I know I'm a few days late with this, but I wanted to post it anyway. This Thanksgiving we had a large, multi-family get together at our house. Our final headcount was 28 with 11 of those people being under the age of 13. It was definitely a full house, but a good time! Lots of family, lots of food, lots of fun. And lots of scanning the ads to make our Black Friday shopping lists (:
To prepare for Thanksgiving, J decided that we needed a new TV so we could watch football the right way. Just kidding. Actually, I'd agreed to let him look for a good deal on Black Friday, but he found a better one the Sunday before. So instead of focusing our Black Friday preparations on TVs, I got to focus on, well, everything else. I'd already arranged to have Zach spend the night at my mom's house so J and I could both go out shopping. Since Isaiah still refuses to eat anything that comes out of a bottle, he had to stay with me ... which meant taking my 6.5 month old baby Black Friday shopping. In years past, when I started Black Friday shopping at 5:30AM, that might not have been so bad. This year, however, I was the naughty mom who left the house with baby in tow at 11:45PM to start shopping ... and returned home at 6:30AM. I got some looks here and there and a few comments from some men who were waiting in line near me about how brave I was to have my baby out shopping with me at three in the morning. Said men eventually got more information than they wanted regarding WHY I had my baby with me when their comments didn't stop after one or two remarks. It's funny how quickly they stopped after processing my comment about how Isaiah "won't take a bottle." Despite having Isaiah with us, our Black Friday shopping was pretty successful. We managed to score some good deals on things for Christmas for the kids, I got a new Shark Steam mop, and J got a BluRay DVD player with a surround sound system and a few new video games -- Christmas came early for him.
And now, because no Thanksgiving post would be complete without a little cheesiness, I leave you with some things I am thankful for this year:
1) Healthy children, healthy family, and a healthy me.
2) A warm, safe place to live where there is always food on the table.
3) A husband who makes me feel so loved, is always there for me when I need him, and who works so incredibly hard for our family.
4) The ability to stay home with my children. Even if it is not the way I'd have dreamed it and they drive me crazy at times, I do feel lucky to be home with them.
5) Not having to do a single bit of cooking on Thanksgiving morning! (and yes, Thanksgiving was at our house. Thanksgiving was potluck style and everything we contributed was made by J. So lovely!)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Home Improvements!
As promised, here are the before and "almost after" pictures of what we worked on the past two weeks. Just for fun, I've included pictures of what the rooms looked like when we first bought the house too :)
First up, the playroom:
And the living room:
First up, the playroom:
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| October 2008 - Right after we bought the house |
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| October 2008 - New Paint |
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| November 2008 - New Carpet :) |
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| November 2010 |
And the living room:
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| October 2008, View 1 - Right after we bought the house |
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| October 2008, View 2 |
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| 2009 - New Carpet, New Paint |
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| October 2010, View 1 - New Furniture |
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| October 2010, View 2 |
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| November 2010, View 1 |
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| November 2010, View 2 |
Monday, November 15, 2010
What We've Been Up To:
Where does time go? I just don't understand how it can already be the middle of November! Things that have happened in the last two weeks:
Zach and the new(ish) neighbor boy, J, got together and played twice. They seemed to get along really well. I'm so happy to now have a boy in our neighborhood that is Zach's age. (There is already a baby boy a few months older than Isaiah on our block.) I really like the J's mom too. It's so nice to meet a mom that I have things in common with - like the older stepkids and husbands, not a huge fan of toy guns/violence, etc - and nice to meet a mom my age with a kid Zach's age that doesn't have a whole lot of growing up left to do. Those seem to be kind of hard to come by. I'm hoping to find a time when just the mom and I can get out together, but I'm not sure when that might happen, seeing as how she works weekends. Hopefully we can do it sometime.
Isaiah turned six months old on November 13th. Wow. I don't know if I'm more in shock by the fact that my baby is already six months old or by all the things he has mastered before turning six months old: rolling over both ways (ok, no huge surprise there), sitting up without support, crawling, and the latest one - going from a crawling position to sitting all by himself. After trying so hard for not quite two weeks, he finally accomplished it on November 9th. At the rate he's going, he is going to be walking by the time he's 9 months old. Haha, if he waits that long! I'm anxious to go to his well-baby appointment this week and find out exactly how big he is now and where he falls on the growth charts. Breaking out and washing all the 12 month clothes for my big boy is one of the things on my ever-growing agenda for this week.
Jerome and I have been working on some home improvement projects. After going back and forth about replacing the trim in our house, I finally caved and agreed to let Jerome do it one room at a time. We started in the "playroom" (what is supposed to be the formal dining room) and the family room. It made sense because we were wanting to repaint both of these rooms. It got off to a slow start - I think Jerome might have been feeling a little overwhelmed on where to start once we got the existing trim off - but thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law (and their kids :)) we managed to crank out most of the project over the past weekend. I'm torn between posting pictures now while it is almost done and waiting until it is actually 100% finished. I think I'm going to go with pictures while it is almost done, but it's going to need to wait until later tonight. Right now I have a kitchen that is waiting for me to finish cleaning. The playroom and family room are looking awesome, but the rest of the house and housework have been sorely neglected!
Zach and the new(ish) neighbor boy, J, got together and played twice. They seemed to get along really well. I'm so happy to now have a boy in our neighborhood that is Zach's age. (There is already a baby boy a few months older than Isaiah on our block.) I really like the J's mom too. It's so nice to meet a mom that I have things in common with - like the older stepkids and husbands, not a huge fan of toy guns/violence, etc - and nice to meet a mom my age with a kid Zach's age that doesn't have a whole lot of growing up left to do. Those seem to be kind of hard to come by. I'm hoping to find a time when just the mom and I can get out together, but I'm not sure when that might happen, seeing as how she works weekends. Hopefully we can do it sometime.
Isaiah turned six months old on November 13th. Wow. I don't know if I'm more in shock by the fact that my baby is already six months old or by all the things he has mastered before turning six months old: rolling over both ways (ok, no huge surprise there), sitting up without support, crawling, and the latest one - going from a crawling position to sitting all by himself. After trying so hard for not quite two weeks, he finally accomplished it on November 9th. At the rate he's going, he is going to be walking by the time he's 9 months old. Haha, if he waits that long! I'm anxious to go to his well-baby appointment this week and find out exactly how big he is now and where he falls on the growth charts. Breaking out and washing all the 12 month clothes for my big boy is one of the things on my ever-growing agenda for this week.
Jerome and I have been working on some home improvement projects. After going back and forth about replacing the trim in our house, I finally caved and agreed to let Jerome do it one room at a time. We started in the "playroom" (what is supposed to be the formal dining room) and the family room. It made sense because we were wanting to repaint both of these rooms. It got off to a slow start - I think Jerome might have been feeling a little overwhelmed on where to start once we got the existing trim off - but thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law (and their kids :)) we managed to crank out most of the project over the past weekend. I'm torn between posting pictures now while it is almost done and waiting until it is actually 100% finished. I think I'm going to go with pictures while it is almost done, but it's going to need to wait until later tonight. Right now I have a kitchen that is waiting for me to finish cleaning. The playroom and family room are looking awesome, but the rest of the house and housework have been sorely neglected!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Halloween and New Friends
Halloween was so much fun. Zach dressed up as Woody from Toy Story and really got the whole Trick or Treating thing this year. He amazed me by saying "Trick or Treat" to people when they answered their door - he normally is pretty shy and won't talk to most people at all. To see him get so excited was such a joy. Jerome's mom and K came over and answered our door so we could both go out with Zach for a bit. K dressed up in her Lady Gaga costume so we could take pictures of the kids all dressed up. She made a GREAT Lady Gaga, and even won $20 in a costume contest at a party she went to earlier in the weekend. And you can definitely tell Isaiah is not the first kid in the family - I only snapped a handful of pictures of him in costume, none of which were of him by himself. I'm blaming the fact that he fell asleep soon after he got his costume on, but still ... I think I might have to dress him up again and have a little photo shoot. No one will have to know that it was actually a few days into November, right?
