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August 31, 2007

a departure

No basement update, no pregnancy talk or potty training whining.
Just some pictures of the girls, something this blog has been missing lately.

Dress up. LOL! "Don't I look like a princess mom?" "Um, sure."

My little fish.

A rare moment of laying quietly and listening to a book on tape. . .together. . .while Julia is allowed to hold the book. . . by herself! (all shocking developments)

Chatting on the Passage stairs

Posted by JennR at 10:16 AM | TrackBack

August 29, 2007

It's just an expression

In the past month we have had two funny situations where we are trying to explain a "figure of speech" to Lizzie. It's one of those lessons where you sort of stumble over your explanation, trying to find a way to help them understand.
The first was several weeks ago when a friend at church pulled me a side while I was walking with Lizzie and said, "Hey Jennifer, I want to put a bug in your ear about something." and she proceeded to tell me an idea she thought I'd want to be involved with. Almost an hour later my daughter looked up at me while we were eating lunch and said, "Mom, why did that lady want to put a bug in your ear."
"It's just an expression Lizzie." (hm, be more literal)
"She was giving me an idea, um in my head." (does she understand what an idea is)
"She wanted to give mommy something to think about."
LOL, non of those felt like they explained why someone would want to stick a bug in my ear and why they would say it if they didn't really mean it.

The other happened the other night. Lizzie fell while running to her room and slammed her ear on their baby doll cradle. It bruised up the top of her ear lobe pretty good and I was watching it get more and more purple. I looked over her head at Andy and said, "look at this she has really done a number on her ear."
(through tears she asks) "What number is on my ear?"
LOL-"No honey, its an expression." (here we go again, explaining abstract ideas)
"We just mean that you hit it really hard."
"Where is the number? What number is on my ear?"
"Um, a number 10." LOL- this was my brilliant declaration, I thought it might quiet her down. Plus it was the easy way out.
So we asked her to go to her room to get her pajamas and she is walking down the hall still whimpering bent over in half and we are snickering at her. I thought she might have been bent over because of the throbbing or something. So as she walks back towards us I ask, "why are you bent over like that."
"So I don't get my hair in it."
"Honey, you aren't bleeding."
"No, the ink."
"What ink?" (I am thoroughly confused now.)
"From the number 10."
oops

Posted by JennR at 10:46 PM | TrackBack

August 28, 2007

potty stalker

Today marked the official start to potty training Julia, we have been calling it "panty day". Lizzie spent the morning playing at a friends so we could go hard core on the training, the little stinker wouldn't drink much this morning though. I even filled one of our water bottles that squirts to share with her and I got a "maybe later". So not may opportunities this morning. I totally feel like I am following her around, "do you need to use the potty?" "where are we going to put our peepee?" "are these your m&ms for when you go potty?" "mommy is going potty, do you want to come?"!!! I mean who is getting trained here. I'm not sure she is even had the chance to initiate I am right on top of her. But I guess its good for them to get some success before backing off a little bit. She was super ready- I was not. Even taking herself and taking her diaper off and I didn't want to do it. We've only gone through two pair of panties, one while she was eating breakfast and watching sesame street and the other was her morning business, which she finished on the potty. So not so bad I guess. She is currently down for a nap, in panties- brave I know!! I thought, I might as well try. Can't be any different than when we went through the stage of her stripping her diaper off at night and us finding her later, naked in a ring of pee. LOL
So if you see me this week and I look more haggard than usual, you will know why. I've taken on a new role- that of the potty stalker.

