Monday, August 31, 2009

What to do...do...do...

To Do List & Schedule:

8/31/09:
decide on a crib
Sign up for Childbirth classes
check Subfinder for jobs
Cobra paperwork (mail before 9/7)
DH-find a sound sub.
Tim's haircut
Girl Scout meeting @ 7:00
library-renew books, check out books
Frederick Blvd. Wal-Mart- buy yarn & a few groceries

9/1-9/2 before leaving for PA:
lunch w/ Moose & Clark @ 12 noon
MOPS meeting (9/1 @ 6:00)
dishes
start dishwasher
vacuum our room
shower
finish washing laundry
pack clothes(yarn, fabric, dog stuff, dog soap, halti, car charger)
put away laundry
clean office
vacuum office
air out truck & clean inside
load truck
Bank (deposit), get gas & ice
finish cutting grass


Sept. 2-7 Pennsylvania (sew, craft, Baby Shower, relax!!)
bathe dogs
Sept. 7-7:00 PM Prepared Childbirth Class

Sept. 8-11 (Getting ready for Chrissy to move in)
Sept. 8- 2:45 Dr. Appt. w/ Dr. Morgan, Birthday Cake w/ Melanie & Chloe?
Sept. 9-Girl Scout Meeting @ 6:00, Bunco @ 7:00
put away big kid toys
reorganize "guest room"/ "nursery"
clean carpet in nursery
filing
scrub our bathroom (sink, toilet, tub, mop floor)

Sept. 11-13 Possibly Girl Scout Camping

Before Luke is born: (mid October)
Sept. 14-7:00 PM Prepared Childbirth Class
Sept. 15-Happy Birthday Mom!, Girl Scout Meeting @ 6:00
Sept. 17-La Leche League 6:30 in Hampton
Sept. 19- Breastfeeding Class
Sept. 20-Baby Shower (3:00)
Sept. 21-7:00 PM Prepared Childbirth Class
Sept. 28-7:00 PM Prepared Childbirth Class
Oct. 5-Sentara Leigh Hospital Tour 6:00
Oct. 15-La Leche League 6:30 in Hampton
Oct. 17-Knitting for Newborns 9-12noon
scrub walls in hallway (and rest of house too)
paint
clean carpet in living room & our room
wash car seat cover
reclean the garage
paint Luke's wall letters
assemble cradle

Sunday Update & Schedule


M Aug. 24--1:00 Lunch at Q'doba w/ Ms. Moose, 2:30 Meeting in Norfolk (I'm officially a Norfolk Substitute Teacher)

T Aug. 25--Doctor's appt 8:30 am, nothing else for the rest of the day

W Aug. 26--Cox guy in morning & then I did a bunch of housework & we didn't go anywhere

Th Aug. 27--I was pooped & actually crashed out on the couch for a LONG time in the morning, we were way late for our 12:45 Meeting w/ Mel @ City Park but we had a good time & stayed until after 4:00, 6:45 Fall Product Training @ A Place for Girls

Fri Aug. 28--Post Office, "Up" at 12 w/ Melanie & family, bank, Last day of day-care-AMEN, it was WAY late before Chrissy picked up Ashley so we didn't do anything else

S Aug. 29--Nothing but bumming around all day, Picked up the Boys in afternoon, visited Peggy, went crib shopping & to Pembroke Mall, home to watch "Coach Carter", I had a scary baby movement experience....Luke crawled up into my ribs & I couldn't breathe! 

Sun. Aug. 30--Tim had 8:30 Church, I stayed home & slept in, We were lazy all day until 7.  We cooked dinner & played Rock Band until 10:00. 

See "To Do" List post for more detailed description of what I'll be doing on the following days.  

M Aug. 31--7:00 Girl Scout meeting
T Sept. 1--Packing & working on to do list, 12:00 lunch w/ Moose & Clark 6:00 MOPS meeting
W Sept. 2--Leaving for PA
Th Sept. 3-PA
F Sept. 4--PA
S Sept. 5--PA (Baby Shower)

Su. Sept. 6--PA
Monday Sept. 7--Driving home from PA
T Sept. 8--2:45 Dr. Appt. (32 weeks)
W Sept.9--
Th. Sept. 10--
Fri. Sept. 11--Girl Scout Camping Trip
S. Sept. 12--GS Camping

Su. Sept. 13-- GS Camping

Friday, August 28, 2009

Fluff Talk Thursday

Well, I just bumped my diaper stash threads, because my little sister just ordered my prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers.
Click THIS LINK to see my stash list w/ pictures!
Click THIS LINK to see my stash list w/o pictures!
Hope you enjoy!!!

Diaper Stash List

MY Total Cost: $403.99
Includes: my mama cloth collection, Tim's nose wipee's, and my cloth wipes & all the diapers!

This is the stash list for Luke.  The girly diapers are tucked away.

Preemie Prefolds:
1 DSQ (tie-dye orange)
24 GMD from Auntie Mandy
12 GMD from Karen @ GMD

Infant Prefolds:
3 Orange Edge GMD (dyed purple)
2 Handmades (dogs, blue swirl)
24 Orange Edge GMD prefolds from Auntie Mandy
24 Yellow Edge GMD prefolds from Auntie Mandy
18 Periwinkle Edged GMDs (dyed pretty colors!)