Here are a few pictures of the kids in costume. The one of K and Zach is my absolute favorite! I may have to get it printed and frame it.
While Trick or Treating, I made it a point to finally introduce myself to a family that moved in down the street a month or so ago. I'd been told by another neighbor that they had a little boy and are expecting again, so I was very excited to meet them but, being a little shy, I had never taken the initiative to walk down there and say hi. The mom was super friendly and it turns out we have a lot in common - older stepdaughters (1 for me, 2 for her), 3.5yo boy (me) and 4yo boy (her), both watch extra kids during the week. I told her to feel free to stop over and play sometime, and was feeling very excited about the prospect of finding a friend on a block that is primarily older couples with grown children and younger couples with no children. As we were walking to the next house, Jerome told me that I'd better make sure the house is clean in case they decided to drop by ... well, they decided to drop by today (super awesome) and my house was less than company ready. Oops! She didn't seem to mind too much, but I sure did! It was nice to visit with another adult though, especially on a day when I don't get a ton of adult contact since J has class tonight, and I think we hit it off fairly well. Lol, we even exchanged numbers. However, I do think it may be time I give the whole FlyLady thing another shot so that I can stop living in CHAOS ...
Here are a few pictures of the kids in costume. The one of K and Zach is my absolute favorite! I may have to get it printed and frame it.
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| K, Zach, and Isaiah |
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| Passed out before the action even started |
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Big News!
We have big news! But because I'm so bad at blogging, most people reading this probably already know what it is. I'm going to tell you all anyway :)
This summer Jerome and I made a big announcement regarding a secret we'd been hiding, some of us better than others. (Ahem, I would be one of the others. Oops.) WE'RE MARRIED! After J's hot sauce packet proposal in October 2009, we discovered that we'd both been thinking about a quick wedding before Isaiah entered our lives. We ran out and got a marriage license - valid for 6 months - and then did nothing. Once the excitement of the holidays and the recovery period thereafter were over, it suddenly hit us that our marriage license was going to expire and we weren't married yet! But now there really was no time to plan a wedding, nor was I excited about the prospect of looking like a giant marshmallow, walking down the aisle 7 months pregnant in a wedding dress. We settled on quietly getting hitched at the courthouse on a Friday, so that the following year we could have a ceremony/party on our one year wedding anniversary. On March 12, 2010 Jerome and I were married at the Stillwater Courthouse with Zach by our feet, Isaiah in my belly, and two good friends by our sides. And once we were married, we didn't tell a soul ... or at least, we weren't supposed to!
The plan to keep it a secret and have a ceremony on our one year anniversary has gone by the wayside for several reasons. We finally came clean in early July and told our families and friends the good news. In hindsight, I wish we would have skipped the idea of having a ceremony in 2011 and just invited our families to come to the courthouse with us ... but we didn't. What's done is done, and though we don't have a date set right now, there will be a celebration at some point! Personally, I think it's a pretty good excuse for a party.
This summer Jerome and I made a big announcement regarding a secret we'd been hiding, some of us better than others. (Ahem, I would be one of the others. Oops.) WE'RE MARRIED! After J's hot sauce packet proposal in October 2009, we discovered that we'd both been thinking about a quick wedding before Isaiah entered our lives. We ran out and got a marriage license - valid for 6 months - and then did nothing. Once the excitement of the holidays and the recovery period thereafter were over, it suddenly hit us that our marriage license was going to expire and we weren't married yet! But now there really was no time to plan a wedding, nor was I excited about the prospect of looking like a giant marshmallow, walking down the aisle 7 months pregnant in a wedding dress. We settled on quietly getting hitched at the courthouse on a Friday, so that the following year we could have a ceremony/party on our one year wedding anniversary. On March 12, 2010 Jerome and I were married at the Stillwater Courthouse with Zach by our feet, Isaiah in my belly, and two good friends by our sides. And once we were married, we didn't tell a soul ... or at least, we weren't supposed to!
The plan to keep it a secret and have a ceremony on our one year anniversary has gone by the wayside for several reasons. We finally came clean in early July and told our families and friends the good news. In hindsight, I wish we would have skipped the idea of having a ceremony in 2011 and just invited our families to come to the courthouse with us ... but we didn't. What's done is done, and though we don't have a date set right now, there will be a celebration at some point! Personally, I think it's a pretty good excuse for a party.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
So ... What's New?
Has it really been over two months since I've blogged? Oops. I guess I have some news to share: Baby Boy#2 is here!
Also known as Isaiah Jerome, Baby Boy#2 arrived at 5:47am on Thursday, May 13, 2010 weighing 7lbs 7.8oz and measuring 19 inches long. My labor and delivery were relatively quick and easy, and Isaiah was born 100% healthy. I'm happy to say that Zach is adjusting to Big Brotherhood very well, my only complaint being that he loves his little brother perhaps a bit too much. Isaiah is growing very big very quickly, which is fun to watch but a little bittersweet since he is my last baby. I can't believe he is already 6.5 weeks old!
Life is starting to feel more normal, and I am definitely feeling much more human than I did those first few days/weeks after Isaiah made his debut. However, I'm now feeling the effects of spending Isaiah's first 6 weeks doing pretty much zero housework: my house is a disaster! It doesn't even feel "just messy" right now; it feels downright dirty. It's completely wearing on my nerves today, but how do you scrub a house when you have a 3 year old, a 6 week old, a lot of junk to deal with and papers to file, and not enough hours in the day?
My goals for today are to make this week's meal plan & grocery list and tackle the living room and playroom (the rooms are adjoining with no door between them). This includes folding and putting away 3 baskets of laundry, clearing off the desk in the playroom and finally bringing the desk down to the basement, and finding a real home for my knitting stuff - the corner behind the recliner isn't going to cut it anymore! I'm guessing I'll only get as far as the laundry ...
Also known as Isaiah Jerome, Baby Boy#2 arrived at 5:47am on Thursday, May 13, 2010 weighing 7lbs 7.8oz and measuring 19 inches long. My labor and delivery were relatively quick and easy, and Isaiah was born 100% healthy. I'm happy to say that Zach is adjusting to Big Brotherhood very well, my only complaint being that he loves his little brother perhaps a bit too much. Isaiah is growing very big very quickly, which is fun to watch but a little bittersweet since he is my last baby. I can't believe he is already 6.5 weeks old!
Life is starting to feel more normal, and I am definitely feeling much more human than I did those first few days/weeks after Isaiah made his debut. However, I'm now feeling the effects of spending Isaiah's first 6 weeks doing pretty much zero housework: my house is a disaster! It doesn't even feel "just messy" right now; it feels downright dirty. It's completely wearing on my nerves today, but how do you scrub a house when you have a 3 year old, a 6 week old, a lot of junk to deal with and papers to file, and not enough hours in the day?
My goals for today are to make this week's meal plan & grocery list and tackle the living room and playroom (the rooms are adjoining with no door between them). This includes folding and putting away 3 baskets of laundry, clearing off the desk in the playroom and finally bringing the desk down to the basement, and finding a real home for my knitting stuff - the corner behind the recliner isn't going to cut it anymore! I'm guessing I'll only get as far as the laundry ...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Ultrasound #3 ...
Yesterday was ultrasound number three of this pregnancy and most likely my very last baby ultrasound ever. Everything looks good! They confirmed for me that he is definitely head down, which is a huge relief for me. We also got to check on his weight and growth, the main reason for the third ultrasound. This happened when I was pregnant with Zach too; at 36 weeks and 4 days they estimated his weight to be an even 5 pounds. Yesterday I was 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and they estimated Baby #2's weight to be 5 pounds 4 ounces. Just a tiny bit bigger than his brother :) My doctor said this put him in the 20th percentile for weight, which is still considered big enough for them not to be worried. Good deal! Having been through this with Zach I wasn't too worried about what yesterday's ultrasound would find, but there was still that tiny thought going through my mind saying "What if something's wrong? What if they tell me they need to induce me today? I'm not ready yet!" Thankfully that wasn't the case and baby is still nice and cozy. It is getting down to crunch time though; I should probably pack a hospital bag and find the car seat bases one of these afternoons ...