Posted by JennR at 02:35 PM | TrackBack

August 27, 2007

Picts of baby #3

Today the girls and I drove to Oak Ridge to meet my Mom and my Aunt Jodie for a 4D ultrasound. (4D since you can see it in 3D in real time) My Aunt does ultrasounds and I have had the priviledge of having all my girls scanned now with the 4D machine.
Going into it I was doing it a little more for the two of them than for myself and I actually was pleasantly surprised to get so much out of it. I joke with my good friends about being a bit emotionally closed off while pregnant but it is something that bothers me a bit. I'm not sure if I like to keep things at a distance until they are out in case something happens or if its just hard for me to connect. After today its almost like we cheated and got to meet her a little bit early. It made it so real for me, not that this belly could be missed. One thing that really surprised me and might sound stupid is that we watched her grab her foot which was totally cool and it dawned on me that she is doing "baby things" while inside. (hmmm, that did sound stupid) I guess when they move I've not thought much about what they could actually be doing and after watching her a bit I realized she's acting like a baby. There's not some light that switches once they are on the outside, she's doing some of those same things now! Anyway, that was cool for me.
We are measuring way ahead still. In fact, the circumference of her stomach is measuring like a baby who is 34 weeks and 5 days and I am in my 32nd week! Granted these measurements are an estimate (they measure circumferencce of the stomach, head and length of a femur to see how your baby's growth is) but I am pretty excited she seems to be so big. She's an estimated 5 pounds and a few ounces. This is pretty significant for me since I would really like to have a chubby baby. : ) Plus it makes the 25 pounds I have already gained seem worth it. This has been pretty difficult for me, this pregnancy has been so different from my first two. I usually have rapid weight gain in the middle of the pregnancy and with the first two it tapered off and with this one it hasn't. I gained 16 pounds with Julia total and I had thought then that the baby would take whatever they needed and I went into this pregnancy wondering if that was really true. My babies are fairly skinny and both were failure to thrive after nursing for a few weeks. I know enough to know that there are no absolutes but I can't help to hope that all this weight is making a difference and I might have an 8 pounder at least, who is very awake and wants to eat all the time. : )
(you'll have to remind me I asked for that in two months)
Ok enough blubbering and emotions- LOL
On with the pictures, she wasn't in the greatest position to get a good face shot but I think we did ok and it was a blast just the same.

Her fist next to her head.

This is where she had just grabbed her foot and we had watched it happen in real time.

Her face is down the middle, I made the placenta and uterus desaturated so it would be obvious what you are supposed to see.

Another face shot.

Leg shot, the curved form above her foot is her arm, I think she was grabbing her feet again.

Posted by JennR at 09:47 PM | TrackBack

August 24, 2007

My family dinners

Last night Amy and I went to an open house at My Family Dinners to see what it was all about. It's a place where you can go and essentially batch cook, or assemble meals to freeze. I had heard about it through another friend and was interested in checking it out, especially with the baby coming. When Julia was born I worked hard to cook and freeze and with the church meals and friends I don't think I cooked for at least two months.
Neither one of us has cooked what we made yet, we split Grilled Asian Pork Chops and Citrus Chicken. A chicken meal usually consists of 6 chicken breasts, which would either feed my family plus leftovers or we wanted to split it and see if we could make two meals out of it. Both of us have small kids who probably wouldn't eat an enitre breast on their own.
The menu for September looks really good and they price it all the same which is nice. We tasted brisket while we were there and that was awesome.
The price per meal was $17.50 which we honestly thought was expensive. We could have accomplished the same thing for close to half that cost. I don't necessarily think its a business geared towards me, its more for busy families who are trying to enjoy a meal again together instead of always eating out. So in that sense, its a deal!
However, they have it all laid out for you, ingredients, equipment and instructions and once you are done assembling your meal you walk away from your station and someone comes to clean it up. Can you put a price on ease and convenience? I don't think its something my family will regularly do since it would exceed our food budget, but I am definitely doing it in September to keep meals for after the baby. I'm thinking of asking for credit there from our parents as a sort of gift or help for after the baby. 12 meals (which we would hope to split into 24 with no leftovers) costs $210. I think it'll be fun and something nice to have as a treat and to mix it in with the stews and chilis I'll have frozen as well.
Feel free to let me know if you want to come with us, we wanted to gather a group for a session- we thought it would be more fun with friends. I would like to shoot for the second half of Sept just because they recommend you eat the meals within 3 months and I want them to last into Nov., but we'll probably try to get our names in a session soon.

