20 weeks

Here I am at 20 weeks pregnant. Looking very stylish in my Sunday-afternoon cleaning clothes. I’m kicking myself for not having the picture taken while still in my church clothes…

I picked up a couple of pink things at a Mom 2 Mom sale this weekend for bebe#2. I got a whole bag of clothes for her from freecycle today. Only a few will work, many are too worn out, but it’s exciting to plan for my new baby girl.

I made my first cloth wipe (for babies) this weekend. N’s not completely on board for cloth wipes, but he got used to cloth diapers, so I’m sure he’ll come around. Besides they are good for the wallet and the environment.

Updates with pictures

I've been sick for the last few days. Not sure what's going on. I've had a cough for almost two weeks and then Tuesday night I developed a fever and body aches. I took Tylenol and felt better. Yesterday my temp got up to 100.4 before the Tylenol kicked in. I was able to get a good night's sleep last night (Tylenol and lots of cough drops). So I feel a little better this morning. No more fever.

I had my doctor’s appointment today. The baby looked great. It’s a SHE!!! Which is good, because I’ve been referring to her as “her” in my head for about a month now. I won’t say that I “knew,” but I had a strong feeling she was going to be a girl. Just as I had about R being a boy. N didn’t seem as thrilled, but he had to rush back to work. I’ll get more of a vibe from him tonight. :)

Here’s my current Water swap project… plush sea horses. This is the prototype and it’s only about half completed.

Here’s Mr. Dirty Face…

Here’s a sweet little gift that came in the mail the other day addressed simply to #4. Thank you G’ma Buckmaster down in Phoenix!

Quote of the day

“Wealth consists of not having great possessions but in having few wants.” – Epicurus

Blog changes

From now forward I will be using only our initials and/or nicknames to identify ourselves. I’ve just recently had a discussion on security and think that it’s a good idea since I also post pictures. Your thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

Last tooth crabbies and question of the day...

Yesterday was a LONG and painful day. R woke up early. He was excited that his daddy was home and not at work. We cruised Woodward at 8:00 a.m. to see all the cool cars during the famed Woodward Dream Cruise (WDC). Then he only took a 30 minute nap before our friends’ WDC Party. He ate way too much sugar and snacks at the party and crashed once we got home. But he only stayed asleep for 30 minutes before he had an over-tired-induced-wake-up-melt-down. Very long night. He finally passed back out (and stayed out) at almost 11 p.m. Today we are taking it easy and trying to get back on our routine.

This morning he’s been biting me again. This is a clear sign of teeth issues. So I asked him, “show mama the your new tooth.” Fully expecting him to point to the top left 2-year molar, he surprised me by pointing to the bottom right area. This is the only blank space in his mouth. So I asked him, “Is this where the new tooth is?” He said “yeah”. So I guess we are finally on the last leg of the 2-year molars. Which further explains the attitude and sleep issues from yesterday. I will be so happy when these darn teeth are finally finished.

Question of the day: How do you recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs? We had our first one burn out (it lasted 4 or 5 years) and I didn't know if I could put it in our curbside bin or not. I know they contain mercury, so regular trash probably isn't an option. Off to send an e-mail to the recycling company that services our city.

Trees and no more disease

My tree swap necklaces are finally finished. Here they are…
Here is more of a close up on the hand etched, stained, and sealed pendants.

We are all totally well. The HFM disease only lasted 3 days and now he’s back to normal. He never did develop sores or a rash. And as far as I can tell the only blisters he had in his mouth (the doc told us there were two) must be healed too because he’s back to eating normally. Yay immune systems! Also, I tried chamomile (along with the motrin) and I think that it really helped him feel calm during the worst of it. Thanks for the advice Grammy!

Here's a recent picture of my silly kiddo...

We go on Thursday to find out the sex of bebe #2. I'm conflicted about what I want. My Scottish, frugal side says "boy" and my sense of adventure says "girl". As long as it's healthy, I'll be happy! But, once again we agree on a girl name (don't ask, 'cause I'm not sharing) so that pretty much guarantees it's going to be a boy.

Here is my garage sale find from today. It’s a wool sweater that the woman’s friend brought back for her child from Peru. I bought it for a dollar. It will fit the boy this fall/winter. I just love all the bright colors and it will be super warm!

