I am kind of crampy tonight. Maybe it's the heat or the long day. Who can say, but I do know that general advice is to put your feet up, drink water and relax.

This morning started off with me wanting to put the cats into a soundproof box and setting them outside in the middle of the yard so that they would let us sleep. They were at it a 1/2 an hour earlier than normal and employing all the annoying tactics I hate. 1. Jumping off the window onto one of us (for me they seem to aim for the belly). 2. Jumping off me into the window (one of then stepped on my face). 3. Fighting with each other, 4. Meowling loudly in the hallway outside Morella's door, 5. Sharpening their claws on the side of our bed and 6. Batting our faces with their paws. Finally I was mad enough to get up, go to the bathroom (and pee while I was there...) and fill up one of the squirt guns I bought for this very purpose. I came out with water blazing and squirted every single on of the furry brats and went back to bed. It actually stopped them! Now the gun is by my bedside, fully loaded waiting until tomorrow morning.

At about 8:00 Tim came into the room telling me to get out of bed and that he needed help. Totally cracking the whip. :P

Today we went to Woodman's to get the ingredients for the dish I was going to bring to the East Side Mom's club picnic. I had said I would be "nacho wheels" -- and no I had no real good idea how to make them. I just figured they would be like all pinwheels --add enough cream cheese and you got an appetizer. Here is my recipe:

2 packages of cream cheese
1 container sour cream (16oz)
1 package of taco seasoning (I used 1/2 the package because my target audience was kids and you know they don't like things TOO spicy)
1 bunch green onions
1 package of shredded cheese (I used preshredded as I had to make it as fast as possible)
1 can black refried beans
10 burrito size tortillas

Mix the first three ingredients, then spread beans on tortilla, cover with layer of cheese stuff, sprinkle a few green cut up onions on it, and top with shredded cheese, roll up, slice, and then arrange and voila! Instant hit at potluck. They were all gone except the "polite two". You know, the last two no one wants to take because they don't want to appear greedy?

Sadly, the potluck suffered from the "too many treats" syndrome. There were no main dishes, only four appetizers and the rest were sweets. I was a little disappointed and even more so when Morella didn't want to eat any of it. Later on near the end pigs in a blanket showed up and I was able to feed her two cocktail weenies before giving up altogether. For this reason, Tim and I have decided that we usually will bring savory dishes to potlucks. I think the reason people don't do that is because it doesn't seem very special -- but moreover because making sweet things is easier.

Also, I didn't really like the location. The shelter and tables were far away from the playground equipment and there wasn't much for the kids to play with at the picnic. Morella got a huge scrape on her leg from climbing decorative blocks of concrete, and since it was in a new development there wasn't much in the way of trees and everything looked like a lego playland.

Morella feel asleep on the drive home for about 5-10 minutes. I had changed her diaper right before leaving so I was able to put her right to bed. I felt sick from eating too many sweets, standing, chasing after Morella and so I gratefully laid down for a nap. Except... "ticka ticka ticka blah blah ga ga da doo" going on through the baby monitor for the next hour. Ugh. Man kid, go to sleep! Except she wouldn't because she was having fun just hanging out in her crib so and I finally had to get her up because it was clear she wasn't going to sleep.

I fed her lunch. She ate two bites and declared herself done. She barely ate anything today except for drinking milk.

Then we decided to talk a walk. There was a garage sale going on a couple blocks away so I figured we could check it out. I didn't see anything I wanted and the whole sale looked a little *too* thrown together. You know, I can tell professional garage sales when I see them, and by professional I mean they do the same one over and over and over...with lots of collectibles. We kept walking and ended up at the Eastmoreland Park where Morella swung on the baby swing for a small eternity and nearly falling asleep several times. After about 25 minutes I packed her up and made the long trek home. Did she want to eat then? Take a nap? Oh heavens no.

Outside we went. Oh crap...that reminds me that stuff is still out there! I didn't put anything away. Whoops! Tim can do it when he gets home. Yeah...

Anyway. So I filled up some water stuff for her, opened the sandbox, and laid out a blanket. She likes to lay on blankets ... it's really cute. We are currently dog sitting right now, so that dog wanted to come out. It immediately took a huge pee in front of Morella's side, in our play area. It's also pooped several times in places that I deem to be too close to civilization but the poop is so runny I am not sure it's even possible to pick up. I am hoping that we do get rain eventually and it will wash it away. As for the pee, I hosed the area down, moved her slide and sent the dog back in.