I finally figured out how to work the scanner function on our printer, so I'll leave you all with a few ultrasound shots. Okay, or maybe it's more like ultrasound picture overload! Picture #1 - First ultrasound at 11 weeks and 3 days. Pictures #2 and #3 - Second ultrasound at 21 weeks and 2 days. Baby's profile and Baby's feet. Picture #4 - Third ultrasound at 36 weeks and 3 days. Profile pic of baby's squished face - can see lips, nose, forehead across the top.
I finally figured out how to work the scanner function on our printer, so I'll leave you all with a few ultrasound shots. Okay, or maybe it's more like ultrasound picture overload! Picture #1 - First ultrasound at 11 weeks and 3 days. Pictures #2 and #3 - Second ultrasound at 21 weeks and 2 days. Baby's profile and Baby's feet. Picture #4 - Third ultrasound at 36 weeks and 3 days. Profile pic of baby's squished face - can see lips, nose, forehead across the top.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Back From "Vacation"
We came back today from "vacation" - a weekend in Duluth. It was a much more relaxing trip than I'd expected, despite having two teenagers (K and her friend) and a three year old with us, which was a pleasant surprise. We got up there around 10pm on Friday night and got settled in. Jerome took Zach swimming Saturday morning while the rest of us slept in - so nice! Once we were all up and dressed we took advantage of the mini-golf at our hotel ... we did not do well! It was the course's fault, really ;-) But it was fun, though I think Zach may be better suited for hockey than golf.
After mini-golf we grabbed some lunch, took a nap, and then hit the waterpark at our hotel for a bit. It's been a while since we've taken Zach swimming - the last time I remember taking him was to the beach the middle of last summer - so we were a little surprised to find that he has no fear of water. None at all, not even after getting a few mouthfuls of the stuff ... or after emerging from the kiddie version of the tube/water slide on his back, headfirst, and partially submerged. (Don't worry; he was only like that for a few seconds!) That would have done it for me! I've been talking about swimming lessons for him for a while, but I think it's time to stop talking and sign him up already.
Saturday night we went to Grandma's Saloon and Grill for dinner. It was pretty much how I remembered - overrated. Not bad, but this is the third time in a row I have left there wondering what the big deal is. I think I would have been happier eating at Applebee's. Hopefully next time I'm in Duluth I'll remember that and try something different. Like this place.
This morning we did a bit more swimming before checking out, then we drove down to the lake to see the seagulls and look for boats. Gorgeous day, but chilly! We walked around for a bit, threw some rocks, and grabbed lunch and ice cream at DQ before piling back in the car and heading for home. Overall, it was a great trip and, as Jerome said tonight, probably the easiest one we'll take for another three years or so seeing as how it was the last trip we'll be taking before the baby arrives.
Speaking of baby, only 4 more weeks until my due date and one more week until I'm considered "full-term" (meaning if I go into labor they won't try to stop it and they won't consider the baby premature). Zach arrived 11 days before his due date; we'll see if his brother decides to follow suit. This coming Wednesday we get to have another peek at the little guy to check on both his position (he was breech for a while ...) and his size/growth, since I'm measuring small. Hopefully after the ultrasound on Wednesday I'll finally figure out how to work our scanner and can share some pictures!
After mini-golf we grabbed some lunch, took a nap, and then hit the waterpark at our hotel for a bit. It's been a while since we've taken Zach swimming - the last time I remember taking him was to the beach the middle of last summer - so we were a little surprised to find that he has no fear of water. None at all, not even after getting a few mouthfuls of the stuff ... or after emerging from the kiddie version of the tube/water slide on his back, headfirst, and partially submerged. (Don't worry; he was only like that for a few seconds!) That would have done it for me! I've been talking about swimming lessons for him for a while, but I think it's time to stop talking and sign him up already.
Saturday night we went to Grandma's Saloon and Grill for dinner. It was pretty much how I remembered - overrated. Not bad, but this is the third time in a row I have left there wondering what the big deal is. I think I would have been happier eating at Applebee's. Hopefully next time I'm in Duluth I'll remember that and try something different. Like this place.
This morning we did a bit more swimming before checking out, then we drove down to the lake to see the seagulls and look for boats. Gorgeous day, but chilly! We walked around for a bit, threw some rocks, and grabbed lunch and ice cream at DQ before piling back in the car and heading for home. Overall, it was a great trip and, as Jerome said tonight, probably the easiest one we'll take for another three years or so seeing as how it was the last trip we'll be taking before the baby arrives.
Speaking of baby, only 4 more weeks until my due date and one more week until I'm considered "full-term" (meaning if I go into labor they won't try to stop it and they won't consider the baby premature). Zach arrived 11 days before his due date; we'll see if his brother decides to follow suit. This coming Wednesday we get to have another peek at the little guy to check on both his position (he was breech for a while ...) and his size/growth, since I'm measuring small. Hopefully after the ultrasound on Wednesday I'll finally figure out how to work our scanner and can share some pictures!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Happy 3rd Birthday, Zach!
This past Saturday we celebrated Zach's 3rd birthday at our house - what a fun day! Amazingly it didn't rain and was sunny and beautiful all day ... I say amazingly because no matter the forecast, every time we planned something at our house in 2009, it rained. And I do mean every time, no exaggeration :) Hopefully that curse is broken now! Anyway, we had a good time seeing all of our family, eating yummy cake, and I know Zach enjoyed opening his presents. Thanks to everyone who came! Here's a couple of pictures from the day.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes ... and Updates
After nearly two months of putting it off, I finally did it - imported my Wordpress blog into Blogger! Unfortunately, I didn't keep up with posting in the Wordpress blog and I now have two months of events to catch up on! Here we go:
Zach's Room:
The painting part of Zach's room is pretty much done. I still need to paint Zach's name on the banner behind the plane, but that's pretty minor. We inherited a fabric covered headboard from my sister, which we recovered to match his room. We also caved and bought some pretty cute bedding. I do need to get going on his curtains. The material for those has been bought and prewashed. The part I'm putting off is the cutting and pinning ... eventually ;) I would also like to make a bed skirt for his bed, but that's pretty far down on my list.
I have a picture ... but like most of my pictures, it's on a memory card somewhere. I'll work on finding it!
Baby's Room and Stuff:
Um ... yea. Baby's room has pretty much been taken over by sewing things. But, all the baby clothes have been washed and put away! Still a couple of things I need to get in that department; hopefully I'll be able to find some good deals at garage sales this spring. As far as baby's actual room though ... nothing has been done! Yikes. The crib is almost set up, I guess, but we're missing a screw so one side is still detached. I need to get going on the painting. Fortunately the existing paint matches the bedding set I picked out, so I'll be able to get away with just touching up. I should probably get on that! As well as the washing of the car seat, bouncer, and some other baby paraphernalia.
Pregnancy:
As of today I am 34 weeks and 1 day pregnant: 5 weeks and 6 days until my due date. 4 weeks and 2 days until the point in my pregnancy when I had Zach. The big day is coming up fast :)
I made the mistake of asking at my 30 week doctor appointment how baby was positioned - I was worried about having another sunny-side up baby. Imagine my surprise when I was told baby was breech! After that appointment I tried all sorts of funky yoga-esque positions to try to get him to flip. Played music for him. Did some other crazy things :) I didn't think it worked. But this past Friday when I went back to the doctor she said it felt like he was indeed head-down. We'll get to triple-check in about two weeks when I go back for another ultrasound: just like Zach, this baby is measuring small and they want to check his size. I'm excited to see my little boy again before he's born, and it will be nice peace of mind to get a visual of his position! (Sorry if that's too much information ...)
Life:
Easter was yesterday and was a good time. Zach woke up and found his Easter basket waiting for him on the table. After a nutritious breakfast of jelly beans, he and his dad dyed a couple of Easter eggs while I got the egg bakes made for brunch at my sister's house that morning. We stuffed ourselves on yummy food there, and then the kids hunted for Easter eggs outside. 12 kids x 10 eggs per kid = a LOT of Easter eggs! But a good time :)
This Saturday is Zach's 3rd birthday party, so that is what all my energy is going to for the time being. Well, the birthday party itself isn't so much work, but cleaning the house before people come over sure is! I'm excited to give the house a good cleaning before baby comes though, and the birthday party is good motivation for getting it done!