Posted by JennR at 03:58 PM | TrackBack

August 20, 2007

Great deals

So I'm still on my consignment shopping high and thought I'd share the load I scored. Since I was a helper, I got to shop from 2-4 yesterday afternoon which was so worth it and a lot of fun (although extremely tiring). Sundays are difficult anyways because I'm getting ready and helping to get the girls ready and I usually feel like I haven't eaten enough or regulated my blood sugar before I leave. By the end of worship I'm usually sitting down for the last few songs, but this Sunday my awesome husband packed me some snacks in the diaper bag! You rock honey! I did feel like every time I put a gold fish in my mouth Randy looked right at me, felt kind of sneaky but at least I made it through the whole service. Next Sunday I am bringing a water bottle, also illegal in the sanctuary but it is so hot in there and I think about water most the sermon anyway. LOL
Ok on to my clothes:

Both the girls were born in warm seasons so I wanted some winter newborn clothes and I got some really awesome stuff. My limit in the newborn clothes was $2 and I only spent $3 on two items, the bright red and pink fleece outfit and the light pink sweater, pant and hat set. There are no stains on these newborn clothes, I am really excited about them. I got 7 newborn outfits, 4 skirts for Lizzie some with matching tops, denim jumper for Lizzie, 1 pair of pjs, velvet outfit for Lizzie (which was not really my style but in good condition and $2 and she likes it, LOL) and Julia got 2 new dresses and some dora tennis shoes.

My favorite items:

talbots kids outfit for Lizzie for $5 (the most expensive piece of clothing I got) and a light blue vest for Lizzie with flowers on the inside for $3- so cute!

Evenflo back pack carrier, this thing is great and Lizzie has been playing with it since I brought it home. It has a detachable pack on the carrier and lots of other fun bells and whistles. We've never had a backpack carrier and I'm excited to use it next spring. It was only $15 and the fabric doesn't even have dirt or drool marks! These are at least $50 used on ebay!

Fun stuff:

7 little people animals plus accessories- $2. By the time I got to toys my arms were full, I had my pool bag crammed with clothes and the back pack crammed with clothes but I wanted to look for Little People animals to add to our collection. Now the Little People can ride the bus to go to a field trip at the zoo- LOL.
I also got a Clifford VHS for $1. Again, I was too tired by the time I got to this section as well. : )
This consignment sale happens again in the spring and I'm hoping to be able to sign up to help then as well and get us some summer clothes. It's going on all this week it you are interested. Kids Zone sale

Basement update:
Things are still progressing along in the basement. Andy worked most of Saturday and helped with housework yesterday. I feel bad taking him away from being down there but he helped me catch up on laundry which was much needed. I just need an extra pair of hands, or better yet- a huge dose of energy!
He has started the stairs, this is the question we've gotten the most by far- "how will you do the stairs"? Such skeptics! He tried the math way, measuring and angles and BLECK. So I made him a paper pattern and this seemed to work. The stairs aren't perfect anyway so he really needed a tracing of sorts. I'll be excited to see it done.

What a dad, working so hard for his girls!! (notice that tight fit on the stairs, what a worker. even with the paper pattern it took a great deal of sanding, good job honey.)

Posted by JennR at 09:49 AM | TrackBack

August 16, 2007

2 months to go

Thought I would post an update on baby #3 since I just got back from the high risk this morning.
All seems to be well, which is great- obviously. :) It's been a long time since I had a scan so it was reassuring to take a peek again and make sure she was growing well and the fluid levels were where they are supposed to be. And is she ever growing well! She is estimate to be 4.5 pounds which is on the higher end of things for the stage she is at (31 weeks) but I don't mind that at all. The girls were born long and lean and I would like a baby with some fat on her and a big appetite. Makes the fat I'm packing on seem more worth it. She's also laying side ways which seems funny to me, her head is on the right and her rear is on the left. I wonder if this is making me more uncomfortable, or if its just the fact that I've already carried two babies.
I had thought that I wouldn't see the high risk as much but he wants to do every other week alternating with my reg ob, so it seems my days at the high risk are not over. Luckily I will not be on the baby monitor everytime which adds a half hour to the end of each visit. They will scan me and I'll go on the monitor at the reg ob office. He also doesn't think we'll need to go to twice a week at the end, which is nice because child care can get more challenging. Besides I don't want to wear my friends out before the baby comes, I want to farm them out AFTER. :)

In other news, I worked for 3 hrs last night being a helper to set up a consignment sale. Its open to the public next Monday and if you are in need of fall and winter clothes for your kids you should try to go. I've gone to this consignment sale for the past few years and they get really great stuff. I worked last night so that I could shop early on Sunday at the helpers sale. I'm hoping it was worth the 3 hrs of sorting and hanging clothes in order to shop without worrying about childcare and I also get to be the first to go through everything (with the other helpers). I was a bit motivated by my competitive nature, getting to shop first was just too hard to pass up. It reminded me of my days working stock at the Gap and by the end my feet were hurting and I was exhausted, but there is nothing like an evening of good hard work.

