oh NOES!!

I just realized the most horrible thing ...

I can't steal all the kids' Easter candy this year.

I also won't be able to indulge in our traditional Easter morning brekkie. (tomb rolls = hollow sweet rolls).

*sob*

I have a fantasy

That some day, I'll be able to sleep as long as I want/need without anyone waking me up for any reason.

No boogers to clean. No food to make. No butts to wipe. No messes to tackle. No required hugs or snuggles or anything. No toddler kicking me in his sleep. Nobody waking me up to show me the cool rock they found at the park. No bouncy balls smacking me in the face or chest while I rest. No preteen emotion storms of angst or slamming cupboard doors while she does her chores. No alarm clock telling me it's time to get up to get Kiddo to school or myself to work. No baby punching my bladder while I'm sleeping, to the point I'm wake up about to wet my pants.

Just sleep. Blessed, peaceful, deep sleep.

I fantasized about this for about an hour this morning. Then I realized something.

That day that will surely come as my children grow up, but I will miss those things! Maybe not the boogers or messy pants, but I'll miss Little Mister coming to lift my eyelids to check if I'm really asleep or just pretending. I'll miss his warm little body curled up next to mine. The total trust in his face as he pats me on the cheek or runs up for a hug and a kiss. The words he says that mean, "I love you," but sound nothing like it, but when I say, "I love you too," he gets a huge grin and nods as if I understood him perfectly.

I know there will come a time when we're done having babies that I'll still miss feeling them move inside me. I'll miss that sweet newborn smell and the special nursing time you only get when they're little.

There will probably even be a day when I miss the prepubertal whine fests, as Kiddo becomes a full-fledged teen and I won't be able to do anything right. And even if she's not that bad as a teenager, she'll still grow up and move away, and I'll miss her coming in to tell me every single thing about her day, or waking me up to ask me to pray with her because she had another nightmare.

So for now, I'm trying to fix my attitude and enjoy the moment we're in instead of wishing myself out of it. After all, they don't stay little very long, and if you don't enjoy it while you're in it, you are missing out on something amazing.

Friday Fave Five!!

1. Lunch with girlfriends. The bloggy lunch last weekend was way fun. My college girlfriends and I went to lunch Wednesday, also way fun, though in a different way. One of them is moving out of state very soon, and that sucks. I'm going to miss her, though I don't see her often. Plus, the food was way better than at Golden Corral. Just sayin'.

2. My blood sugars are almost all at their targets now, though I think I just pushed my luck with my "snack" of french vanilla hot chocolate. i was cold, it was in my carb limits ... lol. we'll see what my sugars look like before bed!

3. Steph suggested I get a water bottle with a straw because it's easier to suck down water (or soda) with a straw -- you get more. Since I bought it, I've been drinking almost 3 quarts (96 ounces) a day. Yes, I'm peeing constantly, but between that and my blood sugars, I'm feeling SO much better.

4. I never got to experience the joy of this with Kiddo at such a young age, but Little Mister actually ate some of everything on his plate tonight. I've been offering him a bit of everything at every meal, but he just eats what he likes and ignores the rest. Or throws it at me. Every time we tried to get Kiddo to try something new when she was little, she'd projectile vomit. Not worth it. ANYWAY. I made salmon and rice and green beans and sliced some strawberries for dinner tonight. He ate all his salmon and rice, and took two bites of each of the green beans and strawberries *voluntarily*, not even snuck into something (which I have done with the green beans before). He's getting more adventurous with food, which is good since I thought I killed his appetite for new things when I was only eating cold cereal for weeks and, thus, so was he. haha. (Kiddo did NOT eat all of her salmon, though did eat her strawberries and green beans. lol)

5. Kiddo got new glasses this week. They are very cute and, even better, she can see the crap on the floor when I tell her to pick up! HAHAHAHA! I'll have to take pics this weekend.

The Joys of Walmart Bathrooms

First a confession: I HATE public bathrooms. *especially* when I have a toddler in tow. Some bathrooms are worse than others obviously, and some I really don't mind going in. Like the restroom at Gloria's Little Italy -- clean, well supplied, decent design ... But I was able to leave my toddler with my girlfriends with whom I was lunching today rather than take him in a public bathroom. Again.