Zach's Room:
The painting part of Zach's room is pretty much done. I still need to paint Zach's name on the banner behind the plane, but that's pretty minor. We inherited a fabric covered headboard from my sister, which we recovered to match his room. We also caved and bought some pretty cute bedding. I do need to get going on his curtains. The material for those has been bought and prewashed. The part I'm putting off is the cutting and pinning ... eventually ;) I would also like to make a bed skirt for his bed, but that's pretty far down on my list.
I have a picture ... but like most of my pictures, it's on a memory card somewhere. I'll work on finding it!
Baby's Room and Stuff:
Um ... yea. Baby's room has pretty much been taken over by sewing things. But, all the baby clothes have been washed and put away! Still a couple of things I need to get in that department; hopefully I'll be able to find some good deals at garage sales this spring. As far as baby's actual room though ... nothing has been done! Yikes. The crib is almost set up, I guess, but we're missing a screw so one side is still detached. I need to get going on the painting. Fortunately the existing paint matches the bedding set I picked out, so I'll be able to get away with just touching up. I should probably get on that! As well as the washing of the car seat, bouncer, and some other baby paraphernalia.
Pregnancy:
As of today I am 34 weeks and 1 day pregnant: 5 weeks and 6 days until my due date. 4 weeks and 2 days until the point in my pregnancy when I had Zach. The big day is coming up fast :)
I made the mistake of asking at my 30 week doctor appointment how baby was positioned - I was worried about having another sunny-side up baby. Imagine my surprise when I was told baby was breech! After that appointment I tried all sorts of funky yoga-esque positions to try to get him to flip. Played music for him. Did some other crazy things :) I didn't think it worked. But this past Friday when I went back to the doctor she said it felt like he was indeed head-down. We'll get to triple-check in about two weeks when I go back for another ultrasound: just like Zach, this baby is measuring small and they want to check his size. I'm excited to see my little boy again before he's born, and it will be nice peace of mind to get a visual of his position! (Sorry if that's too much information ...)
Life:
Easter was yesterday and was a good time. Zach woke up and found his Easter basket waiting for him on the table. After a nutritious breakfast of jelly beans, he and his dad dyed a couple of Easter eggs while I got the egg bakes made for brunch at my sister's house that morning. We stuffed ourselves on yummy food there, and then the kids hunted for Easter eggs outside. 12 kids x 10 eggs per kid = a LOT of Easter eggs! But a good time :)
This Saturday is Zach's 3rd birthday party, so that is what all my energy is going to for the time being. Well, the birthday party itself isn't so much work, but cleaning the house before people come over sure is! I'm excited to give the house a good cleaning before baby comes though, and the birthday party is good motivation for getting it done!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Progress in Zach's Room!
Huzzah! I finally feel like I am making some progress in Zach's new bedroom. That's mostly in part to my awesome sister who broke into my house and did some sneaky painting on Saturday night. Zach and I had plans to go to a friend's house for dinner, and I'd asked my sister if she'd come over when we were done (and once Zach was in bed) to help me do the final coat of green on, well, every place that was to be green. I'd had a minor issue with running out of paint and the next can being slightly different from the first, so it needed one more thin coat on everything just to even things out and make everything the same shade. We were a little later leaving the friend's house than I'd intended, and I was thinking as I turned into my neighborhood that I should call my sister and see if she'd still be up for painting or if it was getting too late. When I turned the corner onto my street and saw my sister's car parked in front of my house, I was feeling pretty bad about it being roughly an hour later the time I'd told her I was aiming for! Turns out that she "broke in" about two hours before we got home and had already gotten a great start. Love her!! Lol, although I have to admit I was a bit jealous that she got to spend two whole hours ALONE in my house; I can't remember the last time *I* got to do that :)
While she finished "rollering" the green paint, I drew the outline for the street and managed to get a couple clouds painted. You can see in the pictures that I left a large gap between the two clouds. That's because I'm still debating on whether or not I want to attempt painting an airplane. The plane will definitely be a last minute decision based on how the painting of everything else goes. Today during nap time I attempting to stencil the first coat of the sailboat. After that's finished I will paint a lake around it. The stenciling was super easy, but I've determined that this is the one and only stenciling attempt until I'm able to get to Michael's and buy some spray stencil adhesive. Apparently there IS a reason way every website I looked at recommended using the spray adhesive! Until then I'll stay busy doing the second (and maybe third?) coat on the sailboat, painting the lake, and cutting out the stencils for the car and trucks.
But without further ado or anymore jabbering, here are the newest room pictures:
Two clouds painted -- I picture a farm & sheep every time I see it like this. I really hope that stops once there are cars on the wall!
A close-up of the street penciled in ... but you can't really see it.
My angle is crooked in this one, not the boat. I promise.
While she finished "rollering" the green paint, I drew the outline for the street and managed to get a couple clouds painted. You can see in the pictures that I left a large gap between the two clouds. That's because I'm still debating on whether or not I want to attempt painting an airplane. The plane will definitely be a last minute decision based on how the painting of everything else goes. Today during nap time I attempting to stencil the first coat of the sailboat. After that's finished I will paint a lake around it. The stenciling was super easy, but I've determined that this is the one and only stenciling attempt until I'm able to get to Michael's and buy some spray stencil adhesive. Apparently there IS a reason way every website I looked at recommended using the spray adhesive! Until then I'll stay busy doing the second (and maybe third?) coat on the sailboat, painting the lake, and cutting out the stencils for the car and trucks.
But without further ado or anymore jabbering, here are the newest room pictures:
Two clouds painted -- I picture a farm & sheep every time I see it like this. I really hope that stops once there are cars on the wall!
A close-up of the street penciled in ... but you can't really see it.
My angle is crooked in this one, not the boat. I promise.
Friday, February 5, 2010
There Goes That Great Idea ...
One of my crazy plans for baby boy's bedroom was to make a bumper and crib skirt since I no longer like the one we had for Zach and can't afford any of the ones I actually like. But I've ran into a little hitch: I can't find BOY material that meets my criteria. It's not like I'm being too picky or anything. I just want something that is 1) not babyish, 2) does not have flowers, pink, or purple, 3) does not have brown as a major color, 4) is blue, green, and hopefully orange. Like I said, not too picky ;) After spending way too much time (and I do mean WAY too much time) online looking at fabrics and hating everything in my price range, I've gotten super discouraged. I did find a really cute elephant print from Crafty Planet that came in blue, green, and grey. How cute would that have been, with one color on one side of the bumper and a second color on the opposite side? But alas, it was out of stock in all but one color. Oh, and it was also $15 a yard ...
Earlier this week I was at Target and found this. Houston, we have a winner. Probably more expensive than if I had made my own, depending on my fabric choice, but meets most of my criteria as far as print goes. Perhaps a little more brown than I care for, but not too bad. I know it can't be that much brown since Jerome, who hates anything and everything brown, approved of my choice ... although I have a feeling that part of that may have been based on me telling him that if he didn't like this one I was dragging him to some fabric stores with me. I'm feeling a little sad now about not making the bumper myself, but it's a nice weight off my shoulders to have a decision made. And I'll still have plenty of work to do: this set only includes the quilt/coverlet, a sheet, and the bumper. I don't love and can't justify the cost of the matching cribskirt, so I'll still make one of those - solid green. I will also make curtains for the room - either solid green or navy (or maybe a combination of the two). Ideally I'd like to get an extra crib sheet and include a stripe of the rocket print across the top of the curtains to tie it all together. We'll see.