You know. I don't know if this is a big secret. But I am really not a dog person...at least right now at this point in my life. Cats are creatures of indifference, they don't need as much affection and care as dogs do. Before having a baby I could handle it and enjoyed doing it. Now I just see it as another needy thing needing my attention and making things harder. Harder as in, I have to make sure our delicate dog doesn't get near our rambunctious daughter or any of her little friends. And you know he constantly wants attention, and is whiney and blah blah blah. I'm just burnt out by the end of the day. Maybe dogs will be more fun when the kids are older, and the dog doesn't need to be handled with such fine kid gloves. You know? Or maybe it's the whole being pregnant, caring for a toddler and not having the extra energy that is it. I don't know.

FINALLY, at 4:30 I had enough. I changed Morella's very wet diaper and her filthy onesie and put her down for a nap. I needed to lay down myself and did so. Tim eventually came home and got his stuff for his game and left. He asked me if I was doing okay and I had said I didn't feel good. I was feeling crampy and sort of sick again. I think it might be related to the heat...and all that activity I did today. He left before 6. I microwaved some frozen brats leftover from the Memorial Day BBQ we had, cooked some fries and ate a piece of pie before turning on the TV. Morella eventually got up at 6:35.

I fed her dinner, we chatted, and watched a little TV. I decided that she didn't need to see the full episode of Bones, and turned it off to read books. We did that for a while and then wanted to go back to bed at 8:00. Since then I have been on the computer looking around, and now writing.

I am actually feeling sort of tired now. Like, maybe I should use the bathroom, take out my contacts and fill my water bottle for the night and go to bed early. Why not? Maybe Crouton will stop having the hiccups and settle down for a nap.

Sarah is having her baby today ... or had it ... or will have it soon. That's like just 38 weeks. I have to admit to being a teeny bit jealous. I just haven't met that many women in real life who were as overdue as I was with Morella. I just hope that Crouton decides to not be *that* late and doesn't need a police escort to show her the door...heck a few days before due date would be kind of fun. Anyway, I am thinking of Sarah and her family and hoping all is going well and looking forward to hearing all about the birth story.

Okay. Time to clean the clean laundry that didn't get put away, off the bed and get ready for some sleep. Tomorrow is Friday...hurray! I should do my belly shot then too since weekends are always so busy.

Yikes!  One of the Mom's in our playgroup sent a message today saying that her son "was diagnosed with a suspected case of H1N1 flu virus" and that "Our Dr. said the flu is pretty prevelant right now in the community and she's seen a lot of younger kids under 2 y.o. in with it recently".  (We have the same pediatrician).    The incubation period for this between 3-7 days.  The last time I saw her son was last Thursday...BUT .... he hung out with a baby and Mom on Monday morning outside in a park, and later that afternoon that Mom and baby watched Morella while I went to an ultrasound appointment.

Gah! 

I am thinking that we are in the clear as far as Noah (boy with hini virus) because in all contact cases we were outside, no sharing of sippy cups happened, and it was sunny and hot which would kill viruses faster. So it was from Noah then we would be clear tomorrow, but if she got it from Leo, the baby on Monday then we have to wait until Monday...but you know in any case you gotta wait it anyway. If there are cases of lots of 2 and unders, then germs could be incubating everywhere.   I am going to try and not get too concerned about and just keep social activities outside where toys aren't shared. 

Still, she and her son are now in a quarantine (at home) for seven days past the fever.  Tim of course asked "Is her husband quarantined too?" meaning if Morella or I got it, would he have to skip work for a week? I wonder.  He also wanted to know if they were sure going to send a culture for identification.

I thought summer was the safe season! 

Morella's first time wading on a beach. We were at High Cliff Park on the shore of Lake Winnebago.

It was my Mom's birthday on Monday -- she is 60 years old. As what is commonly said, she said she doesn't really know what 60 feels like. Frank had made her a rainbow cake and as far as I know that was it. I still need to buy her a card and send her a present. She said that she wanted fairy stamps. Ugh. I hate contributing to her mighty collection of crap but if that is what she wants then I'll find it. But wow...60. I wonder what it will be like when I turn 60. I hope that it's a big deal for my family. Let's see, how old would Morella be then..she would be 28 and Crouton would be 26. Wow. I also sincerely hope that I still have friends at that age.