Toddlers do not keep their hands to themselves. They want to touch everything. They WILL touch everything. They don't understand "germs" or "gross" or "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA". Babies are easier; they are confined. Preschoolers do typically obey when you say "yucky" or something along those lines.

But my little boy has a newfound love of flushing the potty every.single.time. I pee. Which is a lot right now as I'm 27 weeks pregnant. He was working on potty learning, but realized it's much easier to use the diaper and then just flush after mom. *sigh*

I had to go to Walmart the other day and realized on my way in that I had to go. NOW. Thumper kept whacking my bladder. I plopped Little Mister in a cart and buckled him and headed for the "family" restroom in the back of the store since the cart would fit in the bathroom with me and I could keep my eye on him while maintaining some semblance of privacy.

It was gross. Not THE grossest bathroom I've ever been in, but it was pretty disgusting. And poorly designed. The toilet was really close to the wall, and the paper holder was just in front of it. Nowhere for my left knee to go. It was too close and yet not close enough to reach the toilet paper easily, especially given my currently expanding stomach. I finished my business, but every time I leaned forward to get toilet paper, the toilet flushed. Normally not a problem, but it was that cheap, thin crap stores use, and it was only coming out a few squares at a time, and Thumper was protesting every time I leaned forward, so I'd have to lean back to breathe, then go back for more.

When the toilet flushed, it was almost like the poor dude's version of a bidet. Not something I wanted to experience in Walmart, thank you very much.

D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G.

I came home and showered. And will never use that bathroom again. Even if I wet myself.

quickie update

I met with the dietitian today and got my monitor and diet instructions. I have to test 7 times a day, but I'm eating 7 times a day, too. hahaha. All afternoon and early evening, following their carb and other food recommendations, my sugars were right on target. Until I had a little chocolate as part of my snack earlier tonight. Even though I had some protein with it and it was within my allotted carb count, I started getting a headache again almost immediately. The next reading was *barely* in the range they want, so I think chocolate is out except rarely. Booooo!!!

I go back next week to meet with them again and give them a copy of my test log. From there, they'll decide on insulin therapy if I need it, and whatever other followup. We're hoping I can cut back on the number of times I'm having to monitor every day if I can get it under control with diet and exercise this week.

Little Mister isn't sleeping well tonight, so I'd best get some work done so I can snuggle the boy. Thanks for all the sympathy and well wishes, here, on FB, and privately!

Getting a phone call

From a doctor's office before 9 a.m. is NEVER a good thing.

I failed.

They said something about having me see a diabetes educator for diet and monitoring. Awesome, I can deal with that.

The diabetes educator called and left a message about INSULIN. I don't want to do insulin, but if it comes down to it and I can't control this with diet, I will. I'm waiting for another call from them -- they didn't answer when I called them back.

I'm going to try for a nap now. Wahoo.

The Tale of Orange Goo

Some of you may recall I did a 1-hour glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes a couple of weeks ago.

Some of you may also recall I failed that test.

By ONE point.

They still required me to do the 3-hour test and, because of possible risks to my baby and me, I went ahead and did it.

When the nurse called to inform me I'd failed, she told me I needed to fast for TWELVE HOURS starting the night before the test and be at the office at 8:30 the next morning. For a pregnant woman who must eat smallish amounts every 2 hours, this is a problem. Especially one who is usually up until 1 or 2 a.m. working!

Because we knew I'd be at the office for over 3 hours, the husband and I had to plan for me to take the test on a Monday since the husband doesn't work Sunday nights, so he could sleep some that night and watch our son.

So last night, in an effort to distract myself from my rumbling stomach, I drank a LOT of ice water, watched New Moon (meh) and did some hand quilting on our wedding quilt. It now has both my husband's and my names, so I told him he's really stuck with me from here on out. He didn't think that was funny.

That distraction method didn't work so well. I went to bed. Couldn't sleep, so I turned on my Alias DVDs and crocheted for a while. Finally around 1 a.m. I was able to fall asleep.

My son came stumbling into my room at 4 this morning, crying. The husband put him on the bed with me and went into Little Mister's room to sleep. But man ... it was hard enough to get to sleep, but then to be woken up and *still* hearing my stomach growling ... and most of my dreams were plagued with food. Even goldfish crackers sounded divine in my sleep. I kept dreaming I was eating, and kept waking myself up to make sure I wasn't. I sure as heck didn't want to have to fast at night again. So I was a tad grumpy. He did go back to sleep and I drifted off eventually. Just in time for him to get up at 6:30.