Small Prefolds:
1 Handmade (Mickey Mouse)
3 Green Edged GMDs (yellow cowboy, yellow Mickey, and blue circles)
2 Panda Tushies Bamboo Prefolds

Medium Prefolds:
3 DSQ: Flags, Taz, Blue Dogs,
1 Made-by-Me Velour (Yellow)

Large Prefolds:
Cottonspuds Boutique OBV (owls)
4 DSQ: 2 Mickey, Peanuts, Stars

NB Covers:
NB Prowrap
Generic Pull On
XS Light Blue Thirsties
XS Blue Thirsties
1 Homemade fleece cover
1 Swim diaper

Small Covers:
Bummis Super Whisper Wrap

Medium Covers:
1 Bummis (White)
3 Prowraps (White)
2 Thirsties (Green, blue)
1 Fleece Soaker

Fleece Pants:
6 Old Navy (2 each of 0-3 mos, 3-6 mos, 6-12 mos)
2 Carter's (3 mos, 6 mos)
2 Wal-Mart (preemie)
1 Generic (3-6 mos)

NB AIOs:
2 NB Knicker Nappy (bunny, teddy bears)
WAHM Yellow
1 XS Very Baby Hybrid

Small AIOs:
S Rumpster
2 S Little Bee Creations
3 Bumkins
1 Drybee

Medium AIOs:
Knicker Nappy (Green)
Butterfly Fleece
Drybee (yellow)
1 Bumkin

NB Fitteds:
6 Nanipoo (Panda, Green, Shark, Giggling Animals, Save the Trees, Later Gator)
2 Mutt (Ooga Booga, Blue Doggies)

Small Fitteds:
3 Soggy Bottom Baby (turquoise, purplish/blue tie dye, creme)

Medium Fitteds:
3 Soggy Bottom Baby (peach, red/orange, pink)

One Size Diapers:
Mommy's Touch OS (in hot pink) AIO
Mommy's Touch OS (in pink) Pocket
BumGenius 3.0 (green) Pocket

Doublers:
A bunch of random microfiber doublers

Wool:
Green Preemie longies
Gold Newborn longies
Stripes Recycled Med. Shorties
Aristocrats Wool Soaker
100 Purewool Cirilo longies to be knit by Melanie

Diaper Stash with Pictures

As of today, August 8, 2009, this is my cloth diaper stash for Luke. There are a handful of girly prefolds that have been stashed away, because I have lots of prefolds & don't need to use girly ones on my little man. Otherwise, this is it!
The Whole SheBang
Random Microfiber Doublers
My Woolies
(Green Preemie, Gold Newborn, Stripes Med. Shorties)
These aren't mine....I have yarn in this colorway (it's Purewool) that Melanie is going to knit into longies for Luke!)
Preemie Prefolds


24 GMD prefolds from Auntie Mandy (not pictured)

Infant Prefolds
3 Orange Edge GMD
2 Handmades
24 Orange Edge GMD prefolds from Auntie Mandy (not pictured)
24 Yellow Edge GMD prefolds from Auntie Mandy (not pictured)
18 Periwinkle Edge GMDs

Small Prefolds
1 Handmade
3 Green Edge GMDs
2 Small Panda Tushies (Bamboo)

Medium Prefolds
1 Handmade Velour
3 DSQ

Large Prefolds
1 Cottonspuds Boutique (bamboo)
4 DSQ

Preemie/NB Covers
NB Prowrap
Generic Pull On
2 XS Thirsties
1 Homemade fleece cover
1 Swim diaper
Small Covers
BSWW

Medium Covers
1 BSWW
3 Prowraps
2 Thirsties
1 Fleece Cover
NB AIOs
2 NB Knickernappies
WAHM (yellow)
1 XS Very Baby AIO
Small AIOs
1 Rumpster
2 Little Bee Creations
Medium AIOs
Knickernappy
Butterfly Fleece
Drybees
NB Fitteds
6 Nanipoos
2 Muttiquin Baby Diapers
Small Fitteds
3 Soggy Bottom Baby Diapers
Medium Fitteds
3 Soggy Bottom Baby Diapers
One Size Diapers
Mommy's Touch OS (in hot pink) AIO
Mommy's Touch OS (in pink) Pocket
BumGenius 3.0 (green) Pocket

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Sunday Update (VERY LATE)

Thursday Aug. 20

The day was a boring one. The day-care kids got picked up before 5 o’clock. I cooked a quick dinner of who remembers what! Then I ran out the door to La Leche League in Hampton. It was great! There are 2 leaders, 2 other pregnant women, a woman w/ a weaned 3 yo, and a mama who had a 10 day old baby girl. We all basically just shared our concerns & then discussed them. I’m going to bring my birth plan & baby carriers to the next meeting. I got Rally’s on the way home & then went to bed.


Friday Aug. 21
There were no day-care kids, so Ashley pretty much stuck to herself & I dealt w/ the crap-tastic internet connection. I know I played a lot of Sims 3 & did laundry. I also cooked chili for our dinner because we were expecting Chrissy & the kids to be here.


