Pink or Blue?

I had my ultrasound yesterday! It was a very good experience. So many things came up in the first few months that it was a HUGE relief to see that everything is going well. Even if my thighs are shrinking (again, is that really a bad thing?) the baby is growing right on schedule!
We did determine the gender of our little bundle. However, Lenna wants to be the bearer of happy news to our family in CA in person next week, so I am not going to tell it here. And for those of you who already know, please edit your comments so Lenna can keep her surprise!
I was going to post a picture from the ultrasound, but it didn't turn out as much more than a gray blur. I think I am the only one who can tell what I am looking at anyway, I think you have to use your imagination a bit.
Mike and I had a nice doctor date at the clinic with a follow up at Red Robin for some french fries and a baby name brainstorming session. I think we have it narrowed down pretty well! That we will not share until the baby is born, so you will all have to wait. Unless of course Lenna finds out, then everyone will know within the week!

On a sad side note, I just spent 5 hours archiving old posts from the family message board I used to run for the Cross side of our family. I really put my heart in it the first few years when I started it in 2003. It was a great tool for keeping everyone in touch with each other. Over the last year it has kind of fizzled out, especially the last few months when I had to stop posting there in order to keep some distance between myself and Mike's crazy sister. I think it has officially died! So I hurried and saved all my posts from the past few years so they wouldn't be lost when MSN deletes it. With some editing, they will make an excellent journal! Now I can have no mixed feelings about making a clean break and being done with the whole thing! I am so grateful for the blogger site that has made this blog so easy to do so I have a new outlet for my ramblings and a way to connect with everyone! And thanks to all of you for reading and commenting so I can feel connected with my family and friends. So out with the old and in with the new!

Mom tag

So, I stole this tag from Tiffany's blog. She said I could, indirectly. I usually skip tags because they are all essentially the same re-emailed over and over but I liked this one, so here goes:


1. What time do my kids wake up? Lenna around 645, but she isn't allowed to leave her room until 7. Andy will sleep till 830 or so if I let him.

2. On a good night, what time do my kids go to sleep? Usually around 8, sometimes by 730 if they are sick or really tired. Sometimes we get distracted and it is closer to 9. They will fall asleep standing up after 930.

3. How long have I been a mom? almost 7 years

4. How old was I when I became a mom? 22

5. What's my favorite kid show? I like Super Y on PBS. Non-violent super heroes that teach pre-reading skills by hopping through books. What's not to love?

6. Least Favorite kid TV show? Elmo's World. I hate the "la-la-la" song. I was so happy when they outgrew that part of Sesame Street.

7. My Favorite Chore? Ick. I am tired and can't think of anything I like doing right now that involves housework. Does reading bedtime stories count? How about reading parenting books? I like doing that!

8. My Favorite Meal to cook? Umm, does dessert count? Because I like making dessert. How about breakfast. I like my waffle iron and making shapes with pancake batter and nothing beats cold cereal with milk in a pinch.

9. What's the meal cooked most often? Does PBJ count? Because that wins hands down. Otherwise, I am going with any kind of pasta with a jarred sauce.

10. What is the kids favorite meal? mac and cheese with chicken nuggets. I used to make this all the time until I read the packaging and saw how terrible it was for them, now I try to only serve it once in a while.

11. What is my favorite thing that Mike does with the kids? He plays with them, all of the physical loud games I don't. Today they spent 45 minutes playing football in the hallway. They line up one at each end and charge each other. The one with the ball has to plow through to the end and do a touchdown spike and crazy dance, then they all change places. Definitely something I would never do, but really important!

12. What are the 5 things that make me smile while being a mom?
The funny things they say. I told Andy his picture that he painted was pretty he said, "No Mom! I am a boy, so my picture is handsome!" Lenna wanted to sing me a song she had learned but said "Go somewhere I can't see you and pretend you can't hear so I don't get shy and forget the words!" When I see them loving each other, Lenna kissing his bumps, Andy hugging her when she is sad, that sort of thing. Watching them play with Mike. When I get kisses and hugs and little "I love you"s. Watching them learn new things and do things they are proud of.

13. Where do I want to take my kids someday? Everywhere! Mike and I talk about buying an RV when they are teens and spending summers traveling the US seeing all the sights. Also traveling to Europe to see all the great places.