I sent him to his sister, who had to get up for school anyway.

They came back and watched TV while I slept. I instructed Kiddo to feed Little Mister breakfast so I didn't have to look at food I couldn't eat. She gave him a bag of cereal, which he promptly dumped on me and the bed, and some juice, which he also promptly dumped on me and the bed. I finally got up at 7:30, showered, took kiddo to school, dropped New Moon (meh) off at the redbox, and went to the doctor's office.

I had hoped I'd be alone for the test so I could have some "me" time. I armed myself with 2 bottles of water, a DVD player, Alias DVDs, and the afghan I started crocheting last night as a distraction. But there was another gal there who was a chatterbox and whose draws were 5 minutes after each of mine. She was a nice gal whose babies will be slightly closer together than mine, so it was fun having adult conversation, but still.

I went in to get the fasting blood draw, and the nurse asked me if I'd been fasting for eight hours. My jaw dropped. "The nurse who called me told me TWELVE. I haven't eaten since 8:30 last night." She was so angry! Asked me if I knew her name (no), and said she probably knew who said it, but that wasn't very nice to do to a pregnant woman. NO, it really wasn't.

The first blood draw hurt. A lot. I'm not usually a wimp, but that one was painful, and she's never hurt me like that before. *sniff* Then she handed me the bottle of Great Orange Goo and told me I had 5 minutes to drink it. And that if I threw up, even a little of it, it negated the test and I'd have to come back and try again. Joy.

If you've never had to take the Goo, it's akin to drinking flat orange soda as thick as maple syrup.

It's so sad, but that tasted SO good right then! I think I finished in about 30.2 seconds. She reminded me to drink lots of water, and I went out into the waiting room, where I started getting a headache and had Orange Goo burps for the next hour or so. With each burp, I started worrying I'd lose it. But I didn't. At the next draw, which didn't hurt nearly so much, she reminded me to drink water, told me that it would help with the headache, and sent me back into the waiting room.

About 5 minutes after that draw, I started feeling better. Thankfully. And the next two draws were just fine. She told me to keep drinking water. After the last one, she asked if I was still drinking water and I said "Yep, just finished one bottle." Then she told me not to eat anything sweet or any fruit the rest of the day (I only had granola bars in the car, drat it all) and to keep drinking water, and sent me on my way.

I had to eat, so I scarfed one granola bar, drank the other bottle of water, and hurried home for lunch. The husband was in a Mood as Little Mister had cried most of the time I was gone, and the husband started dwelling on what would happen when this baby comes and I'm in the hospickle. Oy. After a can of ravioli (split with Little Mister), two egg salad sandwiches, and a big bowl of salad, I started feeling better. I'd taken LM to the park after the ravioli and then brought him home. He fell asleep on the bed while I was making the rest of my lunch, so after Kiddo came home, I curled up on the bed with him for a nap. So nice, though I could have slept a LOT longer.

As of now, the headache has returned and I'm hungry again. Big surprise. but you bet I'm having a Coke with dinner, even though it's full of sugar. Yum.

Well. I did it.

I went. I dropped food on my belly. More than once. I ate a few rolls. And a bunch of other stuff.

But no one made snarky comments!! about ME anyway. haha. ;)

Actually it was fun and everyone there was nice (at least to my face, :P). Kristina wouldn't let me sit by myself, so I followed her orders and "mingled" and met some wonderful people. I've missed doing stuff with friends, and feel like I made some new ones today. Plus, I got to meet Kristina and the Boob Nazi in person! Admit it: You're all jealous.

The husband and children survived my outing, and Little Mister gave me big kisses when I got home. Hopefully he's just as good for Daddy on Monday.

I'm super tired though. I almost wish I didn't have to work tonight, though if I say that too loud, I might not have any work to do. It is the last weekend of the pay period after all, and I'm usually out by now. *sigh* Guess I'll go log in and see.

How odd.

I have met many "strangers" from the internet ... mostly online dating services (hey, when I was single. Hush, you!). Some of my best friends came from one of them.