Chrissy ended up getting here around 7:30 and we ate dinner. She started laundry. Then Tim helped her work on the van & determined that she was having battery troubles. I got Carolynn to bed, set the girls up w/ Harry Potter & convinced Chrissy to just spend the night, since her laundry was taking so long. Tim and I tended to the housework and our laundry & then went to bed.


Chrissy stayed up really late w/ the girls watching movies and Tim and I slept for crap. I was up every single hour all night long.


Saturday Aug. 22
Tim got up early in the morning to go to band practice at church. Carolynn got up and came in bed w/ me. When Chrissy got up, we called junk yards until she found a battery and then she was off. I went back to sleep after she left and didn’t get up until Tim got home. I got a shower and we got ready to go to James & Missy’s house. Tim and James had housework to do, so Missy & I headed out to Belk & Farm Fresh. When we got home, it was raining so our plans of grilling burgers were cancelled. We ended up going to “Santa Fe” something or other across the street from their neighborhood & Mandy’s work. It wasn’t bad.


When we got back to their house, we ate cake & played Uno until 8:00. When we got home it was bed time.


Sunday Aug. 23
We went to the 9:45 service, but we had to drop Lily off on the way there, so we left SUPER early. Church was good but I couldn’t sit through two services without food so I ran to McDonald’s for some fries & coke while Tim did sound in the second service.


Afterwards, we went to Subway & got some real lunch. Then we went to Melanie’s and let Lily out & gave her a tiny bit more attention before heading home.


When we got home, we got SUPER lazy, and did NOTHING.

30 Week Doctor Appt. Update

So, here's the update from my 30 week appt.:


I weighed in at 198 lbs!!!! Up 3.5 lbs in 2 weeks--WAHOO!!! That is like EXCELLENT news for me b/c they've been SOOOOO worried about my lack of weight.

My fundal height was EXACTLY 30 cms...so perfect!!

The baby's hb was good & strong & he even kicked the monitor! I had to tell the midwife where to put the monitor to find this silly boy, because he's SO low!

The hospital "strives" for a natural medicine free birth for all moms. Hep-lock is standard procedure, w/ IV only used as needed. (Can be taken off of fluid bag if you don't need it the whole time.) Delayed cord cutting, nursing, rooming in, are all optional & I will need a birth plan & advocate to make sure I get what I want. (Tim & possibly Mom, Mandy, or Melanie better step up!!)

BUT, the do not like to let anyone go past 40 weeks!! She said if I haven't delivered by my due date then they will want to scheedule an induction. Um, no. I asked about denying it unless there was a true medical reason to force the baby out before 42 weeks and she said it wasn't adviced, but they can't stop me from NOT going to the hospital for it. I know w/in a 72 hour window of when I conceived. There is no mistaking WHEN my 40 week mark is...so, there shouldn't be any real problems w/ letting me go late if he needs to.

The doctors in my practice are on-call 24/7. At least ONE of the docs in the practice would come in to deliver me if I don't deliver during business hours or Dr. M's on call time. If I deliver during business hours, Dr.M is the one to come. (I've had to wait almost an hour for a scheduled appt. before, because he had a delivery to run to.) So, hopefully, he's the one to make the catch, but I know it's mostly up to the nurses & hospital staff how well my labor & post delivery care go anyway, so it's really about getting them on board w/ my birth plan.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

30 Weeks

I had Ashley take a couple pictures of me for my 30 week milestone. This marks the 3rd time I've taken belly photos. There is definitely MORE belly there now, than there has been in the past. However, most folks, still are shocked to find out I'm 7 months pregnant. I will be "full term" in 7 weeks. The baby will be "due" in 10 weeks. I expect to have a little boy by the end of October!!


First up: Hands on tummy showing you the top & bottom of the baby.

Secondly, hands down, more relaxed, and just showing the bottom of the baby.
And finally, the progression:



Monday, August 24, 2009

Quickie

I've been a bum today. I slept until almost 9, did little to no housework, and then went to Q'doba for lunch w/ Ms. Moose & her daughters. Fun times.

Then I headed downtown to Norfolk for my appointment about substitute teaching. I had an AWFUL contraction on the way in (from the walk/heat) and it lasted more than a minute!

It took me about 40 minutes to do the paperwork, use the toilet 3 times, and talk to the head of HR. When I walked back to the car, I went MUCH slower and I managed to make it w/o any contractions. Yay!

When I got home, though, the only thing I've done is sat on my tushy because my stomach is sore from that contraction. I need to do SO much around here (including my birth plan for my 8:30 appt. tomorrow!) but I have NO motivation/energy....

Our internet connection has been "spotty" and ridiculous so I'm not going to attempt to do my Sunday Update post until I've actually typed it all out in Word.

I MUST get groceries in the house, Chrissy is bringing Ashley by around 7:30 and that's all!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Amazing Swap Gift!!

Wow! My Diaperswappers Swap Partner REALLY outdid herself! This is an AMAZING gift! I feel bad for what I sent, because it was all store bought & only a hand-made picture frame mat! This is just so awesome for Luke!