Since my Mom has so few friends I grew up thinking it was normal for an adult to not have any friends -- that is what you have family for right? But, I don't want that. I want friends, which is why I work hard at keeping up with people, even if I don't seem them all the time or hardly ever -- it's that once or twice a year effort that makes a difference (For out of towners). My Dad has friends -- thank goodness. They come and and check up on him, play a game of horseshoes etc. My Gaga had friends too, but clearly by the end of her life there were fewer and fewer... :(

I took a bath with Morella this morning. It wasn't my original intent really. I wanted to take a shower, but as soon as she saw me getting ready to do it she wanted to take a bath. I offered shower but she ran out of the bathroom buck naked and into the office where she slammed the door until I came to my senses. Hence, a bath. And it was cold! I like steamy hot showers or baths -- not this better than lukewarm business. Then again, should I be cold taking a bath in SUMMER!? No. Likely not. After the bath, she ran into her room, closed the door as much as she could and went into her crib. I got dressed and then went in there to put a diaper and some clothes on her. She threw the biggest fit all week about it!

She has been signing "more" for anything she wants to do. Tim thinks she is losing language... I think she is just getting lazy and we need to be consistent in showing her the signs for what she wants and sticking with them. Especially since she had learned "yes" the other week and now uses it in affirmation of things she wants when we ask her. She clearly understands what we are saying much better than before. I am looking forward to when she actually starts talking and verbally telling us what she wants. But despite all that incredible babble she puts out, she still has very few words. Maybe it will be like when she learned to walk. She didn't show any real interest in it until a week or two before she started walking and then one day...she started walking and was very, very good at it. Besides, the doctor did say they start doing more of that talking near the the two year mark. I still think of Morella as a one and halfer.

Anyway. So she threw this huge fit and I signed her sign for bed and put her in it, and said she was going to take a nap. It then the crying and whining turned into full on rage. I shut off the light, threw out the cats and closed the door. She howled for about two minutes and now she in there sort of laying around talking to herself. She has been spending a lot of time in her crib the past couple of days. It's nice that she can climb in there by herself, but I wish she could also climb out. You know? I do and I don't. I would have to really baby proof her room for her to be in there by herself unsupervised. Maybe that should make my list of goals I want to accomplish.

It's another rainy overcast day. Except, unlike yesterday where it was dry and sort of sunny in the morning, today it is not. Morella slept in until 8 and we made it to 7.15 before the cats started bothering us.

She is crying again. It is too early for her nap especially considering she slept so late....hm. I'll wait until she does it again.

Crouton is really moving up a storm right now. I had my final ultrasound for her on Monday afternoon. No cute pictures were given to me, and I didn't' even get to see her face. It was all business this time. Crouton is measuring right on target for 33 weeks and some change but it still took a long time to get the measurements because babies are big at this stage. My back seat ultrasound reading saved the day when I noticed that one of the measurements for the head was off putting Crouton at 26 weeks...instead of 33. I pointed it out the technician who took a few minutes to understand what i was saying before she corrected it. She thanked me twice afterward and said the doctor would have caught that and then we would have been there a lot longer. As it was it took an hour! Laying on my back for that long was difficult because it's so hard to breath then.

I rearranged the bedroom so that we can accommodate the cosleeper. I still need to work on fixing up the joint and making all magazine spread nice. I don't know if that will ever happen, but a girl can dream right? I have high hopes for the office too. And the kitchen. Oh speaking of which, the dishwasher is awesome! Not having dirty dishes around and the big drying rack for them really makes our counter space look down right generous. We have used it twice now and both times it has cleaned the dishes. Woo! Now I just need to make emptying it every morning part of the daily routine, sort of like making the bed. Now I always make the bed at least 1 hour after getting up, if not right away. It makes the room look so much more tidy when the bed is made.

Oh there is some more complaining from Morella's room. I better go.