Um ... so there's this bloggy lunch tomorrow, hosted by Kristina. She's like a bloggy superstar around here ... funny, down to earth, real ... and I want to meet her! and if Boob Nazi is there, all the more reason to go. There are like 40 or so bloggers going.

It's in a public place during the day, so doesn't hit those red flags of creepy stalkerish out-for-sex-from-LDS-women men wanting to meet you in a dark parking lot at midnight. (yeah, had more than one of those propositions before! from LDS singles dating websites, no less.) Ahem.

I should feel safe and fine going, right?

But here's the thing: I'm NERVOUS. Like, almost as nervous as I was on my wedding day. What if these ladies whom I adore online hate me in real life? What if someone says something about the giant pumpkin I appear to have swallowed? What if this baby, who has made my eating all the more picky of late, won't let me eat anything but a giant basket of rolls at Golden Corral??? It will be entirely too apparent to everyone in attendance that I am not pregnant, but a complete and total carbohydrate addict, and that is why I am so fat and have a beer gut. What if, heaven forbid, I dump food all over my ever-expanding self, thus proving myself forever a slob?

Yes, these things have really gone through my head. And that last one? happens almost daily.

The husband assured me today that he will not just veg at home but actually interact with our children and take them to the park or something (depending on the weather). That should alleviate some worry, right? except I have to be gone again for a few hours on Monday for a 3-hour glucose test (ugh, I guess I won't just be eating rolls after all), so I'm not sure how Little Mister will handle me being gone to Midvale for a good chunk of the day tomorrow.

Ah well. At least I can look forward to the probability of setting off smoke detectors for the third time this week, this time while making a roasted chicken when YSIL comes for dinner tomorrow with her son.

Friday Fave Five!

I don't really have a fave five today. But I do have two blog posts that made me giggle in the last 24 hours. (and trust me, that's a feat in and of itself!)

Alice shows how fairy tales really end.

V and Co teaches you how to save $30 and get back at your husband.

I whine a lot

Some days, I feel like all I do is gripe, whine, grumble, cuss.

le sigh.

But today has been a pretty decent day.

Little Mister, Kiddo, and the husband all let me sleep in. LM slept in too, and woke up at 8. After the husband had taken Kiddo to school. He ran around yelling "SIS!" and "HUH?" alternately. (We figured out he calls her HUH? because she responds thusly whenever I call her name; at first we thought it was because he couldn't say her name, but no.) The husband then kept LM so I could shower alone(!), and I managed to get my legs shaved for the first time in a while! awesome.

After a small smoke detector incident which woke up the husband, LM and I had breakfast. Then he called, "Wheeeeee!!!" and went downstairs and grabbed his football. So I put him in the stroller and we went for a walk. When I tried to come home, he cried and yelled, "Ball!" and pointed at the park. Derrrr. Silly Mommy! He brought the ball for a reason! We played for a little while, and then he got distracted by a cat inspecting the now-empty stroller. He chased it off, but was mighty offended it ran. haha.

Came home as it was nap time and, though he asked for the nap twice, he refused.to.sleep. I understand he slept in, but he went to bed late! Oy. Tried feeding him lunch and he threw it at me. Bananas get slimy very quickly in toddler hands. Ahem. He was so dang tired, he was stumbling around and falling over. Just as I was briefly considering drugging him with Benadryl so I could have my nap, a thought came into my mind. "Take him in his room, lock the door, and let him play while you sleep. He's safe in there." So that's what we did. He played for quite a while and let me sleep (mostly), then curled up next to me and zonked out.

I woke up a few minutes before Kiddo got home from school (good timing; she had an eye doctor appointment for which we needed to leave immediately), and the husband was just getting up, too. He went to shower, and said not to wake LM up, that he'd watch him. That helped the eye doctor appointment go much more smoothly, and Kiddo is very excited about her new glasses (and thankfully the flex spend account will cover our part).

The husband has been grumpy since we got back, but suddenly realized he had a headache, took something for it, and mellowed out. This is progress!

Kiddo has changed the dishwasher, is washing pots and pans, and I'm getting ready to go make our traditional St. Paddy's Day breakfast, only for dinner since I missed the morning. Green pancakes, bacon, eggs, and green milk/OJ.

So, though I whine and grumble and cuss, there are good, blessed days mixed with all the other junk, and those days are what get me through. I'm just thankful the Lord sends enough of the good stuff my way that I don't completely lose my mind.