It's a toddler sized afghan, w/ Lucas crocheted on the top center! It matches our nursery decor perfectly!Here's the blanket w/ the comforter to our crib set. Can you see the teddy bears??
Here's a close up of one of the throw blankets we have for our crib set. See how awesome the colors match? The blues are practically identical.
Here's a wide shot of the entire blanket. I had a hard time getting a good shot of it because I had to stand on the bed!
Here's the nifty packaging it came in, it's a folded & taped closed baby gift bag!!



April, thank you SO much for this awesome gift! We'll love it for ever!!!

Fluff Talk Thursdays!



"Why Cloth? What made you decide to go the cloth diapering route? Who introduced you to the idea?"
Our number one reason for using cloth diapers is to save money. So far, I've spent less than $500 on my stash. As long as I don't get too sentimental & am able to sell some of my diapers to fund the next size, we should be able to stay under $1000 for all of the diapers our kids will ever need. The average cost of disposable diapers, per child, from birth-potty learning, is just under $3,000. SO, that means if we stick to my budget & keep it under $1000 we'll save $2,000 on the first child & then the FULL $3,000 on the next child! Amazing!
Our number two reason for using cloth diapers is to conserve resources and reduce waste. By using cloth diapers and wipes we are keeping thousands of pounds of trash out of land fills. I use "family cloth" (cloth toilet paper) and "mama cloth" (cloth menstrual products) as well. We also do not purchase paper/plastic/or styrofoam products. We use dish towels and rags in the kitchen and glass plates that can be washed and reused.
Our third reason for choosing cloth diapers is because of the chemicals and "unknown" agents at work in disposable products. I have extremely sensitive skin and putting products full of man-made agents and chemicals against my baby's bottom is not the way I want to go.
I don't know what sparked the idea for me but within about 20 minutes of online searching, I found www.diaperswappers.com and was hooked!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What We've Been Up To

Sunday Aug. 16 Continued:

Chrissy showed up with Ashley pretty early. Brianna and Ashley tried on the rest of the freecycle clothes. I sent Chrissy home with a bunch of stuff for all three of the girls.
Then, Ashley and I got busy cleaning the house and getting the dishes done and stuff. When Tim got home he ran the vacuum for me. We ate a LATE dinner of Lipton noodle soup and then went to bed.

Monday Aug. 17:

The day-care kids didn't show up. So, I went back to sleep and slept until 10:30. I felt pretty groggy when I got up so it was after noon before Ashley and I headed out to the post office. We got my swap gift in the mail and then headed home. We didn't do anything special except make tacos for dinner.

Tuesday Aug. 18:

The day-care kids showed up around 7:30 and watched a movie. Ashley slept until about 8 am. The kids watched the rest of that movie & then played in the playroom. They were bad. Ashley and the DC girl are MEAN to the DC boy. I had to put all three of them in time outs at different times! Ashley was REALLY driving me bonkers. I ended up calling Chrissy at the end of the day to fuss at Ashley.

Tim and I prepared shish-ka-bobs for dinner. I was having a couple of really good days food wise & managed to eat a TON of food last night. (with no Zofran on Monday or Tuesday!!)

After dinner, I took a bath because my belly is stretching & really sore lately and Tim and Ashley read to themselves in the office.

Then it was bed time!

Wednesday Aug. 19:

Today was a much better day. Ashley was nicer to the DC kids and didn't have to go to time-out at all! DC girl got put in time out a couple times. The DC kids got picked up at 2:30 and I took a nap from 2:45-4:45. Ashley did good entertaining herself & being quiet.

I had made soup earlier in the day for tonight's dinner, so when I got up I reheated that & started the noodles. As soon as Tim got home, we sat down to dinner.

Since he's been gone to church (for sound practice), Ashley watched the Pixar Shorts & I have written most of my birth plan. Now, she's reading me Little House on the Prairie.

I can't believe there's still more than an hour before I can put her to bed! Argh.

I had to take my zofran today.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

BINGO! G 40


Lots of people want to own a business….what kind of business would you own if you could have any business in the world. And if you own one already, tell us about it!

If I could own any kind of business in the world it would be a day-care center. I'd love to run a combination drop off center/preschool/tutoring center. I think it would be an excellent way to use my education and spend just the RIGHT amount of time working with kids.

In my dream world, the center would be set up to offer amenities for newborns through elementary school aged kids.

For newborns & babies, we'd have a simple day-care set up, complete with scheduled hours & activities as well as drop-off availability for parents who want to go on a date or grocery shopping without a little one in tow!

For toddlers and preschoolers, we' d have two options, parents could choose "basic" day-care, which would only include play times and snack times, but no "school" time, parents could also choose a toddler/preschool package that includes school times as well as the regular day-care options. These would work as "add-ons" to the basic package. If you want me to teach them ABCs, colors, potty training, or additonal things, they would get classes for them.

For school aged kids, we'd have before and after school care, as well as tutoring available. Tutoring and homework help would be two different things though, tutoring would be small groups of 3 or less children getting actual structured lessons from licensed teachers on different topics/subject areas, where as all after school students would get homework help.