14. When was the last time Mike and I went out without the kids?
Ummm. I think it was my last doctors appointment, two months ago. We got a sitter for the appointment and stopped at a drive through on the way home. We have another doctor date tomorrow night, but have arranged to actually go to a real restaurant this time.

15. One thing you said you'd never do as a mom? The list is too long. The most recent word-eating- "I will never let my kids play video games!" Andy came home from a play date super excited about a game he had played and found a VSmile at the lending library. Since I had just said "You can pick anything, but only one thing" and he had his arms wrapped around it, I relented. We have instituted a ticket system to limit his time, and so far it is working.

16. Favorite past time with my kids? I love going to the library and bookstore with Lenna. She is a fellow book worm and I am so glad. We used to spend hours there before Andy got to big to be locked in his stroller. Now we have to limit our browsing to his attention span. I like working with Andy in the kitchen. As long as I let him do just about everything and get really messy he lasts long enough to finish and have a good conversation without any vroom sounds.

17. Favorite quality that my mom has? She wants the best for her kids and will do anything she can to get it for them- college, track shoes, flowers on a wedding cake, a prom dress, a million books. She gave up a lot while we were growing up so we could have what we wanted and still does it for her grand kids.

18. Advice for new mom's? Yikes! Am I an old mom yet? I still put myself in the new mom category because I feel like I know nothing. But if it was one thing, I would say pick your battles. Superman pjs to preschool won't kill him, neither will the pink dress over the purple sweater with green tights. In fact, you can give in to the m&ms for potty training and the doughnuts for breakfast, too. They will survive!

19. What’s a scary or heartbreaking moment you've had? Scary- I lost Lenna in a Wal-Mart in Texas. She liked to hide in the clothes racks and I thought she was right beside me but couldn't find her for about five minutes. I finally panicked and got a cashier, who found her heading out the door to the car. She was 3. Andrew almost drowned last year at a pool party. He jumped in while I was getting lunch, and none of the adults sitting around the pool bothered to reaching and grab the sputtering, sinking two year old. I crossed the pool deck, took off shoes, and dropped lunch and jumped in to get him before anyone else moved. We took swimming lessons this year before he was allowed near the pool without Mike and I holding on to him.

20. When was the last time your kids said I love you? I am a very lucky mom. I get at one I love you at bed time, usually at any goodbye, and whenever they really want something they don't usually get. So the last time was earlier tonight while putting them to bed.

So that's me and my parenting philospohy in a snapshot. Flawed, but trying hard to succeed and enjoy the journey.

Summer Projects

I have been trying to stay busy this summer with all the things on my to-do list I have put off since the end of last summer!

May was my reading month.

I logged just under 1,000 pages for our RS book club by finishing off Northanger Abbey, Rebbecca, and Ivanhoe. All very good and I highly recommend them! A really easy Jane Austen read, a good clean suspense/romance novel by DeMauer, and a good expanded version of Robin Hood by Sir Walter Scott. For more ideas, see the "goodreads" box to the left!

June is my sewing/crochet month.

I finished off the kids' pj pants that I started just before Christmas and didn't finish in time. So instead of being six months late, I am a wonderful 6 months early for this Christmas! I also got some fleece on sale at Joanne's this week to make bathrobes since they both outgrew them this year. Hopefully they will make it for this Christmas, not next. My deadline for all Christmas projects is October, since I will be pretty much out of commission from Halloween until like March.

I also finished crocheting this blanket: I am especially proud of it for being my first finished project, besides a few small hats and scarves for the kids. It is very warm and soft and Andrew has already adopted it for his bed.

I put these together for the kids: A kangaroo pillow that has two little babies for her pouch, and a Christmas doll. They came from those cut-and-sew panels. It was my first try, so there are a few rough spots but I feel pretty confident about putting out a good product next time!

July will by my baby craft month.