Also scored a learning tower off of craig's list... here she is in the kitchen...

18 Weeks & HFM Disease

I'm now 18+ Weeks Pregnant. We took this picture Sunday night...


I haven't blogged much because the boy has been ill (and maybe me, jury's still out). We’ve got Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Here’s the details. We’ve apparently been infectious for days. Sorry to everyone at the 2 year old birthday party on Sunday!

Doctor said it should only last for 3 or so days and we are over the worst of it. We are infectious for another 24 hours after the fever breaks. Last night was bad, but not as bad as Tuesday night, so I'm guessing we are on the mend.

Back to operation put weight on the kid. We went and saw Dr. Molly on Tuesday for a weight check. He lost a few ounces. He did get taller, he’s in the 30% for height and 1% for weight. But his weight was 21 lbs 10 oz and three months ago it was 22 lbs 1 oz. He has become more regular in the last months, but not enough to make him lose weight. I also mentioned the teething and night waking. She said teeth should not wake him up at night (which I disagree). With his history of enlarged kidney, she decided to do a urine culture to check for UTI. Do you know how they collect urine on a toddler boy? They put a penis shaped plastic bag around their penis with major adhesive on one side. No exactly comfortable. When he FINALLY pees in the thing (you should have seen him walk in this) the nurse yanks it off. He said “ouch – penis- pinch” for like two hours. Everywhere we go “ouch-penis-pinch”. No UTI. It’s teeth. Now that the second tooth is mostly out, he’s sleeping through the night again.

She did have some good suggestions for increasing calories. Since he won’t drink milk (and why would he when he has breastmilk?) she suggested at least 16 oz of whole milk yogurt each day and more meat. He loves his yogurt so we’ll see when we go back in a month for a weigh-in.

We’ve got another toddler birthday party tonight and a lot of other stuff going on this week. Many good things going on, I will have to update during the next nap!

Crafts and Kids

My friend is hosting the latest craft swap. The theme is “trees”. I wanted to challenge myself, so I busted out the dremel tool that we got for a wedding gift. Below is my free-handed prototype.
N bought me special bits to do a better job. Apparently we are still missing a piece because I couldn’t practice more tonight. Ultimately, they are going to be tree pendants on a wooden necklace for kids or adults. I have a fabulous image in my mind, but minimal skills. We’ll see how they turn out.
We have had lots of birthday parties recently. Here are a few cute party pictures.


Two weeks ago was our last visit to the Bluebird House, our Waldorf-inspired parent-tot class. We made bread. The boy loved it. So last week I put one of my vintage aprons on him and had him helping me with dinner. Doesn’t he have a Jack Nicholson grin on his little face? We both enjoyed ourselves. Oh and you can see the cork floor in this picture. Toe kicks soon to follow, as well as finishing up the moldings. Almost done!!!

We have another birthday party this weekend. Now what to make for the little hostess?

So many things going on. I’ve been a little emotional lately (not to mention testy). I totally blame the hormones.

Nico installed the new cork flooring in the kitchen this weekend. It looks fabulous. Ronin’s been talking about it for days. I’ll try to get some pictures up soon. Now all we have left are the doorbell (long story) and the moldings in the kitchen/dining area. I hope to paint the rest of the main room/hall before winter.

Nico did not get the job in P-burg. He didn’t even get an interview, but at least they gave him a nice rejection.

Weaning is slow. I’m comfortable where we are at now (before nap and before bed- only) so I’m not in a rush. But things change, ask me again in a month! The two year molars are waking him up at night, so I’m tired. He’s talking up a storm.

A lot of friends have been having babies lately. I’ve made two “sunshine meals” this week to take to the families. Today’s visit was especially impactful to me. I dropped off my meal to one of my Beaumont moms this afternoon. We were chatting and she said that one of the reasons that she likes our group is because of all the different parenting styles. We are able to learn from each other and become better parents. She reminded me of much of what new parenthood was like and I can really learn from how she parents two children (who will be very close to my children in ages). I also was able to show her a position that calmed our colicky baby. It worked almost immediately for her new little one. I am feeling truly blessed to be around so many strong mothers.

16 weeks Preggo