The center would have a playground indoors and out so that the kids can get physical activity even on bad weather days as well as a big comfy "lounge" room where movies can be shown and quiet times can be had. We'd also have to have a full service kitchen and a cook to prepare meals as needed for the children. Parents could order their meals a la carte or create an account for their (older) children to choose their meals themselves.

The center would be brightly lit and well decorated & I'd have a BLAST painting murals in all of the rooms!

Best of all, we'd be open to all parenting styles & encourage cloth diapers (maybe even offer a discount!) and breastfeeding!

So, in my DREAM world, where I have lots and LOTS of money, this would be my dream job. Of course, my kids would be there with me all day. So, I guess we'd also have to offer homeschooling options too....perhaps I could take on one extra child at each age/grade level as my own kids & homeschool them too, so that would be my "roll" in the center, as well as owner.

Can you see I'm thinking while typing? That's the best kind right?

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Where I Babywear!

Where I Babywear Button

This is a new meme from Mama Kenz Studio, that I'm going to start participating in. Obvisously, until Luke gets here, I'll have to share pictures/stories of me wearing other people's babies, but that shouldn't be hard, because I LOVE babywearing!
In the picture above, Carolynn's probably about 2 months old, having her bottle, in a cotton pouch style carrier, made by my mom, at the "Fun Forest" the Chesapeake City Park. I can't wait to take Luke there in a carrier, with the dogs for walks on nice days this fall!

Thirsties Diaper Giveaway!

Mama Kenz is giving away a Thirsties Fab Fitted & a Version 2 cover as a part of her "Summer of Baby Love" promotion!!!

I love all things Thirsties & would love to win this diaper combo for Luke's cloth diaper stash.

If you hop on over to her blog, you can find a review of the diapers and lots of other cool stuff!

Just, don't bother entering the contest, because that'll lower MY chances of winning, OK?!?!

Contraction Log

Aug. 12
--7:10 PM--folding laundry--6 seconds

Aug. 13
--NONE

Aug. 14
--11:31 AM--driving truck--16 seconds
--12:05 PM--walking into Petsmart--14.8 seconds
--12:20 PM--walking into Target--12 seconds

Aug. 15
--6:05 PM--after an hour of grocery shopping--14.3 seconds

Aug. 16
--6:15 PM--picked up Carolynn--20 seconds (painful)

Aug. 17
--NONE!!!

Aug. 18
--NONE!!

Aug. 19
--NONE!!

Aug. 20
--NONE!!

Aug. 21
--NONE!!

Aug. 22
--NONE!!

Aug. 23
--NONE!!

Aug. 24
--2:35 PM --walking from McArthur Mall to School Board--more than 1 minute

Sunday Update & Pregnancy News

Holy Wow...I haven't updated in a while! Hee hee..I guess I ought to get to work on my Sunday Update post!


So, this week, was pretty eventful. I don't think I even posted about my doctor's appointment, did I? My bad.


Sunday Aug. 9

We ended up doing a big-fat-nothing. We took a nap together and I babysat. Tim did the grocery shopping while I was babysitting. When I got home, we went to bed.


Monday Aug. 10

The day-care kids didn't come, so Ashley and I hung out around the house all day. I did a little housework but wasn't feeling great all morning, so we had a slow day. After lunch time I finally decided I was up for company/doing something, so Melanie headed over w/ her crew.


We made popcorn on the stove and the kids watched "Night at the Museum". Then Melanie taught me how to "chain" and "single crochet". Around 3:00 we left together, for Cinema Cafe. We were going to see "Night at the Museum 2". It was pretty good and I enjoyed it.


Afterwards, Tim met Ashley and I there and we went next door to our eye exams a full hour early. We got those done while Ashley waited in the lobby. Tim's left eye is a little worse but his right eye is the same. Both of mine were the same, still 20/20 on the right & just barely blind on the left. My glasses are fine.


When we got home, Tim went on the computer to look at eye glasses. I forget what was for dinner. Tim ordered two pairs of glasses from http://www.zennioptical.com/ for a total of $45. (including shipping)


Tuesday Aug. 11

Tuesday was my early doctor's appointment. I had to fast from 8:30 am until after the appointment, so I ate breakfast bright & early. Then at 9:30 I popped the top on my glucola and started loading the kids into the truck.


We headed to the appointment, but got caught at a bridge lift at the downtown tunnel. Melanie got to the doctor's office before me!


When we got there, I quickly dropped the kids off to Melanie in the lobby, along w/ a bag of toys/coloring books, and rushed in, late, to my appointment.


I was handed a timer for the rest of the time before my blood could be drawn and got through my work-up and into the room. I gained 1 lb and as of then I weighed 194.5 lbs. Yay! (or so I thought)


Dr. Morgan came in, did my belly measurements, 28 cm, perfect, and listened to Luke's heartbeat, 153 beats. Then we went to his office to chat. I told him about the morning sickness, he said that can happen & to keep eating, keep taking Zofran, and keep trying to gain weight. He reiterated his directions to eat ice cream 3x a day. I told him about the BH contractions, and how I have them pretty much any time I do anything physical, and he was concerned. His first question was for me to describe them, which I did...then he wanted to know how long they lasted...well I'd never timed them, so I didn't know.