Oh no, not another outage blogger --- it seems like most of the time that happens something bad happens to my blog. :( *crosses fingers*

We are back from a hectic weekend that involved lots of driving and an unhappy, overtired toddler, an awkward graduation dinner at Perkins, my Dad recounting the day that his wife left him over and over, camping at High Cliff park, getting lost in the dark, visiting with friends and family over a roaring campfire, forgetting our toiletry bag, seeing Morella display separation anxiety for Tim and I (that is a little heartwrenching), etc. We survived and I was honestly a little sad that the weekend was over and that I really want more vacation. I need one more mini-vacation before Crouton gets here. One more. How can I fit that in?

I feel a little bit bad that Morella went to bed in her clothes, and all dirty. In our defense, she had a big weekend that involved lots of outside time and car traveling which she can't stand after 2 hours. I can understand that, really I can -- but dude baby -- sleep! Of course she didn't sleep. She went to bed one night at 11, another night at 8ish, her daytime naps were all screwed up and so when she finally feel asleep in the car 15 minutes before we got home and upon entering the house pointed to her bedroom and crib and gratefully placed her head upon her own bed, we just let her sleep. She hadn't stirred since. She did have a clean diaper change right after a McDonald's dinner of a cheeseburger and some fries and apple juice so she was set. And really, 6:15 isn't that much earlier than her regular bedtime of 7. I am going to have to change her sheets and give her a bath before the return of babybook time tomorrow morning.

Myself, upon returning, took a shower. I was shocked when I glanced into the mirror and saw how much the belly had grown. I think Crouton really popped this past weekend, it must be all the fresh air. Incidentally, it was the first time camping where I went to bed around 11:30PM both nights. In my defense, sitting in camping chairs for a long time looking at fire gets hard on the belly -- not to mention the constant hikes to the toilet pits. I was almost certain I was going to fill it myself!

Sigh. Back to the grind. :( I guess I wish Friday hadn't been full of 8 hours of driving and waiting and blah blah blah. Now I am back at the house that is forever in need of being tidied and "made nice", and cooking, and ....

There were two moments I do want to always remember. One was sitting with Tim and Morella on a park bench next to a cow field eating ice cream. Morella sat between us, happy as a clam and spooned whipped cream and sprinkles into her mouth while we all enjoyed the beautiful summery weather.

The other was lounging in our tent on the air mattress while Morella climbed on Tim's back repeatedly and fell over dramatically, often in giggles and smiles. It the sort of weekend where I could really tell that she liked hanging out with us and was having a blast with her parents.

Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday and my last ultrasound for Crouton. The reason for it is to get a few more measurements of her spine and to guestimate her weight. I think the latter one is more for the heck of it.

32 1/2 Week OB Appointment

Today was the last of my monthly appointments and now they are every two weeks. I had a nightmare about this upcoming appointment the other day because I read in a Birth Club community that a woman's doctor had lectured the woman about gaining too much weight. She was up to 35 pounds I believe and at 28 weeks? I'm not sure. Anyway. I had a dream where the doctor said the same to thing to me and I was crushed and devastated and all that stupid crap.

Anyway. I mean the gestational diabetes test was a good thing for me in that I stopped eating so much sugar and going over board. Also in the last week, I have noticed that my appetite has started to decrease -- which is a good thing. I didn't initially find out how much I had gained after getting a few mild statements that I interpreted to be the third degree...I did end up looking and doing a little math.

First of all she said "I see it was a another gaining month."

"Yeah I guess," I replied "But my appetite had decreased should it should start leveling off."

"Well that would be in our favor," she answered.

Doh!

Okay. I have gained a total of .... 27 pounds so far, which I didn't gain until the last four months.
2/11 - 3/12 = 5lbs
3/12-4/13 = 11lbs
4/13-5.13 = 4lbs
5/13-6/10 = 9lbs

Total = 27

Okay and after MUCH digging around (I had to find my paper journal), I see that at my 32W1d appointment with Morella I was at a 25 pound weight gain. So the difference of two pounds -- doesn't strike me as that much different! And then looking ahead with Morella at 34 1/2 weeks I was up to 31 pounds.

One more thing, I do remember that being the pattern with Morella, a modest weight gain one month followed by a big jump the following much. After the 34 /12 week appointment I opted out of knowing and the doctors were kind enough to not say anything unless it was important. Which they didn't.

So. Yeah. Please tell me to stop worrying about this and ignore what the doctor says. :( I mean, I wasn't too overboard with Morella...and I lost it all within a year without trying so I should expect the same for Crouton right? Trust my own instincts...that sort of thing? Other than that, my blood pressure was awesome 104/60 and I am perfectly healthy.