So now the hard part: waiting for it to go on sale ... because I'm cheap like that :)
Earlier this week I was at Target and found this. Houston, we have a winner. Probably more expensive than if I had made my own, depending on my fabric choice, but meets most of my criteria as far as print goes. Perhaps a little more brown than I care for, but not too bad. I know it can't be that much brown since Jerome, who hates anything and everything brown, approved of my choice ... although I have a feeling that part of that may have been based on me telling him that if he didn't like this one I was dragging him to some fabric stores with me. I'm feeling a little sad now about not making the bumper myself, but it's a nice weight off my shoulders to have a decision made. And I'll still have plenty of work to do: this set only includes the quilt/coverlet, a sheet, and the bumper. I don't love and can't justify the cost of the matching cribskirt, so I'll still make one of those - solid green. I will also make curtains for the room - either solid green or navy (or maybe a combination of the two). Ideally I'd like to get an extra crib sheet and include a stripe of the rocket print across the top of the curtains to tie it all together. We'll see.
So now the hard part: waiting for it to go on sale ... because I'm cheap like that :)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Get Lost
Or maybe that should read "Get LOST."
The Lost season premiere aired last night. Hurray for 3 hours of Lost! I was a little disappointed in last night's episode - I think I expected something a little more exciting to happen - but I'm not complaining. Jerome and I have been waiting a long time for this! Not as long as some, since we first started watching the show this summer (thank you Netflix!) and didn't finish Season 5 until the first part of January. But after watching 5 seasons of a show in just a few months, it felt like forever waiting for a new episode. And now we have to wait a whole week more to get our questions from last night answered (well, hopefully they'll be answered). Questions like "If 'it worked' then why are they still on that island? And how are they also in the airport? Do they have to figure out how to make time match up so that they can get off the island? Did they just create a parallel universe? Are their body parts going to start to not line up correctly from all this traveling through time, like in Michael Crichton's Timeline?" Yea ... probably not going to get all of those answers next week, am I? :)
During the show I worked on a hat that I'm knitting. Finished it, actually. It was my second time through the pattern, since the first one I made was too small (my fault for not measuring my head). I followed ALL the directions this time to make it a bit bigger, and what do you know - it was still too small! At least this time the circumference was right. I'm a little crabby, however, that it was still just a tiny bit too short, despite being longer than the first one AND longer than what the pattern calls for. I like the pattern, but am debating: should I see if the third time is the charm or just find a new hat pattern to make? Either way, it's going to have to wait a while since I have a baby project that needs to get started ASAP. Not to mention those bedrooms upstairs ... But before I can make more progress on those, I need to buy more paint. Again. Lol, at least the good news is I'm almost ready to start the mural that I wanted to have finished by last weekend!
And as far as my boys go ... let's just say that tomorrow is my Friday and while I love all my boys, I couldn't be happier about that!
The Lost season premiere aired last night. Hurray for 3 hours of Lost! I was a little disappointed in last night's episode - I think I expected something a little more exciting to happen - but I'm not complaining. Jerome and I have been waiting a long time for this! Not as long as some, since we first started watching the show this summer (thank you Netflix!) and didn't finish Season 5 until the first part of January. But after watching 5 seasons of a show in just a few months, it felt like forever waiting for a new episode. And now we have to wait a whole week more to get our questions from last night answered (well, hopefully they'll be answered). Questions like "If 'it worked' then why are they still on that island? And how are they also in the airport? Do they have to figure out how to make time match up so that they can get off the island? Did they just create a parallel universe? Are their body parts going to start to not line up correctly from all this traveling through time, like in Michael Crichton's Timeline?" Yea ... probably not going to get all of those answers next week, am I? :)
During the show I worked on a hat that I'm knitting. Finished it, actually. It was my second time through the pattern, since the first one I made was too small (my fault for not measuring my head). I followed ALL the directions this time to make it a bit bigger, and what do you know - it was still too small! At least this time the circumference was right. I'm a little crabby, however, that it was still just a tiny bit too short, despite being longer than the first one AND longer than what the pattern calls for. I like the pattern, but am debating: should I see if the third time is the charm or just find a new hat pattern to make? Either way, it's going to have to wait a while since I have a baby project that needs to get started ASAP. Not to mention those bedrooms upstairs ... But before I can make more progress on those, I need to buy more paint. Again. Lol, at least the good news is I'm almost ready to start the mural that I wanted to have finished by last weekend!
And as far as my boys go ... let's just say that tomorrow is my Friday and while I love all my boys, I couldn't be happier about that!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Out With The Old ...
Last weekend my mom brought over her sewing machine for me to borrow. Along with the sewing machine, she also brought over several boxes of ... stuff. Two boxes were filled with half-finished sewing projects; one box was hers and one box was mine. The other three boxes? Old college textbooks and notebooks/3-ring binders which I immediately knew would end up either 1) going to Goodwill (after spending an indeterminate amount of time in my basement) or 2) being recycled. During the week, I surprised myself by finding the motivation to actually go through these boxes. I think my motivator was the fact that they were sitting on my dining room table, which I needed the following day in order to have a place to feed four boys under five. So while Zach colored at one end of the table, I purged papers at the other end.
Going through my old binders and papers was a pretty mundane task, as whatever reason I once had for holding on to all the stuff has escaped me now, but it felt a little bittersweet once I got about halfway through. I mean, certainly I was happy to get rid of two boxes of crap instead of stashing it somewhere and worrying about the possibilities of ending up on Hoarders. But at the same time, I felt a little sad as I went through it ... most of the stuff was from when I'd planned being a science major and eventually ending up at pharmacy school ... notes and labs from calculus, physics, biology, etc classes. Even from my loved/hated organic chemistry class (and upon looking back through my tests and labs from that class, I still maintain that his grading had absolutely no rhyme or reason to it!). I got to thinking about how my life and who I was as a person was SO different then, and really it wasn't all that long ago. If I'd kept my life going in that direction, I'd now be done or nearly done with my doctorate in pharmacology, making much more money than I do now! Albeit with much larger student loans to repay ... Yet, here I sit in my living room with my not husband of nearly 5 years sitting less than ten feet from me playing on his laptop, listening to our almost three year old son snoring away on the couch and feeling my soon to be born baby kicking at my ribs. How in the world did I get from there to here? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. My life isn't perfect, but I love my family and the home we've made. I'm proud of how far we've come despite being broke :) It just seems like all my dreams and goals changed overnight and sometimes I have a hard time remembering why. (And then I remember: it was the daunting idea of another 6 years of school and $100k in student loans that did it!)
But without all that change, I wouldn't have my not husband, our kids, our house ... So, out to the recycling bin goes two boxes full of the old me. Here's to my new(er) goals: An eventual master's in healthcare management and a job to go along with it. Raising two loving little boys to the best of my ability. But first, finally finishing the boys' rooms!
Going through my old binders and papers was a pretty mundane task, as whatever reason I once had for holding on to all the stuff has escaped me now, but it felt a little bittersweet once I got about halfway through. I mean, certainly I was happy to get rid of two boxes of crap instead of stashing it somewhere and worrying about the possibilities of ending up on Hoarders. But at the same time, I felt a little sad as I went through it ... most of the stuff was from when I'd planned being a science major and eventually ending up at pharmacy school ... notes and labs from calculus, physics, biology, etc classes. Even from my loved/hated organic chemistry class (and upon looking back through my tests and labs from that class, I still maintain that his grading had absolutely no rhyme or reason to it!). I got to thinking about how my life and who I was as a person was SO different then, and really it wasn't all that long ago. If I'd kept my life going in that direction, I'd now be done or nearly done with my doctorate in pharmacology, making much more money than I do now! Albeit with much larger student loans to repay ... Yet, here I sit in my living room with my not husband of nearly 5 years sitting less than ten feet from me playing on his laptop, listening to our almost three year old son snoring away on the couch and feeling my soon to be born baby kicking at my ribs. How in the world did I get from there to here? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. My life isn't perfect, but I love my family and the home we've made. I'm proud of how far we've come despite being broke :) It just seems like all my dreams and goals changed overnight and sometimes I have a hard time remembering why. (And then I remember: it was the daunting idea of another 6 years of school and $100k in student loans that did it!)