Being a Grownup Just Plain Sucks

That's how I'm feeling today, after spending about $200 in car repairs (the first we've actually had to PAY for, thanks to the extended warranty). It's not perfect, but it's running better.

Thus, our vacation plans are completely off. not taking a car that isn't at its best on a road trip. and that sucked up some of the money we'd put aside for such an event. le sigh.

We had such high hopes for you, 2010 ... please let the rest of the year not be so suckish.

OH, but hey, the sun came out today and I got to go to the park with the kids (we blew off chores). The neighbors were out and my friend M came over with her little ones, too ... apparently I needed to talk, because I just ... did. And she still loves me. Good to know that not everyone will think bad of us because of the financial trouble we're having. Wahoo. (I know you internet friends don't, but some of the people who live near me *can* be very judgmental. just sayin'.)

A gift from MIL

She gives us $ every time we go over there when I'm pregnant. "to make sure you're feeding that baby." hello! have you SEEN my belly? just kidding. I wouldn't take it except it hurts her feelings if I don't.

So, I had this $ burning a hole in my wallet when we went to Walmart. The husband needed work socks and ... I guess I needed a shark steam mop. it was on clearance for nearly half off, so I bought it.

*LOVE*

My kitchen floor is sparkly! the bathroom isn't germ infested! in fact, having the floor clean made me clean the outside of the toilet (again)! and I tidied up the living room a bit! if only to have room to put the mop together ... ahem.

next up: The master bath and the entry way.

I know we only have 4 smallish areas of hard flooring in our house but I *hate* mopping. This little steamer makes it oh so easy ... and rewarding. clean floors with minimal effort.

Shark steam mop, I love you.

Oh, MIL, I love you too. ;)

TGTBATU

The Good: The husband's blood work came back normal. So we still don't know what was causing the bleeding/bruising, but he isn't going back on that drug. I need to call the insurance company for names for a new psych on Monday.

The Bad: My 1-hour glucose test came back 1 point too high. (see me cry.) I have to do a 3-hour test this coming week. The reason this isn't The Ugly is because that is 3 hours of ALONE TIME (even if it's spent in a doctor's office!). I'll take something to do, movies to watch or something. I did that last pregnancy, too.

The Ugly: Um ... I can't really get into details, but the husband's place of employment is shutting down temporarily in April. *sigh* He told me he thinks it's a sign he give up on going to school like we had planned this fall. I told him to take it as a sign he should get an education. He decided he liked my idea better because I'm the more rational of the two. hahahaha. Still, it's scary.

Not Ready!

Little Mister has been asking to go to the potty every time I go for a week or so.

*sigh*

I reluctantly bought a potty chair yesterday.

Now, unless you have had a little boy or two little ones close together, you're probably wondering why I'm so reluctant to help him potty learn now.

Most kids who are potty learned shortly before a baby is born regress back to full time diapers. And boys usually potty learn way later than girls. Sucks but there you have it. And I didn't want to deal with the frustration of it in any way, shape, or form at this stage in pregnancy. Yes, I am that lazy. ;)

At any rate, I put him on the potty a couple of times yesterday, just taking him when I went, not making a big deal of it. He'd sit on it and jump up and clap. lol.

Just now, I went to change his diaper (almost 2 hours after his last change and he'd guzzled 1-1/2 sippies of watered down juice since then), and he was completely dry. I knew I had about a 30-second window to get him on that seat or we'd have a mess, so I said, "let's go potty!" in a really positive voice and took him straight in there.

He sat down, let me push himself down below the splash shield, and peed. Immediately. We clapped and he got lots of praise, and seemed very proud of himself.

I'm not ready for this! He seems to be though. I'll just let him go at his own speed.

oh but hey, one less diaper to wash ... hm...

Oh yeah, this too.

I forgot Little Mister can't tolerate citrus fruits of any sort and gave him some of my key lime pie that I made for Relief Society last night ... made an extra for us. Gave him more today. Guess who now has a blistery diaper rash? Poor baby. :( He cried and cried and cried, and can't sit on his butt. *sigh*

So, I feel like it's been a boring week but at the same time, not so much.