I hate doctor appointments.

I am feeling a little better this week. I have been taking it easy and doing things slowly. I managed to clean the living room yesterday which was nice. I would love to do the kitchen today, and in fact should probably be in there but Morella is taking a nap and I think I should recover from this morning. Noah came over for an hour and a half this morning while his Mom tried to get some work done. Her Nanny is out for the month travelling and her husband had to take some last minute class. I offered more hours for to watch Noah because Morella has so much fun with him. Before he had shown up, she has just pitched at 15 minute temper tantrum because I wouldn't let her sit on the computer chair.

Man she is such a little show off....and she LOVES to tackle Noah with hugs. But it was so nice having him here because she was immediately distracted and played with him. She's really a social little girl. I think it might actually be a really good thing that we are having another baby so soon, and a girl at that so that she will have someone to play with later on.

Today I have to make room in the kitchen for the new dishwasher. I think that is the other reason I would like to clean it - -because there will be "people" in the house.

We still need a dog sitter for this weekend. Why is this weekend so popular?

I have to make some phone calls today that I have been putting off for almost a week. I really hate talking on the phone. I mean -- I guess I am okay doing it once in a while when I am bored and just want to chat. But for mucky things like people I don't talk to often or aren't familiar with I just get so uncomfortable. I much prefer calling for specific things like 'How much are your dishwashers?" etc.

Laura - garage sales around here usually start on Thursday and go to until Saturday. If you are having a short garage sale then it's Friday and Saturday. Usual times are between 8:00 - 3:00. No one has garage sales on Sunday. I know I thought it was weird when I moved here too, like "Come on, people have to work!" but now that I am part of the SAHM Guild, I notice that Thursday and Friday garage sailing is actually the best. You get such good stuff and there are actually quite a few other people out and about.

Sarah - luckily the heartburn has not returned. It might have just been me overdoing it on trail mix. I have since started using a measuring device.

Sigh. I should get back to work. I think the laundry in the dryer is done, and I need to put the wash into the dryer, and then wash a blanket that needs to hang outside. I could also work on cleaning the kitchen... :( Morella is so cranky today (and yesterday and the day before) with that bottom right molar that I feel like I am letting her down somehow.

My kitchen needs and organizational makeover. So does the office and the bedroom. Tim and I were talking about things that need to be done before Crouton gets here and ... 1. The bedroom (make room for cosleeper and rearrange). and 2. Bring up 0-3 month clothes. and 3. Someone needs to help me throw myself a Casserole party so that we'll have food for those first few weeks. ;)

Is it tacky to throw that party yourself? I had heard a great idea where you just have a party and anyone that comes with food gets entered into a raffle for a gift certificate to a restaurant. I kind of like that idea!

There is something wrong with the laptops power supply. It doesn't show the cord as being plugged in. When I close the top, I can wiggle with the power cord a bit to get the light to come on in the front to show it's charging...or plugged in. In any case, my time on the laptop now seems to be limited to it's battery time. :( Why does everything bad have to happen to both computers at the same time? I mean that totally sucks.

I'm also not feeling that great. I ate some trail mix today and then afterward sort of felt nauseous and like there was a pain in the middle of chest. Tim said it was probably heartburn. But I thought heartburn was when you feel acid burping up or something. In any case, I tried two tums and the pain and nausea persisted for another couple hours. It seems to have gone away right now, but I still kind of feel blah.

Walking is so hard at points. I mean, Crouton is pushing on my bladder to the point where even after I go to the bathroom, two minutes later if I am walking each step is excruciating like I really need to pee again. It was never like this with Morella! With her it was cute little jabs to the bladder, but this is ... well ... it's torture. And the moving and shaking of Crouton -- I swear this kid is going to puncture a hole somewhere with her force and strength. In fact, that is now one of my new worries that IS going to doing to something to the amniotic fluid before she is completely done cooking because how can such strong movements be normal? I mean, it takes my breath away and makes me stop, and it ... hurts.