He said, basically, that I need to stop doing anything that causes them that isn't absolutely needed & that I need to start timing them & recording the information. So, as of that doctor's appointment, I can't do anything like loading the bottom of the dishwasher, vacuuming, folding laundry, getting in and out of the truck, walking, swimming, anything that makes me contract. Fun.


I asked him when we'd have time to talk about the birth & how things will work & he suggested running my questions by the midwife in the practice first. Her name's Gretchen & I'll see her a week from Tuesday. I'm going to have my birth plan & a list of questions ready for her.


He also wanted to do another fetal fibernectin but I told him I'd just had one, not even 2 full weeks prior & he said we'd do it at my next appointment. He also said I'd get another ultrasound, probably at 34 weeks and that I'll probably have the fFn at each 2 week appointment too.


After the appointments were scheduled (30 & 32 weeks), I left. Melanie was JUST about to lose her hair watching all 6 kids and it was good timing!


We left there and headed to McDonald's. We let the kids play for about 30 minutes (after they ate of course) and then headed to Cinema Cafe in Virginia Beach. That place was PACKED.


We went to see "Imagine That" which none of us had ever heard of. It started out SLOW and none of the kids would sit still but got better. The girls & Billy did pretty well, Jack and Sophia were really too young for that movie, so they played w/ Melanie's iPhone a lot.


After the movie, we parted ways, and the DC kids, Ashley, and I ran into Food Lion to get some groceries before heading home.


Back at home, the kids were sent to play together and I rested.


After the day-care kids got picked up, we gobbled up some dinner, and then headed out to church. There was a meeting about changes in store for the Saturday night service that I wanted to go to. We didn't leave there until after 8:30.


When we got home, it was bed time.


Wednesday Aug. 12

Hmm...nothing amazing is sticking out at me from Wednesday. I'm pretty sure we had plans to go to the library, but didn't. Tim stayed home from work to go to the interview at CBN. Basically, the gist of it is, that they want him, BUT, they can't afford him. Boo. We're waiting to hear if they get the money & if so, for them to make him an offer we can refuse & EDS can't beat.
Depending on the offer from CBN (if we get one) we are planning on countering it to EDS. If they can beat it, in order to keep Tim, we'll have to seriously consider the pros & cons of staying with them. Tim doesn't really hate his job & his benefits are awesome. There's also room for growth & pay raises (even if they are jacked up & only available every 18 months) at EDS & CBN pretty much flat out told him there's no where to go from where they'd be hiring him.
I'm pretty sure the kids & I just bummed around the house all day, until Tim and I got started getting the place cleaned up for Bunco, that is.
Ashley even helped with the Bunco cleaning.
After the daycare kids left, I made homemade pizza for our dinner and we all ate. Then it was time for Bunco folks to show up & that they did!
Bunco was awesome, I was on fire! I played REALLY well! I managed to win the top prize & got a second prize b/c my name was called out of the pot. Yay! I'm pretty sure everyone had fun, which is great! (Esp. since the last time I hosted, SUCKED butt, b/c I was sick big time with a migraine!)
After Bunco, Tim was helping Melanie load her car up w/ the tables & chairs and happened to witness 2 pitt bulls attacking our neighbor's cat. He rushed over to help, scooped up the dogs, and stowed them in our back yard. Turns out the neighbors' kitty probably won't make it & Animal Control came and took the dogs away. It was a mama and her baby girl puppy.
After all that excitement, we headed to bed.

Thursday Aug. 13
Thursday was another lazy-ish day. We didn't do anything until after 11. The doctor called & said I need to start taking Iron 325 mg a day, because I'm anemic. So, we headed out to the library, to pick up some stuff from freecycle, and to the pharmacy to buy the iron. It was a short trip and we had lunch when we got home. After that, we didn't do anything special.
When the daycare kids left, we ate dinner, and then all gathered in our bed at 8:00 to read. Ashley read to me for an hour, Tim read Harry Potter. By 9:00 we were all in bed and going to sleep. (I had a migraine & ended up napping on the couch & in the bathtub.)
Friday Aug. 14