But without all that change, I wouldn't have my not husband, our kids, our house ... So, out to the recycling bin goes two boxes full of the old me. Here's to my new(er) goals: An eventual master's in healthcare management and a job to go along with it. Raising two loving little boys to the best of my ability. But first, finally finishing the boys' rooms!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Unexpected Surprises
I don't know if I should admit this or not, but in my never ending quest to find a replacement for my favorite magazine that is no longer in print (Jane) I have picked up just about every "girly" magazine out there. And for the most part, I feel like they are all the same ... I don't know how people can be subscribers to any one of them for a long period of time: they all seem to print the same articles month after month with minor changes here and there. But that's not the point of this post :) One of the magazines I occasionally pick up (and can tolerate much more than Cosmo!) is Allure. Definitely not a replacement for Jane, but more tolerable than others.
Last summer I discovered that Allure does a daily giveaway. I don't pay close enough attention to know if they do this every month or just some months, but I've seen it most times I've visited their website (which I'm more likely to do than actually pay money for a magazine). Most of the giveaways entail being one of the first 50 people to enter at noon EST on any given day ... the kicker is they don't ever tell you if you won. You just have to wait and see. How do I know this? Sometime around June of last year, I managed to be at the right place at the right time and entered one of the giveaways right at noon (well, 11am where I live). I was pleasantly surprised about two months later when UPS came and left this on my doorstep. $23 shampoo for free? I'll take that! Even better that it happens to be for my hair type.
So today, a day that consisted of wiping my son's constantly runny nose, trying to clean up my house, and going through a bunch of old papers (more about that tomorrow) I heard Zach and Boy#4 crying "Truck! Truck!" Now they'd been yelling that most of the morning, pronouncing it more like the F word, but since they were looking out the front window I figured I'd better turn off the vacuum and have a look too. Lo and behold, there is the UPS man walking up my driveway. I have to admit, my first thought was not a pleasant one. I was definitely thinking that Jerome had forgotten to cancel his coffee of the month club or whatever it is and UPS was coming to bring us more. (My disclaimer: I thought we still had a cupboard full of coffee. I was corrected tonight when I recanted this story to Jerome that all we have is 2 really old packs of decaf and about a quarter pound of regular coffee.) Needless to say, I was a little irritated when I opened the door to get the package. My spirits quickly turned around when I saw that instead of a good size box addressed to Jerome, what was actually delivered was a small, lumpy envelope addressed to me. When I saw the return address, I immediately knew what it was.
In December I was perusing Allure's website one day when I saw something that I thought I'd like (but would never pay for) in their daily giveaway. Since they weren't giving that particular item away for a few more days, it somehow popped into my head that the thing to would be to set a reminder alarm on my cell phone. Moment. of. genius. The item that I received today: a fairly new product by Elizabeth Grant called The Socializer. It consists of two pen-style products, one for daytime and another for night, that are supposed to help you cover up and get rid of under-eye circles and puffiness. TOTALLY what I need, especially when I'm pregnant since I tend to look like I haven't slept in a week ... which differs slightly from when I'm not pregnant and look like I haven't slept in 3 days. I can't wait to try this product out. Especially since it is rumored to be one of Blake Lively's favorites.
I have a feeling that I will be making it a point to check Allure's website more often from now on :) Also, if anyone has a good magazine recommendation, I would love to hear it! I'm open to just about any type of magazine, though I will admit that I'm starting to have the same feelings towards Woman's Day/Family Circle/Good Housekeeping that I do regarding Cosmo/Glamour/Allure/Lucky.
Last summer I discovered that Allure does a daily giveaway. I don't pay close enough attention to know if they do this every month or just some months, but I've seen it most times I've visited their website (which I'm more likely to do than actually pay money for a magazine). Most of the giveaways entail being one of the first 50 people to enter at noon EST on any given day ... the kicker is they don't ever tell you if you won. You just have to wait and see. How do I know this? Sometime around June of last year, I managed to be at the right place at the right time and entered one of the giveaways right at noon (well, 11am where I live). I was pleasantly surprised about two months later when UPS came and left this on my doorstep. $23 shampoo for free? I'll take that! Even better that it happens to be for my hair type.
So today, a day that consisted of wiping my son's constantly runny nose, trying to clean up my house, and going through a bunch of old papers (more about that tomorrow) I heard Zach and Boy#4 crying "Truck! Truck!" Now they'd been yelling that most of the morning, pronouncing it more like the F word, but since they were looking out the front window I figured I'd better turn off the vacuum and have a look too. Lo and behold, there is the UPS man walking up my driveway. I have to admit, my first thought was not a pleasant one. I was definitely thinking that Jerome had forgotten to cancel his coffee of the month club or whatever it is and UPS was coming to bring us more. (My disclaimer: I thought we still had a cupboard full of coffee. I was corrected tonight when I recanted this story to Jerome that all we have is 2 really old packs of decaf and about a quarter pound of regular coffee.) Needless to say, I was a little irritated when I opened the door to get the package. My spirits quickly turned around when I saw that instead of a good size box addressed to Jerome, what was actually delivered was a small, lumpy envelope addressed to me. When I saw the return address, I immediately knew what it was.
In December I was perusing Allure's website one day when I saw something that I thought I'd like (but would never pay for) in their daily giveaway. Since they weren't giving that particular item away for a few more days, it somehow popped into my head that the thing to would be to set a reminder alarm on my cell phone. Moment. of. genius. The item that I received today: a fairly new product by Elizabeth Grant called The Socializer. It consists of two pen-style products, one for daytime and another for night, that are supposed to help you cover up and get rid of under-eye circles and puffiness. TOTALLY what I need, especially when I'm pregnant since I tend to look like I haven't slept in a week ... which differs slightly from when I'm not pregnant and look like I haven't slept in 3 days. I can't wait to try this product out. Especially since it is rumored to be one of Blake Lively's favorites.
I have a feeling that I will be making it a point to check Allure's website more often from now on :) Also, if anyone has a good magazine recommendation, I would love to hear it! I'm open to just about any type of magazine, though I will admit that I'm starting to have the same feelings towards Woman's Day/Family Circle/Good Housekeeping that I do regarding Cosmo/Glamour/Allure/Lucky.
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Boys' Rooms
I made this a page on here too, but once I start posting pictures I'm going to be removing a lot of my writing (everything but the to do lists). I think it's partly because I'm just wordy and partly because of the layout I chose, but I feel like all my posts are a bit on the "novel" side of things in terms of length. Not quite what I'm going for. Here ya go:
OK, I've officially fallen off my rocker. I've actually wondered if I am perhaps going through a manic episode and need to go get myself evaluated somewhere. (Yes, that was a joke!) Since we're pretty much broke, at least when it comes to extraneous money for fun things like bedrooms, I decided I'd save money and do a lot of the work myself. A LOT of the work. Here are my to-do lists for the boys' rooms:
Zach's Room:
Baby's Room:
Sounds easy, right? Right ... but the first step before any sewing can be done would be remember how to thread the damn sewing machine. And no, that one wasn't a joke :) Zach's room gets first priority, then I will move on to the baby's room. Once I get that done, I have a list of other things I'd like to sew, but they're definitely bottom of the totem pole things. (New sling, new boppy cover, pillow for rocking chair in baby's room, and a car seat tent) Now ... any bets on how old the baby will be when I actually get all this stuff finished? I'll give you all a hint and say that I have definitely inherited my mom's ability to finish projects. The quilt she started for my brother when he was about 2 years old was finished in the weeks before he left for college ...
OK, I've officially fallen off my rocker. I've actually wondered if I am perhaps going through a manic episode and need to go get myself evaluated somewhere. (Yes, that was a joke!) Since we're pretty much broke, at least when it comes to extraneous money for fun things like bedrooms, I decided I'd save money and do a lot of the work myself. A LOT of the work. Here are my to-do lists for the boys' rooms:
Zach's Room:
- Paint 3 walls green
- Paint car/truck mural on 4th wall
- Paint some sort of decoration on the solid, non-mural wall (I'm thinking words of some sort? Stop? Beep Beep? Dunno yet.)