Oh great the laptop is doing something wonky now. Sigh. I should go to bed anyway. Oh and did I mention that anytime I do any kind of real physical stuff ---- like this past Saturday, Morella and I went to the Capitol to see some cows (Cows on the Concourse) so that Tim could sleep in and give us an outing before the rain and bad weather started (which it never really did). Anyway. so we got back after an hour and lots of walking and pushing a stroller and I can't believe how ill I felt. My stomach was braxton hicking itself all the place, I felt cramps and I needed to lay down. Morella didn't take a nap at her usual time, Tim was gone, so I got her up and felt kind of bad just sitting on the couch and letting her play and talk without too much interaction. Finally she went to sleep two hours later and I still felt like crap and went to bed. It was only after three hours did I feel back to normal.

I feel so bad for saying or even thinking this, but .... I am starting to really understand how women can say they are ready to be done with pregnancy and just meet the little bugger. I feel like if I openly admit that then I am wishing for Crouton to get here early -- which I am not. I want Crouton to get here when her lungs are mature and she is ready. However, I won't lie when I say I hope that "ready" is a week before her due date or something instead of being two weeks over like Morella. I can't imagine going that long. Then again the infertile part of me says "Shut up and be grateful." Sigh. My chest is starting to hurt again. Right between my breasts above my stomach. Is this heartburn? Gah, where is the gauge on my body that tells me what's it is.

I have a doctor's appointment this week. For sure I am not going to see how much I gained. I don't think it's that much considering that my appetite has started to falter. But then again you never know. I know I sure feel much bigger everywhere and looking at pictures of me is almost painful. Ha ha. I won't feel that way in a couple of years, just gotta remember that. ;) I plan on taking Morella with me since it should be a quick in an out. Then after this it's every two weeks. Yikes!

I also have a ultrasound appointment on Monday the 15th at 3:00PM. Anyone want to watch Morella for me?

This week is going to be busy. Trip to my Dads on Thursday. Spend the night. Graduation lunch with Andrew and family since his High School is having their graduation ceremony at 8:00PM Friday night. Uh...what? That's insane. Obviously they want no one to attend the ceremony. Plus that night we are going to be camping after we drop Mobug off her grandma's. Hm. I don't want to think too hard about it yet. Just thinking of finally finishing the job on the kitchen is making my stomach turn. I have to make room for the movable dishwasher and rearrange. I just need ... time to do. Time and energy. When is this nesting going to kick in? I really could use that extra burst of energy and nudge. I'm starting to feel a little left out on that pregnancy phenomenon. I mean, I get to experience uncontrollable farting, constant need to pee, swelling, insomnia, hip pain, leg pain, cramps, etc but I don't get one of the GOOD ones?

Okay. bedtime.

But before I do...I wanted to note a few Morella thing for the record:

--can close doors using the doorknob while standing on her tippy toes
--has climbed the toliet (and caused problems), and her small bookshelf in the living room
--tries to sing "Are you sleeping, Brother John?"
--Still throws massive fits over diaper changes
--wants baths again but only during the day and for varying amounts of time
--is having "conversations" with me, Migo and her stuffed animals daily, complete with head shakes, gestures, pauses, smiles and looking at me to see if I can understand her.
--seems to want to go out every day ... and not just outside to play but actually GO somewhere like on a walk or a car ride to a store or an adventure.
--eating apples like a little squirrel
--leaps and bounds improvement in using a fork
--can read almost everything on the green coffee table, and long narrow table in the kitchen. Obviously she's grown an inch or two the last month.

Man oh man. I totally cleaned up at a garage sale this morning for me and Morella's Garage Sale Friday's. It was the first one on our way to the bank to get money, followed by a typical stop at McDonald's for coffee and a sausage McGriddle for Morella at which point we hit garage sales. This one had some toys out in the driveway that looked pretty girlie and when we walked up a woman said "There are lots of clothes in there for you, but not for little boys." I replied "Yeah, I went through a stretch a little while ago where it was all boy clothes all the time." Thinking of course, at the time it was no big deal because I was working on a gift for my friend Sarah who is expecting a baby boy in July.