I have a few more projects in the works, but am trying not to get overwhelmed and start things that don't get done, so it is one by one. Once we find out the gender of the baby I have a crochet booties pattern I want to try, a quilt to put a backing on, and probably a hat. I also found a pattern for a cute crochet cat that has no intended owner, but looked like fun to make. And we will be one Christmas stocking short, so I will make one of those, too. And I also got a counted cross stitch sampler birth announcement to make. Lenna and Andy have one, so I wanted to make sure this one didn't get left out. I am not sure when I will have time for that but maybe it will be my "3am baby is not sleeping and there is nothing on tv and I need to do something besides watch the clock" project. Abs had a cute pattern for baby shoes and a doll on her blog that I am dying to copy, so that is on the list too! Of course, the kids robes as well.

So I will be busy! Don't check back, as I will probably fall very short of this list before Christmas. And I don't even want to think about photo scrapbooks or baby books or preschool projects! There is always next summer I guess!

Summer, personified

I think if I had to take a picture of summer time this would be it.

Freckled cheeks, sunburned shoulders, band-aids on both knees, bare feet, and drippy ice cream cones.

Really, all she needs is a carnival wrist band and a corn dog. But she doesn't eat those and the carnival isn't in town here, so we had to settle.

Of course, Andy is cute too, already in his pjs.

Our to-do for the rest of the summer:

watch a movie outside (done!)

take swimming lessons and live in the pool (done!)

have a cook out (done!)

go star gazing

take a trip to Grandma's house for fishing, s'mores, tent sleepovers, and a trip to the lake (one week to go, hooray!)

make ice cream (anyone have an ice cream maker we can borrow?)

go to a baseball game

sleep in (still waiting for this one, my kids just don't get it!)

go to a carnival and eat cotton candy, funnel cakes, and everything on a stick (maybe for the 4th at grandma's?)

go to the beach

Any other great local ideas we are missing?

Full speed ahead, but looking backwards

It has been apparent to me this week how fast my little boy is growing up. He has changed so much since this time last year when we first started preschool and working and all of that crazy busy stuff that has made the year fly by!

This week especially he has been doing and saying all sorts of self-contradicting things that make me unsure if I should laugh or cry or just hold on tighter and hope he doesn't grow any more while I am looking the other way.

One day last week he surprised me with a big hug and said "Mommy, I love you a zillion!" This was especially meaningful because we had been talking about numbers and decided that a zillion was as big as you could go. Hooray for me, I felt so loved! Two hours later we were in the thick of the evening crunch, with dinner battles involving vegetables (or the lack of) and dessert, repeated instructions on pajamas, tooth brushing, and a long list of reasons why he couldn't' eat Doritos for a bedtime snack, even if his daddy was, he broke my heart. I explained sometimes I had to make choices for him regarding how to be healthy because I was his mom and it was my job. He responded "Well then, I wish I didn't have a mommy!" and stormed off to bed with his bottom lip sticking out. *sigh* What is a mom to do? Extra lullabies for everyone that night!

Last week I went to the doctor. Andrew and I had a double appointment- I went for a baby check-up (all is good, I gained one pound) and Andrew went for a fever and cough that has lasted for weeks. While we were waiting for the doctor Andrew had another growing up moment. I don't' know if it was too much talk about being a big brother or the pressure to be brave for the inevitable strep test, but Andrew decided right then that he was not going to grow up anytime soon. He asked "When will I get to be little again?" "Never, you just keep getting bigger each birthday." "I wish I was a baby again! I miss my baby toys and my baby bed and I don't want to be a big boy!" then he curled up on my lap and sobbed for five minutes.

After a frustrating diagnosis (random virus caused fever, cough is from lousy allergy meds/asthma combo) we returned home to a play date, where he complained he was too big for me to stick around, "When are you going to leave me here by myself?" And the next day Mike was supposed to take him to Adventure Crossing to drive the go carts. Before they left we found out that the minimum age to drive was 5. He spent the morning crying again because he was too small and is now counting the days until his fifth birthday, which he will probably spend at the go-cart track.

So that is Andrew right now- zooming forward full speed ahead, full of "I can do it!" and "How many days until my birthday?" and "I am big enough!", but at the same time he has to look back every once in a while to be mommy's little boy again, requesting a lullabye at night, a hug and kiss before I leave him at school, and a seat on my lap during church. And for now, I am more than happy to indulge him!