Posted by JennR at 10:55 AM | TrackBack

August 14, 2007

Feeling a bit fatigued

Sometimes I wonder if reading the little weekly updates on babycenter "bring on" my symptoms or if they are just so dead on that I find myself experiencing exactly what it says. This weeks it began with "Are you feeling more tired lately?" Why yes I AM!! It's started to dawn on me today that I might be leaving those energy filled mid to late twenty weeks and heading on into the more tiring phase again. Yippee. I feel like there is so much to do and being extremely tired does not fit in with my plans.
Although we are so excited about how much got done in our basement renovation, I find myself wanting to be down there to mud holes or start taping and mudding dry wall seams. It leaves me feeling a bit anxious still, I so badly want it done as soon as poosible. I also still have a few big freelance projects going on right now which I would like to dump quite frankly. I really don't need this stress, although the more we look at night at the online ikea catalog the more I am feeling I should continue to work when I can. And then there's my house. . .Ugh. I still haven't mopped since the work weekend and my uncle's dog was hanging out upstairs a lot so the floors are bad. I thought about calling in all the child care favors I could think of this week (which isn't many) but I feel like I should hold out until I will really need it in October. But I feel like I also really need it now.
The girls and I spent the morning out running errands and they are supposed to be sleeping and I've already spanked several times and now when I hear them goofing off or yelling tears come into my eyes cause its so darn frustrating. Is it bad I am leaving them in their beds for a bit because I need some peace and quiet and I can't deal with them?
I'm just getting so worn out. So here's the only solution I can think of, I'm only spending 15 minutes on the things that are stressing me out. 15 minutes in the kitchen- where a load of clean dishes awaits me and some dirty dishes are in the sink, 15 minutes putting clothes away and general clean up, 15 minutes on the living room floor. Then I'll work on freelance, and beyond that its all I can do for now. While I would like to sit on my couch and let it swallow me up and be grumpy at the kids, I'm trying my best to be proactive in the situation and I'm going to go set my timer . . .starting now!

Posted by JennR at 03:40 PM | TrackBack

August 12, 2007

Update on our project. . .

I'm almost too tired to post this but am more excited and more grateful so thought I would take a few and post some picts.

Andy, Val and Charlie

After a little over 48 hours and many many thanks to my awesome relatives (and Tim) we now have a completely framed out playroom which is almost entirely drywalled as well. We have a few tricky spots to finish but we are more than grateful for how far along things are at this point.

It was a long and tiring weekend for all. I would love to stay in bed for most the morning tomorrow and we will work the morning shows on pbs with baggies of dry cereal for the girls as long as we can. :) I have a lot of cleaning to do upstairs, lots of food was consumed and lots of stuff was tracked upstairs but that will come.
The girls seemed like a handful this weekend, but we survived. One thing I forgot to think about in all the planning was the fact that I would fly solo most the time while others worked. I'm glad I'm 30 weeks pregnant, because not being involved would have normally driven me crazy. When I could get away for a bit I would sit on the stairs and visit and I even swept a few times. My sweet family would comment about how much easier it was to work with a clean floor but they were probably just throwing me a bone. :)

I had some concerns going into the weekend, not knowing what shortcuts might be taken or what changes might be decided on. I even put Val in charge as my art director/standards control. But boy was I ever wrong because they planned above and beyond. We were going to retube the ac black tubing on the back wall with a metal rectangular one and instead, they framed it and drywalled it in! So much nicer. I had also agreed early on that we could leave two of the walls that were cement blocks alone and when the guys arrived and saw them they decided to frame them and finish them off as well. Awesome! In my mind the less it looks like a basement room the better and this room is huge and its going to be pretty. Charlie had offered to build me a storage closet under the stairs and he spent most the day today working on that. What a pain, but I am so glad and it'll be great.