Anyway. Oh my. The clothes. Mint condition. Cute. Quality -- and all priced to sell. I'm talking 25 cents a top, 50 cents a bottom/shirt, etc...it was fantastic and my kind of garage sale! Morella kept herself busy playing with the doll carriages, dolls, stuffed animals etc the entire time. Of course it was partially run with old folks who do an excellent job of keeping an eye on her at all times as well. I love my neighborhood. :D

After I checked out -- a whopping $23 bucks, I gave them ten and said I would be back with the rest after we went to the bank and Target. I had to return a wicking shirt I had gotten for Tim yesterday that didn't fit quite right. I exchanged for two wicking t-shirts at the same price and while I was at it, bought a pink storage bin for all of Morella's 2T clothes. This way I can put them in it, and store it downstairs until November. She is SET -- though my friend Karen mentioned today that she is going to send Morella a bunch of 18mo to 2T clothes. I can't wait to see them as she has such excellent taste in clothes. Morella and Crouton are such lucky little girls.

So yeah, I got an entire wardrobe for Morella this summer for all less than $50 bucks.

Okay, let me brag with an itemized list:

5 pajamas
2 overalls
6 jumpers/dresses (3 of which were brand new with tags)
3 pants
4 shorts
18 shirts (4 of which were brand new with tags)
4 body suits (1 brand new with tags)
5 sweaters/hoodies
1 skirt

Doll Armoire (Uh it's a build a bear workshop armoire) wooden -- quality construction (.50 cents)
3 small balls (free)
1 doll (really nice ... Morella took it to nap with her so I didn't see what brand it was - 1$)
2 really cool electronic things --- .50 cents each
12 board books - .5 cents a piece
1 fancy glass tart dish - .25 cents

-- all for $23.00 !!!!!

Sadly, by the time we did make it to McDonald's I was 8 minutes past breakfast cut off...so I just got a large iced coffee and small fries for Morella. Then at Target I got her a mandarin orange fruit cup that she gobbled, along with the fries. What a lunch huh? She's kind of on an eating strike right now.

So what to do this afternoon? I just washed one set of dishes and was going to work on cleaning up the house while Morella naps -- in addition to posting. Then I thought we would play outside for awhile and enjoy the weather before three more days of cold, crappy weather. Sigh. When is summer going to get here? I don't want to go from this to like 90 ... I wouldn't mind a few more 70's day though....

*Also, Sarah -- I noticed my face had expanded quite a bit from last year to this year as well...but thought maybe no one would look at me and instead just focus on cute kids. And thanks for the dishwasher advice. I will follow that up in preparation for the new dishwasher, whenever it gets here.

Morella and her Choka

May 2009 photos are up. Here we have Tim, Morella and neice - Eden (10 days old)

Hey. Busy day. I finally tackled a project I have been working on all summer of putting up some wall shelves that I got at a garage sale for $3. I first painted them the accent color we have of some other things in the bedroom and then today figured out how the heck to use a stud finder (I hate those things...it's official) and then finally drilled and assembled the bookshelf. Meanwhile the rest of the bedroom is a disaster, but it's honestly been that way the whole month. I'm not even going to tell you how bad the kitchen has gotten while I have been focusing on this project.

Anyway. Tomorrow I am going to work on the bedroom some more. I want to get everything situated before Crouton gets here and we have to move furniture around to accommodate the cosleeper. I would rather get things sort of where they would be first and get used to it.

I also finished putting captions to pictures, so the May 2009 photos are finally up and ready to be seen. So yeah, check them out. Maybe the sheer number of pictures will make up for the scant number of postings these past two weeks.

We haven't gotten the new dishwasher yet. It was on back order. The dude kept pushing the white model on me, but I resisted. I almost got the feeling he thought we couldn't live without one. Ha ha ha ha hah..... you can't miss what you've never known. Tim said he was just afraid we would cancel our order and get it from someplace else immediately. Maybe. It's coming next Wednesday.

Tim got his new video card and managed to fix the desktop. He said he broke a fan though, so the whole thing is still sketchy. We are thinking we need a new desktop anyway. I guess we'll see how the week goes.

I got a letter or card from a friend yesterday and Morella lost it without me opening it! I know it's around here somewhere....oh man. This house needs a major fit of "nesting". I hope I get it with Crouton because I sure never got it with Morella. Maybe I can fake it....

Oh and lastly, I bought some microfiber today from an automotive store so that I can make some inserts for Morella's diapers. She has been peeing through them several times a day. It's not that the diapers are less absorbent, it's that she has a lot more pee to dump. Today I also bought her a training potty. Is potty training hard? How did our ancestors do it? I just kind of feel like books, special videos and all that jazz seem kind of ... commercialized that the easiest way to do it is to just ask if they need to use it and then...oh I don't know what I am talking about.