*Took the husband to the doctor on Tuesday for workup and a checkup. They told him the three medications his psychiatrist has him on ALL turn off the "full" cue to the brain and you just eat and eat and eat, so that's why he's gained more than 30 pounds in 6 months (and recommended we get a second opinion with a different psychiatrist). They still aren't sure why he's bruising/bleeding more easily, so they did some blood work (and I should call tomorrow for the results ... oooooo). He took himself off the one medication we suspect is causing it and IS causing major fatigue, and his bleeding problems are going away. *sigh* They also told him he needs to avoid second helpings so he can try and lose some of the weight. Silly husband decided he needed to do a colon cleanse and is on a juice fast for a while. He feels better and is having less fluid retention in the 36 hours since he started it, which means he's not having to take another medication. Maybe he's not so silly after all.

*I had an OB visit Wednesday. I only gained two pounds this month (the husband was ticked about that -- I ate 2 boxes of girl scout cookies! haha), and they did the 1-hour glucose check. They didn't call back today and said they only call if it's abnormal, so I'm assuming I'm fine. They did tell me that if we decide to road trip before the baby is born, we have to stop every 90 minutes so I can get out and walk.

*That last bit of information essentially canceled our trip to see my folks and brother/family because there is no way our toddler will last on a trip that long.

*We are planning a mini vacation to St. George instead (much closer), because the husband has the time off work and we haven't done a family vacation since ... ever. We did go camping one night when Small Fry was here 3 years ago, but I think that's it. Any suggestions or ideas on good places to visit in St. George or the area are welcome.

*The loan modification people ... They sent me to collections two weeks into the modify, when I wasn't even aware that a payment would be due 2+ weeks later (meaning I wasn't even behind yet!), and the guy was a complete and total jerk. The husband wanted to do him bodily harm. They recorded phone calls between him and me, but didn't tell me they were doing so, and listened to them after I told them I was done with them. His manager called, agreed he was terribly rude to me, said the husband wasn't the only one who wanted to hurt that collector, but stood up for him saying he's very good at his job ... and still tried to get more money out of me when I told the salesperson from the beginning that I couldn't afford to pay them any more than the initial payment until after it had gone through! ugh. We are so beyond done. I need to call the manager back tomorrow and let him know for sure we won't be continuing the process. The bank holding our mortgage has refused to refinance us twice and was making the modify quite difficult anyway, and we haven't ever been able to sell the place, sooooo ... This means we'll be moving in about 5 months. With a new baby. Awesome. I actually feel at peace about it all now.

*Even in the midst of financial problems, we are getting blessings here and there, which make it all more bearable. Free cloth diapers, loves from anonymous people, my talents as a seamstress improving much more better (though my grammar sucks), the kids eating more fruits and healthier foods, the house getting cleaner and cleaned more frequently (though right now it looks like a cyclone hit it!) ... things are going well overall, just the mortgage thing is really the problem right now.

Now, if only Little Mister would go to nursery at church on Sundays ...

another giveaway??

Man ... I have to blog this one. My want pretty free fabric. lol

V&Co is a crafty blog. I'm going to get started on Thumper's quilt very soon using one of V's tutes.

If I blog about giveaways or other blogs, there are only two reasons: 1. I want the free stuff. 2. I love the blog/blogger and want to drive more traffic to their blog, though I don't have a ton of traffic myself.

In this case, it's both. (same goes for BN's giveaway!)

Happy browsing.

Well, it's Monday

Kiddo loved the pants. Which is good. Her favorite part was the hearts (which were a total surprise -- we had discussed just making them bell bottoms, not patching holes! bwahaha). Which is awesome because they were sort of a pain. haha.

Little Mister hasn't been feeling so well the last couple of days, and ended up in bed with me around midnight last night. By 3 this morning, he was sideways at the top of the bed. So I went sideways/diagonal toward the bottom of the bed. At 5, he was MAD at me for not being where he thought I should be but he came and found me. We moved to the regular place in the bed, and slept until 7. lovely, especially after an early wake up yesterday!

I may be starting to sell cloth diapers ... if I do, I'll be linking everywhere to the shop. It'll be an interesting ride, for sure.

And ... BOOB NAZI!!! is hosting a giveaway. Go and enter. And then go back to KP's page and give money for snuggies.

Happy Monday!!!

This weekend's projects

I failed miserably at completing my planned project last month (the wedding quilt). But I made a lot of diapers and have progressed with things we need for the baby, sooooo, I'm okay with that. For now.