I just can't say enough about the folks that came down to help, my Uncle Michael from Maryville, cousin Val from Nashville and Charlie from Oak Ridge- they came and worked long 12 hours days! Thanks guys, you have made my winter with two little ones and a new born much more bearable now that we have a huge play room! (not to mention improved the value of our house and all that legistical jazz)

So Andy and I are taking tomorrow off from doing anything downstairs, but then we'll be mudding the rest of the week (at night after bedtime) and hopefully he'll be arranging another small work day next weekend to finish up the drywall and other small projects.

Posted by JennR at 10:01 PM | TrackBack

August 10, 2007

It has begun. . .

The work on our basement/garage has begun. I am currently sitting on my couch with my feet up listening to nail guns, saws and the occasional laugh from one of the guys. My uncle Michael and cousin Charlie came down and after getting a boat load of wood they are now framing the room and putting up our door. It's very exciting. I can't wait for the girls to have a place to go and play. Our house has 3 bedrooms but one is my office and as they get bigger it'll be great to put most of their stuff in a play room to create more room in their bedroom. Not to mention adding a new baby to that mess. . . :)!

Andy, Michael, Charlie (discussing the AC I believe) and Lucy, the sweetest golden retriever there is)

We'll be joined tonight by my cousin Val (Charlie's sister) and hopefully a few friends will be around tomorrow.

My job is to feed all of our wonderful help and keep the cooler full of water, poweraid and cokes. Please keep us in your prayers this weekend, for safety and that the guys have a good time together. Oh and that we end up with a playroom! :)

I'll be loading pictures on the flickr account as we go! These are the fruits of all our hardwork this summer!

Posted by JennR at 04:35 PM | TrackBack

August 07, 2007

NOW, its hot!!!

So being nearly 30 weeks pregnant in the dead of summer has not been that bad, until now. Folks it is HOT out there. My new policy is to no longer leave the house when its over 90 and feels like 106, like today. We just spent the afternoon at Coolidge park, almost two hours and I believe thats it for me today. LOL! Just the effort of walking to the car with the girls in a double stroller was ridiculous. I wanted nothing more than to come home and stick my head in the frig. I feel sort of like I just went running for the first time in a long time and my legs are like jelly. Can the heat do that to you, oh I feel a bit wimpy.

The upside is that both girls are down for a rest and I think I might take a long cool shower, which will be nice because I won't have to worry about anyone getting into anything. And then I might fry my brain with some useless afternoon tv. FUN! Could be reading a book, making jewelry, sewing- but no I think I'll see if something ridiculous is on. :)

Stay cool out there!!

Posted by JennR at 02:08 PM | TrackBack

August 05, 2007

Commenting on pregnancy

I thought I would compile a list of comments that I have experienced and my friends have experienced while being pregnant, in the hope of making others laugh and educating a few folks on what might not be good things to say. . .
(these may not offend all pregnant women, but in my experience more often than not we could go through our day without hearing most of them)

1. Wow, its really starting to show in your face!- Inappropriate, translation in a women's mind- you're gaining weight.
2. Are you expecting twins?- Never a good question, especially when someone is only 28 weeks along!
3. You look like you're ready to have that baby soon.- Another poor comment to make, especially when the person is only 28 weeks pregnant!
4. You REALLY look pregnant now, I mean not just hmmmm is she overweight, but really pregnant!- Meant with the best of intentions, but still nope.
5. You look full!- the commenter did not know this particular person was 10 weeks pregnant. (that's just an inappropriate comment to make in general)
6. You look healthy! (told to me by a stranger- translation- you're eating well!)
7. Are you eating again!?!? (asked in a cutesy voice, this will set any pregnant women off)
8. Have you been eating lots of pickles and ice cream?- this one is quite innocent, but it does annoy me to no end. It's usually one gender that tends to go in this direction because I'm pretty sure its all they know to say. Here's a secret, you are not required to say anything, we already think about it 24/7 so no worries.
9. (in response to asking a friend how she was doing)- I feel like you look, bloated.- LOL! In defense of this friend she followed up with saying at least I had the excuse of having a human being in my belly, but I still thought it was funny and worthy of the list!