Friday morning I watched "The Pacifier" with the day-care kids & Ashley slept in until 9 am.
After they were up, dressed, and fed, we got started running our errands. We had a long list of places to go including: a freecycle pick up, PetSmart, Target, Babie's R Us, the bank, Post Net, the water store, and the library.
It was lunch time by the time we finished, so we ran to McDonald's for some french fries and then home for some PB & Nutella sandwiches.
After the kids ate, I sent them to the playroom and putzed around the house. It was a nasty and rainy day and there wasn't much to do.
Chrissy showed up around 3:30 to get Ashley. She left Brianna and Carolynn here while she ran to the library with Ashley, so she could get her free book from the summer reading program.
When they got back, she loaded everyone up and they headed out.
The day-care kids' mom had called around 4:30 to say that she was on her way, so I just had them play in the playroom, expecting her to get there sometime soon.
At 5:45, she called to say that she was on Battlefield & had to detour to Cedar Road because of the roads.
That was all well & good...I certainly figured she'd be here by 7:00.
Well, 7:30 rolls around, I can't get ahold of the mom, so I finally called their dad. They were being bad, whining and complaining & Tim and I were hungry!
So, he said he'd be over in about 25 minutes.
At 7:55, their mom showed up & about 1 minute later, their dad showed up. Fun stuff.
I apologized to their dad for making him come out, but since I couldn't get a hold of their mom, I didn't have any choice.
Finally, at 8:00 Tim and I came in and found something to eat. My pill had long since worn off, so I just had scrambled eggs. Then we went to bed.
Saturday Aug. 15
Yesterday was a big-fat-lazy-day for us! I slept until 9:30, got up, spent an hour or two putzing on my computer while Tim finished up money and then around 11 we went back to bed together!
Around 12:30, I showered and got dressed and Tim took a nap. I spent a couple hours working on blog stuff and catching up w/ Reader and forums.
When Tim got up, we had tuna casserole for "lunch" (aroud 4:30), cleaned the kitchen and made our menu/grocery list.
After we ate, we headed to Wal-Mart. We ended up spending about $90 for the week, but we got yarn, $16 in light bulbs, dog treats $6, and a coloring book for the girls $3 that weren't part of the grocery budget. So, we're averaging about $60 a week in groceries, right now. And we're plowing our way through the food in the pantry. Pretty soon we'll be out of stock! (Which is the goal...we had some stuff that had been in there so long --it was 2 years expired!) We want to get down to a bare bones pantry w/ ONLY food we'll actually eat in it!
After we got home, we fixed salad and watched "Slumdog Millionare". It was really good. I finished crocheting the "pot holder" I made with Melanie's yarn and started the baby blanket I found a pattern for online.
After the movie, we went to bed.
Sunday Aug. 16
Today, we got up early for the 8:30 church service. After church, we headed to I-Hop for breakfast.
Then we went to Home Depot really quick before going to Melanie's to get Lily. (We're dog sitting.)
When we got home, I took a LONG nap and Tim read on the couch. We skipped lunch since we had a huge "second" breakfast.
Tim woke me up around 3:45 to let me know his parents needed his help w/ some car trouble and did I want to go over there with him...nah, I'll pass. I haven't been home alone in a while & I could use the 'me' time! Hee hee!
So, I got up around 4:00 and have done pretty much nothing but blog, play online, and tend to laundry. (Oh and eat 4 clementines & some M&Ms!)
I have no idea when Tim will be back. Chrissy's bringing Ashley by sometime this evening. The house needs vacuumed & swept...the dishes need done...but I don't wanna!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Momdot Blogger Bingo R 31


The next ball I'm going to do is R31, "On blogs, the only time you hear about someones spouse is when they are in the dog house…lets here some of the BEST things you love about your spouse or significant other."

Well, I could go on and on and about the amazing things about my husband. I love Tim with all of my heart and though we do occasionally get on each other's nerves, I would never trade him in a million years.

I could not live without Tim and have loved him since I was 14. (Even though we didn't see each other from 10th grade until my Junior year of college, I would hum this tune to myself, when I was stressed or worried. It wasn't until we started dating in 2004, that I realized that the tune was to a song that we sang at the camping trip, where we met when I was 14. It subliminally reminded me of Tim and calmed me, all those years.)

Tim is patient and kind. He is funny and entertaining. He is self-sacrificing and doesn't have a selfish bone in his body.

Tim is handsome and strong. He is honest and faithful. He loves me "just the way that I am" no matter what.

Tim is smart and loves learning. He is a great teacher and role model.

My husband truly loves me and we are 100% open with each other. We are perfect matches for one another & truly believe that our love is for ever and ever and for always & always.

Here's an edited list of things I love about my husband. Each and every one is still true, even though the list was made (and given to Tim) ages ago!

I love you.
I love it when you hug me.
I love it when you hold my hand.
I love the way you take itty bitty steps when you walk with me.
I love playing with your hair.
I love ...
I love how close you are to your family.
I love how animals are attracted to you.
I love that my nieces and my nephew instantly liked you.
I love every colorful kiss you give me.
I love how you spoil me (even though you don’t have to).
I love it when we sing “You are My Sunshine”.
I love it when you say “Hmmm…”
I love all of our firsts.
I love hearing you talk about computers.
I love taking care of you.
I love our future together.
I love how you can make me smile no matter what.
I love that you forgive me.
I love that we don’t have to be perfect.
I love that you don’t get upset easily.
I love how traditional you are.
I love it when you hold my hand as I get into the truck.
I love it when you help me into my coat.
I love it when you pull my hair out from under my coat/sweatshirt collar.
I love ...
I love ...
I love ....
I love when you say “used of it”.
I love laughing with you.
I love making silly faces with you.
I love kissing you when you least expect it.
I love our funny little “wedding” kiss…it would be funny you know!
I love that you get along w/ Frankie.
I love that you understand how easily I get upset.
I love it when you comfort me.
I love singing “walking around in circles” with you.
I love kissing every inch of you…even when you laugh at me.
I love that first minute when I see you.
I love it when you play my guitar.
I love it when you play your bass for me.
I love it when you smile.
I love taking showers with you.
I love it when you play with my hair.
I love how irresistible you are.
I love your blue eyes. <---since being pregnant, his eyes have been EVEN more attractive to me!
I love how relaxed you can be.
I love how relaxed you make me.
I love how crazy-like you make me, by just laying with me.
I love talking to you about serious things or about nothing and about everything.
I love being around you, even when we are doing separate things.
I love how you hold me.
I love how your hands feel against my face.
I love how you feel when you lay in my arms and let me rock you.
I love the faces you make.
I love alien kisses.
I love how we goof off.
I love watching you squirm as I try (often in vain) to tickle you.
I love letting you take care of me.
I love being your woman.
I love it when you call me sweet stuff, darlin, and Stephaninnie.