This weekend, I had to "make" Kiddo a 1970s themed costume for her school program this week. 1970s is the only instruction we were given, aside from "bell bottoms." That just is such a vague description -- the 70s covered hippy styles to disco. Alas, I decided she could wear a white shirt with some jeans she had that were too tight and too short, converted to bell bottoms by yours truly.

before:

I added appliques (made from fleece) over the holes she'd ripped in them. I had to take off the hem because it was worn out, added triangles of fabric on the outsides of the legs, and created cuffs of matching fabric. Total cost for this costume: $0. I had everything on hand. It took about an hour with the sewing machine to do it, and it was a semi-fun project! lol

after:


And I didn't have a ton of work last night, so I made this little nightgown for my neighbor who just had a baby boy. I have a few more planned for MY baby, but had to get the pants done tonight, so that is what I did.

Sometimes, you just have to cry to feel better

Not me, though that applies to me too, just not today.

Went to church and everything was great ... for about 45 minutes. We were a bit late, but Kiddo and Little Mister were behaving, and then Kiddo and her friend were helping with Little Mister, since I'm too tired to chase him all over. Unbeknownst to me, the friend was actually supposed to be sitting with her mom, but mom couldn't come and get her because her son was freaking out and having a serious meltdown.

We were sitting in the foyer (because the hard chairs in the chapel hurt me) and the kids were just fine. I was chatting with a friend about my trainer (she's her sister-in-law; the baby is here but still in the hospital due to complications), trying to ignore the headache I'd been having since I got up this morning, and suddenly I noticed my son's ball go up really high and get stuck in a light fixture.

Kiddo's friend threw it.

Little Mister didn't notice, and he's just fine. It wasn't his football (which is his woobie he sleeps with), so he is okay. Kiddo, however, is not.

I said something to the friend about how that wasn't nice, and she may not have done it on purpose, but throwing someone else's ball that high right next to a light is a bad idea. She nodded and I could tell she was trying not to cry. Kiddo had been quiet until right then and started in on her. "He just got that ball for Christmas! That was my favorite! I'm so mad at you!" Then she stomped off.

I told the friend I wasn't mad at her and she just broke down bawling. I gave her a big hug and repeated that I wasn't mad. "I can buy another one!" I told her it was okay, and she said, "Maybe the janitors can get it down!" I said, "We'll check in the lost and found in a couple weeks, okay?" She was okay, still sniffling, but gave me a hug, and went into her classroom, right next to where I was sitting.

Then kiddo came storming back, and I said, "You really hurt her feelings. You need to go apologize." So she went into the classroom and YELLED, "I'M SORRY!" right at her friend, who had her back to her and wouldn't acknowledge she was there. Came storming out. "There! I apologized."

"Um, no. You didn't. Apologies in a mean way do not count."

"YES, they DO!" Stomp stomp stomp. Yells at her again. Friend ignores her again. Stomp stomp stomp back to me. "She won't listen." Flounces into a chair. "STUPID!!"

"Get your stuff, we're going home."

"NO! Everyone hates me, especially YOU! It's TRUE!" I mean, the kid is nearly in hysterics by this point and shrieking at me right outside the chapel. I told her to sit down in the chair, keep her mouth shut, and not move, that I'd be right back. I found the friend's mom and told her what had happened, and that Kiddo was making it way worse with her attitude, so I was taking her home, and apologized that things got so out of hand. She seemed very understanding -- and she knows I really like her daughter, it was just one of those things kids just don't think about before they do.

I collected Kiddo (who, amazingly, had minded and stayed put in the chair). She was absolutely furious I didn't let her stay at church and didn't understand why I was making her sassy stomping self leave. She started crying in the car, and her brother started bawling, too. When I told her what her punishment is (staying in her room cleaning the rest of the day), she sassed me again, saying, "When you stop the car, I'm running right back over to the church!"

I said something I'm not proud of at that point and told her if she was going to do that, she could go live with her friend because she was disrespecting me so much and it was unacceptable.

She stayed, though she stomped her way into the house. I told her to throw her shoes away (high heels, hand me downs from her cousin, and she stomps in them every time she wears them) and she refused. She did take them off, and I chucked them into the DI box when she wasn't looking. Ahem.