Dive in

The first weeks of summer vacation were spent at the Y taking swimming lessons. Lenna and Andrew had a great time. After the first lesson Andrew asked "Mom, can I get some swim plugs?" I of course was clueless until he explained "So I don't get water in me- ear plugs and nose plugs and eye plugs and a mouth plug. I get water everywhere!" We have learned to shut our mouth and eyes when jumping and things got much better.

On the first day they start by lining up the kids, banishing the parents to the waiting room behind glass doors, and dropping the kids into the pool to the teachers who say "show me how you swim" and drop them. The ones that swim go to the advanced class and the ones that sink stay in the beginners. It was harder for me than Andrew. I was sure he was going to drop over the edge he was sitting on and drown any minute.

This little girl in Andy's class didn't stop crying the entire two weeks. Andrew thought his first dive was fun, though.

Lenna was hesitant and actually got a stiff neck from trying so hard to keep her face from getting wet the first week. She eventually relaxed and did fine.

Andrew loved the different floaties they tried. He especially enjoyed jumping over the edge after that ball, even when he wasn't supposed to.

Lenna will try anything if new clothes are involved.

Sometimes I had to bribe them with the outdoor water park to get them to go, but they always ended up having fun.
So here is Andy on the last day. Jump in and paddle, paddle, paddle. The edge seems so much closer when you are wearing a life vest.... Made it!

Lenna, professional dog paddler. Just don't ask her to put her face in the water!

TA-DA!! (right after this he dunked her and she came up sputtering and shocked. He had to see if she would remember to not inhale.)

So there it is. Andrew and Lenna are much more confident now and are able to do some basic swimming. When we go to the pool, no one asks me to hold them up- hooray! Here is to a nice wet and hopefully cooler summer!

I'd like to order dessert, please

I met with the nutritionist yesterday in regards to my problem of not gaining any baby weight. After keeping a detailed food journal of everything I ate, right down to breath mints and trips to the water fountain, it was decided that I was eating right, but not enough. I was instructed to add an extra 1,000 calories every day in hopes of gaining a pound a week on top of whatever I gain as the baby grows.

Do you have any idea how hard it is too add 1,000 calories to a full meal schedule that already included regular snacks and desserts? My metabolism has somehow tweaked back to my pre-married form when I could live on frosty-dipped fries and personal pizzas without gaining an ounce. Where was this problem all last year when I was trying to drop those annoying last ten pounds?

So I am trying to think of ways to squeeze extras in- extra salad dressing on anything, snacking on nuts and protein bars instead of crackers or granola bars, drinking milk with meals instead of water, and of course ordering dessert. I suppose if I had to pick a pregnancy complication to deal with, this would be it.

In the mean time, I am going to start eating like him:

Wild Life

Well, we have been trapping for just over a week now. It has had some interesting results. The first few days we caught nothing- it was very disappointing, since we had already paid and could still see the foxes playing outside, they just weren't going in the traps.

Finally, one night we caught one baby fox. that morning Mike had to chase the mom and other baby away several times so he could go out to the car. It made sense, she didn't want to leave her baby. Anyway, the trapper came and got him and now he is happily raiding trash cans and camps sights at Clark's Hill Lake. Did you know that foxes bark when threatened?

The next night we re-baited the traps with little cans of cat food. It was a very productive bait! We caught no more foxes but, did wake up to find:

A big, scary rabid raccoon (the same who has previously visited in past posts)

A small, stinky little opossum (very, very gross, he came with his own band of flies)

And a ferocious,

frightening

Box turtle.

He said that is the first time he has ever trapped a turtle. He left us the turtle, but took the other animals away.

The next day we caught a stray cat, a very wild and mean stray cat. I was going to let it out because I knew he would take it to the humane society but it started running around the cage like crazy, hissing and clawing at me, so I thought maybe it would be better off anyway and left it there.

So that is our adventure in wildlife hunting here at the house. A very good sampling really, since those are all of the animals we have had encounters with before. The foxes disappeared the night after we stole the baby, so hopefully they are convinced this isn't a safe place and have moved away. We will leave the traps up the rest of the week and see if anything else shows up but I feel much better about going out at night now.

Last week I heard a report about an abundance of bears in the CSRA, bothering campers and such. I told Mike I just knew that one night I was going to look out the kitchen window and see one out there- it seems we get everything else!