- Sew curtains for windows
- Fabric paint some sort of design on curtains
Baby's Room:
- Find fabric I 1) like and 2) can afford
- Sew the following:
- Curtains
- Bed Skirt
- Bumper - Paint room or touch up existing paint (wholly depends on fabric choice
- Paint accents on wall above crib
Sounds easy, right? Right ... but the first step before any sewing can be done would be remember how to thread the damn sewing machine. And no, that one wasn't a joke :) Zach's room gets first priority, then I will move on to the baby's room. Once I get that done, I have a list of other things I'd like to sew, but they're definitely bottom of the totem pole things. (New sling, new boppy cover, pillow for rocking chair in baby's room, and a car seat tent) Now ... any bets on how old the baby will be when I actually get all this stuff finished? I'll give you all a hint and say that I have definitely inherited my mom's ability to finish projects. The quilt she started for my brother when he was about 2 years old was finished in the weeks before he left for college ...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Zach's Room
To get ready for the new little guy that will be joining us in May we're planning on moving Zach's bedroom across the hall into what had been being used as a playroom. I have big goals for this room. Well, not as big as the goals I have for the baby's room, but we'll come back to that a different day. Zach's current bedroom isn't anything special - blue walls because we had a lot left over from painting our bedroom. Mattress on the floor with a sports-themed comforter, because I found it on clearance over the summer at Target and it beat what he had been using - my old red and blue comforter from my college dorm room. No curtains, no personality, just boring. So for his new room I decided I wanted to paint a mural with cars and trucks. Initially I'd planned on just painting grass, the sky, and a road and using those removable wall stickers for the vehicles, but ultimately I just couldn't find anything that I liked. I think I'm too picky. But hey, I figured, how hard can it be to paint a couple trucks ...
Apparently I'm not going to know for quite some time. Tomorrow marks the day that I was hoping to have the mural done, and how far am I actually? The non-mural walls are almost done, just need a bit of touching up. The grass needs at least one more coat of trim around the bottom and another coat with the paint roller. And the sky? Well, that's not even started yet. Turns out I hated the blue I bought and wanted to get something different. However, since my colorblind brother told me the same thing about the blue that I'd been thinking myself (that it looks rather purple), I felt a little better about my decision! I've been telling myself since Thursday night that I was going to go work on the room after Zach was in bed - I couldn't do it before then because Jerome has been working or at school every night until at least Zach's bedtime. And yet, I have made no progress since Tuesday, when I ran out of green paint and decided I didn't like the blue. Turns out my motivation is slim to none after 8:30pm. But because my goal of having Zach moved into the room by the end of January is quickly approaching, and the only thing that really needs to be done for him to move in there is the painting, I'm now going to do the insane and start painting at 10:30pm. Thankfully, Jerome has agreed to let me sleep in tomorrow, which is a good thing, because I promised Zach that he would take him to go buy donuts for breakfast ...
But the point of this post: I'm going to be making a page for the boys' rooms so you all can keep track of my crazy to-do list and the progress of the boys' rooms with me. (Yes, there will be pictures too.) Except I'm not doing it right now because I really need to go paint.
Apparently I'm not going to know for quite some time. Tomorrow marks the day that I was hoping to have the mural done, and how far am I actually? The non-mural walls are almost done, just need a bit of touching up. The grass needs at least one more coat of trim around the bottom and another coat with the paint roller. And the sky? Well, that's not even started yet. Turns out I hated the blue I bought and wanted to get something different. However, since my colorblind brother told me the same thing about the blue that I'd been thinking myself (that it looks rather purple), I felt a little better about my decision! I've been telling myself since Thursday night that I was going to go work on the room after Zach was in bed - I couldn't do it before then because Jerome has been working or at school every night until at least Zach's bedtime. And yet, I have made no progress since Tuesday, when I ran out of green paint and decided I didn't like the blue. Turns out my motivation is slim to none after 8:30pm. But because my goal of having Zach moved into the room by the end of January is quickly approaching, and the only thing that really needs to be done for him to move in there is the painting, I'm now going to do the insane and start painting at 10:30pm. Thankfully, Jerome has agreed to let me sleep in tomorrow, which is a good thing, because I promised Zach that he would take him to go buy donuts for breakfast ...
But the point of this post: I'm going to be making a page for the boys' rooms so you all can keep track of my crazy to-do list and the progress of the boys' rooms with me. (Yes, there will be pictures too.) Except I'm not doing it right now because I really need to go paint.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Adventures In Potty Training
"Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable." ~Plato
Today was a long day. Zach has been in underwear (when he's awake) for the most part for close to two weeks. He's doing ... ok. A few accidents here and there, but for the most part we've made him go potty nearly every hour, on the hour. Lately when I've tried to get him to go that often, he's refused. So instead of turning it into a fight, I've decided to wait until he agrees because who really needs to pee every hour? He's been doing pretty well with that; he doesn't tell us when he needs to go potty but if he needs to go when we ask then he'll go willingly. This morning I was a pretty happy camper because, after declining to go potty twice, he announced that he needed to go and ran to the bathroom. YAY! First time he's ever told me without being asked first. He wanted to go by himself which he can manage pretty well, so I let him. I heard him slide the stepstool over to the toilet ... and then I heard a lot of crying. I guess he just couldn't get his pants off in time, resulting in him peeing his pants while standing on the stepstool directly in front of the toilet. No big deal. Took a quick bath and life was good. Until it happened again.
After the second peeing-his-jeans incident, I just didn't get him dressed from the waist down thinking maybe that would help him, as it seemed to be a timing issue. Then, as I was getting lunch on the table, he again stated that he had to go potty. He was in our entryway about 3 feet from the bathroom, so I told him "ok, go potty" figuring that he would walk into the bathroom and use the toilet. Hahaha. Immediately after told him to go potty, he peed all over my entryway. Thank God he missed every shoe but one Croc, which was easily washed. I'm getting a little frustrated now, but try not to get upset. Have Zach finish going on the potty. Clean him up for the third time today. Clean up the floor for the third time today. Take off the pair of socks I was wearing, since I'd accidentally stepped in fresh pee. Time for lunch!
After lunch while I was cleaning up Boy#4 who had made a GIANT mess of his chili mac, I sent Zach into the bathroom and told him "Go in the bathroom and go potty before nap please." Maybe I should have learned my lesson from that last incident before lunch, but I thought I was being specific enough. I hear peeing. And then I hear "I pooping, Mommy!" That last line always makes me run to make sure that he's actually sitting on the potty as opposed to standing in front of it (yea, he likes to pee standing up ...). What I find: a large puddle of pee on the floor in front of the sink, which Zach then walked through to the toilet (about a foot away from the puddle) so that he could sit down and poop. At this point, I was just pissed. I could not find any legitimate reason for his peeing on the floor, especially when he obviously knows better than to poop on the floor. So I did what I have always tried so hard not to do when it comes to potty training: I scolded. Right after I praised him for pooping on the potty. And I made sure to let him know that I was NOT happy (which I felt really bad about a little bit later!). So ... clean up Zach again, lay a towel over the mess, get the two boys into diapers (or a fresh diaper in Boy#4's case), and down for their naps. And then I mop the floor for the fourth time today while I try to hold back tears of frustration.
Fortunately for me, Zach likes long naps. And Boy#4 napped well today too, which means I got to sit and recharge for quite a while after cleaning my floor again. Definitely improved my mood! During this time it hit me: Cheerios! We gave it a shot after naptime. Zach found it hilarious and asked to pee in the potty three times in the first twenty minutes after I let him try that cool "game". He also asked me if I wanted to pee on Cheerios too :) It seemed to work - there were no more accidents the rest of the day! And by the end of the night he told me that he didn't want Cheerios and just peed in the potty. We'll see what tomorrow brings; I may break out the Cheerios first thing in the morning just to gently reiterate to Zach that he needs to pee IN the potty. (I will also note that Zach did GREAT at pooping on the potty today, which he did three times on his own. VERY happy about that!)
But in getting to the point of my long story, I wanted to share some things that I realized I was thankful for today. I spent some time while the boys were napping trying to put myself back into a positive frame of mind. Not my usual process, but since I'm not able to have a drink for another 4 months I figured it was worth a shot ;) Here it goes:
I am thankful that the four puddles of pee I had to clean up this morning were all on my hard floors and not on my carpet.