So, she went to her room and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. I put her brother down for his nap and came out to get her a Tylenol for the headache I was sure she was going to have and two for me for the headache I lost the fight with, and she emerged from her room, red faced and tear streaked and apologetic. "Can we go over to her house after church so I can really apologize?" "Nope, but you can call her after church. Okay?" She agreed that was a good plan, took the Tylenol, we discussed why I made her come home, and she heated up a bowl of chili, which she is currently slurping down.

Yeah ... preteens and her hormones added to MY hormones and migraine ... not a pretty combination. But she feels better after crying it off. I hope her friend is okay, too.

Just so you know

If you buy red towels, even if you "set" them with a vinegar wash (or five), they will still bleed 5 years later.

Yes. Really.

Snuggies for Seniors

Let's keep all the old people in Utah warm, shall we? I mean, it's March and it just snowed, so we really need to pitch in on KP's cause.






Go. Donate.

Friday Fave Five!

1. Kiddo... She's had some music lessons at school and learned to play the recorder and did a smashing job, advanced beyond the rest of the class. Recorder class is over, but she still has the book and instrument and is still playing. Good, right? Well, now she's figured out how the notes in the book and recorder correspond to our keyboard, and can play anything in her recorder book on the keyboard. I didn't realize what she'd done until the other night when I said, "Wait a minute! I never showed you what those notes were on the keyboard!" "I know, I figured it out myself by finding where Mary Had a Little Lamb was on the keyboard." Yeah ... I need to schedule piano lessons on my schedule for her and get that cranking because that is ALL the music training she's ever had. Period. I mean, I know she comes from musically gifted blood, but come on ... Mama better get her butt in gear! I'm simultaneously proud of her and horrified that I've neglected her music education so long.

2. Another Kiddo moment. She came out of her room Sunday morning and saw me in the recliner, just laying there and letting Little Mister tear up the house. She asked if I was okay, I said no, and without another word, she took LM to her room and played with him for an hour. We were late to church, but I was able to get a little more sleep and felt better. She is such a wonderful kid! Not perfect, but wonderful.

3. Little Mister cut two more molars Wednesday night. He went to bed SO much easier Thursday night, though fussed a few times, and has been generally more pleasant since.

4. Girl.Scout.Cookies.

5. Chicken pot pie. From scratch. Using this pie crust recipe (with butter, not shortening) and homemade gravy/sauce ... oh wow I wish I could have eaten more last night!!

I am a compliment pig ... and other thoughts

I posted a picture of a little nightgown I made for Thumper on Facebook. And on the sewing forum to which I belong. Love the compliments. They make me feel fantabulous. Then the pattern designer (also on that forum) said, "It looks perfect!" That made me feel even better.

But you know what the best part is? I showed it to the husband and he said, "I've seen those before ..." And I said, "The appropriate response is, 'Dear, you did an amazing job with that.'" He stared at me for a second and said, "Wait, you MADE that?" hahahahaha.

Wanna see? If you're on my FB, you probably already saw it. But here it is.



Isn't it cute? Just used fabric I had on hand to practice with. I'll be using some funner fabrics (with ribbing that matches for the cuffs and collar!) to make more. hehe

And I made a major goof with my son tonight.

I gave him a girl scout cookie. A Samoa. The best kind.

I may have ruined him for anything else now.

Pregnant nightmares

Yeah, I was fine last night, but naptime today was psycho. I'm not going to describe the nightmare, but I had to call MamaBear when I woke up to make sure she was okay. She is just fine, thankfully.

This might be my last baby. I don't know if I can handle anymore of this.

Pregnant dreams

I had a nightmare last night that the family and I traveled to Europe when I was 35 weeks pregnant and the baby was born the next day. And it was a 10-pound baby boy, who obviously couldn't wear any of the pink stuff I'd made and we couldn't use the name we've chosen for our baby girl. And for some reason, my trainer got on IM and we showed him to her ... (coincidentally, I found out later today that she had her baby boy today, but he was only 7 pounds 3 ounces! haha.)

I'm sort of afraid to go to sleep tonight.

In case you ever wondered

what the biblical "manna" tastes like, apparently it's bananas.

At least, that's how Little Mister says banana. "MANNA!" as he's standing at the fridge, staring longingly at them...