Words to avoid- thick, full, filling out, bloated- LOL, heavy and twins just to be safe. And its best not to raise your eyebrows in astonishment when you see us making it seem like we're a bit of a side show. :)

So here are some good things to say. . .
Using the word "cute" is always a good idea.
1. It just looks like a cute little soccer ball.
2. You can't even tell your pregnant from behind!
3. You look great!- this is always a good safe one

Feel free to comment and add to these . . . then we can all have a laugh!
:)

Posted by JennR at 09:43 PM | TrackBack

August 01, 2007

fabric

I ordered some fabric off the internet and it arrived today and I am so happy with the color! This fabric will be my new sling for the baby, sewn together by my friend Christy. She has made them out of seersucker before and that's what I wanted to buy but it's been tricky getting my hands on some. I found some online and the color I wanted went on clearance and I got some over the weekend for $1.95 a yd and its 100% cotton.

I was concerned that it would look more pink than red, but it looks more red in person with a muted undertone.
I ordered twice as much as Christy would need to make a sling and I'm not sure what to do with the rest. I thought about paying her to make up a second one and holding on to it to give to a friend who might have a girl. Hmmm, we'll see.
Just a little blurb for fabric.com, this was my first time ordering and I will definitely be back, it was fast and they have great sales and shipping incentives.

My only concern is due to the nature of seersucker its a bit bumpy and almost rough but hopefully with washing it will soften up.
Here's hoping this baby doesn't mind being strapped to me 24/7 cause that's the only way I think I'll make it. :)

Posted by JennR at 04:01 PM | TrackBack

Not myself

Andy's parents just left after a great 4 day visit. The girls had so much fun and were going 110% the whole time. We're still recovering a bit. :)

My stressful period of freelance is almost over and I will be so glad when its done. I'm tired and even more tired of all the juggling. I have been avoiding posting (not to mention too busy this month) because I'm afraid it will be mostly sound like whining and no one wants to read that. But the reality is I just don't really enjoy being pregnant and its a big part of my life right now (emphasis on big- HA) and I thought I'd just go ahead and write about it anyway.

We're now rounding the corner to 29 weeks and I have a mixture of relief and excitment to be in the third trimester and dread over the kind of winter we will have. So while I want it to hurry and pass, I realize she is much easier to take care of inside. I feel like I'm trapped in someone elses body, someone shaped like a buddha statue with dark circles under their eyes who has to use the bathroom all the time. This is not an exaggeration, we were at dinner the other night and I left the table to go use the restroom and on my walk back to the table I thought I was going to have to turn around and go back and use it again. It's completely ridiculous, I'm wondering if this is because I've already carried two babies and this baby is super low. I've been getting up 2-6 times a night which seems early in the pregnancy to me and just adding to the super good time I'm already having.

I'm still trying to walk 3 times a week although its getting much slower with heavier breathing. But I keep pressing on, mostly because I am trying to finish the audio version of the last Harry Potter book. How sad is that, I really didn't want to walk last night but wanted to get further in the book and get to be by myself for a bit so I forced myself to go. All the while dreaming about the two cartons of ice cream we have in the freezer, lol. I ended up not having any, I just think its wrong when they make ice cream buy one get one free- I mean what are they trying to do to me!

I see the high risk next week, and I'm actually looking forward to getting another scan. I haven't had as many this time around and it'll be nice to make sure fluid levels are good (they'd be low if the blood thinner shots weren't doing their job) and everything checks out. Andy and I each have our own name idea but neither will give in to the other, I'm thinking of holding out till I'm cut open and see if he gives in to me during the c-section! Knowing him, he won't.

Reluctantly we'll start potty training Julia in the next two weeks. She goes several times a day on her own I just haven't put her in panties yet and focused on her for an entire day (or more). I'm waiting till my work slows down and I also want to do it during Aug because they are out of mothers day out during this month. I really don't enjoy this process and am not looking forward to it. But already I think it'll be smoother than with Lizzie, where we were more trained than she was and I was nursing a newborn and lifting her up to the potty. I originally didn't want to train Julia till she was almost 3, I wasn't going to push this child. But the little stinker is doing it by herself, so there's no avoiding it now. It's more stressful for me to think of having a new baby and having Lizzie run up to tell me that Julia had an accident than to change two sets of diapers.
Bring on the M&Ms and the silly cheering you find yourself doing when your child has used the toilet. :)

Posted by JennR at 10:27 AM | TrackBack