I am thankful that none of the messes I had to clean up involved poop on my floor (or anywhere else).
I am thankful for Lysol wipes and Swiffer Wet.
I am thankful for Cheerios ... and for whoever decided that they would make a fun thing for boys to aim at.
I am thankful for Applebee's Carside-To-Go. No way did I have the energy to cook dinner after a morning like that!
Today was a long day. Zach has been in underwear (when he's awake) for the most part for close to two weeks. He's doing ... ok. A few accidents here and there, but for the most part we've made him go potty nearly every hour, on the hour. Lately when I've tried to get him to go that often, he's refused. So instead of turning it into a fight, I've decided to wait until he agrees because who really needs to pee every hour? He's been doing pretty well with that; he doesn't tell us when he needs to go potty but if he needs to go when we ask then he'll go willingly. This morning I was a pretty happy camper because, after declining to go potty twice, he announced that he needed to go and ran to the bathroom. YAY! First time he's ever told me without being asked first. He wanted to go by himself which he can manage pretty well, so I let him. I heard him slide the stepstool over to the toilet ... and then I heard a lot of crying. I guess he just couldn't get his pants off in time, resulting in him peeing his pants while standing on the stepstool directly in front of the toilet. No big deal. Took a quick bath and life was good. Until it happened again.
After the second peeing-his-jeans incident, I just didn't get him dressed from the waist down thinking maybe that would help him, as it seemed to be a timing issue. Then, as I was getting lunch on the table, he again stated that he had to go potty. He was in our entryway about 3 feet from the bathroom, so I told him "ok, go potty" figuring that he would walk into the bathroom and use the toilet. Hahaha. Immediately after told him to go potty, he peed all over my entryway. Thank God he missed every shoe but one Croc, which was easily washed. I'm getting a little frustrated now, but try not to get upset. Have Zach finish going on the potty. Clean him up for the third time today. Clean up the floor for the third time today. Take off the pair of socks I was wearing, since I'd accidentally stepped in fresh pee. Time for lunch!
After lunch while I was cleaning up Boy#4 who had made a GIANT mess of his chili mac, I sent Zach into the bathroom and told him "Go in the bathroom and go potty before nap please." Maybe I should have learned my lesson from that last incident before lunch, but I thought I was being specific enough. I hear peeing. And then I hear "I pooping, Mommy!" That last line always makes me run to make sure that he's actually sitting on the potty as opposed to standing in front of it (yea, he likes to pee standing up ...). What I find: a large puddle of pee on the floor in front of the sink, which Zach then walked through to the toilet (about a foot away from the puddle) so that he could sit down and poop. At this point, I was just pissed. I could not find any legitimate reason for his peeing on the floor, especially when he obviously knows better than to poop on the floor. So I did what I have always tried so hard not to do when it comes to potty training: I scolded. Right after I praised him for pooping on the potty. And I made sure to let him know that I was NOT happy (which I felt really bad about a little bit later!). So ... clean up Zach again, lay a towel over the mess, get the two boys into diapers (or a fresh diaper in Boy#4's case), and down for their naps. And then I mop the floor for the fourth time today while I try to hold back tears of frustration.
Fortunately for me, Zach likes long naps. And Boy#4 napped well today too, which means I got to sit and recharge for quite a while after cleaning my floor again. Definitely improved my mood! During this time it hit me: Cheerios! We gave it a shot after naptime. Zach found it hilarious and asked to pee in the potty three times in the first twenty minutes after I let him try that cool "game". He also asked me if I wanted to pee on Cheerios too :) It seemed to work - there were no more accidents the rest of the day! And by the end of the night he told me that he didn't want Cheerios and just peed in the potty. We'll see what tomorrow brings; I may break out the Cheerios first thing in the morning just to gently reiterate to Zach that he needs to pee IN the potty. (I will also note that Zach did GREAT at pooping on the potty today, which he did three times on his own. VERY happy about that!)
But in getting to the point of my long story, I wanted to share some things that I realized I was thankful for today. I spent some time while the boys were napping trying to put myself back into a positive frame of mind. Not my usual process, but since I'm not able to have a drink for another 4 months I figured it was worth a shot ;) Here it goes:
I am thankful that the four puddles of pee I had to clean up this morning were all on my hard floors and not on my carpet.
I am thankful that none of the messes I had to clean up involved poop on my floor (or anywhere else).
I am thankful for Lysol wipes and Swiffer Wet.
I am thankful for Cheerios ... and for whoever decided that they would make a fun thing for boys to aim at.
I am thankful for Applebee's Carside-To-Go. No way did I have the energy to cook dinner after a morning like that!
Mom of Boys
I was never a big girly-girl. In middle and high school I always preferred a few extra minutes of sleep over making sure my hair and make-up looked perfect. Not trying to say I was a tomboy; that couldn't be further from the truth! I chose dance classes over anything that involved a ball or a stick. I still liked to shop and wear make-up and daydream about boys. But I was never one who primped in the bathroom between classes or cared if my hair was in a ponytail instead of perfectly blow-dried and curled. Despite that, I still had the dream that most girls have: That one day I would have a daughter of my own. A little girl to dress in pink and purple, do her hair pigtails - or better yet, "sticky buns" - and most of all ... watch perform in dance recitals, complete with the adorably poofy cupcake dresses, as my mom used to refer to them.
Fast forward to 5 years after high school: I find out that my boyfriend and I are having a baby boy. No disappointment from me; I knew Jerome would be thrilled to have a little boy to play sports and video games with. After all, he did already have a daughter. So I had a lot of fun dressing my new little man in blue and sports and truck/plane/tractor outfits. One of my favorites was a onesie with a digger on it that read "I Dig Grandpa." I figured that "my turn" would be next time. I could have my little girl and our family would be complete. Not that that would happen anytime too soon; life was crazy enough already and we were busy soaking up our little guy, Zach.
Fast forward 2.5 more years: We're now living in a house that we own. I'm done with college and staying at home with Zach, earning some money by watching my two nephews and another little boy during the week - yep, 4 boys under 5 on some days! And what happens? We discover that we are pregnant yet again. Ironically it was unplanned but the baby was due right around the time I previously said I'd want to plan it for - shortly after Zach turns 3. As we approach the "big day" - the 20 week ultrasound - I have no clue, no feelings, as to whether this kiddo is a girl or boy. Of course, seeing as how my life is already FILLED with boys I'm secretly hoping for my girl. OK, or maybe not so secretly. The big day comes and there is no denying baby's gender: it is a very proud little boy :)
And thus begins my life as a mom of boys. Good-bye cupcake dresses and sticky buns; hello dirt and trucks and "guys" times two!
Fast forward to 5 years after high school: I find out that my boyfriend and I are having a baby boy. No disappointment from me; I knew Jerome would be thrilled to have a little boy to play sports and video games with. After all, he did already have a daughter. So I had a lot of fun dressing my new little man in blue and sports and truck/plane/tractor outfits. One of my favorites was a onesie with a digger on it that read "I Dig Grandpa." I figured that "my turn" would be next time. I could have my little girl and our family would be complete. Not that that would happen anytime too soon; life was crazy enough already and we were busy soaking up our little guy, Zach.
Fast forward 2.5 more years: We're now living in a house that we own. I'm done with college and staying at home with Zach, earning some money by watching my two nephews and another little boy during the week - yep, 4 boys under 5 on some days! And what happens? We discover that we are pregnant yet again. Ironically it was unplanned but the baby was due right around the time I previously said I'd want to plan it for - shortly after Zach turns 3. As we approach the "big day" - the 20 week ultrasound - I have no clue, no feelings, as to whether this kiddo is a girl or boy. Of course, seeing as how my life is already FILLED with boys I'm secretly hoping for my girl. OK, or maybe not so secretly. The big day comes and there is no denying baby's gender: it is a very proud little boy :)
And thus begins my life as a mom of boys. Good-bye cupcake dresses and sticky buns; hello dirt and trucks and "guys" times two!
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