Fill in the Blank

So much of my blog inspiration comes from Trisha at Momdot.com

She posted this on her blog & I like it & maybe it will get me some comments...so I'm stealing it!

Please comment & fill in the blanks with your answers!


■Today I feel _________________
■This weekend I am going to _________________
■My husband is ____________________
■My blog might _____________________
■If my kids ________________________
■I totally forgot about ______________________
■I want

Momdot Bingo L 29

Well, I've been playing Momdot Bingo all week and I missed the first two balls. I had to do some blog digging & search the internet a bit, but I finally figured out what those first two balls were. It looks like you won't have a chance of winning this thing, if you don't do all the balls, so I don't want to miss out.


So, now that I know what L 29's task is, "Post a picture and story from your wedding," I can participate!


My favorite memory from our wedding was the step stool. It was a joke between Tim & I, that I'd need a step stool for the first kiss. My wonderful husband, convinced a cousin of his, to decorate a stool & then to step in & provide the stepping stool at the perfect moment, so DH and I could kiss at the same level! It was hilarious and we really got a kick out of it!


This isn't THAT kiss, but it was an actual, sentimental kiss that Tim and I snuck in during the photographs. Here's a picture of us lighting our unity candle. It was BEAUTIFUL. It melted in our garage when we moved. I still have it.
Here's a picture of my dad walking me down the aisle.

My handsome hubby!

Our photographer's signature picture...the flower girl, complete w/ still falling flower. (Mandy had this same pose from her wedding, only Brianna was the flower girl.)

Me and my sisters while getting dressed for the wedding. You can see how much Amanda and I look alike in this one too!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Momdot Blog Bingo-L 20

L 20- Task "Everyone has a "twin" out there, we want to know who your twin is. Do people say you look like a celebrity? Fictional character? Your father? Do a post and side by side comparison of you and your twin."

Well, I can answer this one in a couple ways.

First, people always say I look like "Jennifer". Who the heck this so-called-look-alike Jennifer is, I dunno.

Maybe they're talking about Dr. Jennifer Hendriks?

Or maybe Jennifer Carpenter, because I would totally take that as a compliment!

In real life, I resemble both of my parents, but my "twin" would have to be my little sister, Amanda. If I lost 50 or so pounds and got my hair styled, we could still pass as twins!

When we were small children, you couldn't tell us apart. Mandy was a tiny bit taller than me & my mom enjoyed dressing us alike.
So, people always tell me I look like "a Jennifer"...but really I like like Amanda!

Momdot Blog Bingo-B 5


B 5 Task, "Tell us about your dream home. Feel free to share all the amenities you would choose & even pictures of some examples of what you love."

Ohh, oh, I don't think I posted this, but Tim and I just played this game last week on our anniversary. We were talking about what we'd look for in a house if budget was not such a worry.

(As in, if Tim took a job in Kuwait, and we spent the next 2 years living there while he worked, making $200,000 a year, the first $80,000 of which is tax free, and we came home in 2 years, w/ a MEGALOAD of cash saved up, what house would we want?)

So, our dream home, would have a LONG list of amenities, as well as many bedrooms. Here's our list in no particular order.

2 or more car garage
fenced back yard
a nice sized deck
an in the ground pool
preferably on a culdesac or a corner lot w/little traffic

large kitchen, with lots of cabinets
large dining room (big enough for table for 8+)
large living room
utility room w/ washer & dryer w/ space for drying rack

2+ bathrooms
master bath w/double headed shower

master bedroom
2 "kid" bedrooms
guest bedroom
office/ library (preferably w/ built into wall or full wall of bookshelves)
arts & crafts room/classroom
playroom (could be a basement)

There would also need to be a convenient location w/in the house for the dog cages.

We'd also like it to be a single story or if it HAS to be 2 stories, then at least the guest bedroom & a full bath need to be on the first floor. It needs to not have stairs to gain access to the first level.

We'd like a fireplace or two as well as a bay window. All stainless steel appliances would be awesome! We love hard wood floors and real tiles and would prefer to stay away from a fully carpeted home.

The last thing we'd take into consideration would be homeschooling opportunities and recycling amenities.

I think that's everything we came up with. Obviously some of these things we could add after purchasing and some are completely optional & wouldn't stop us from buying a house that was almost perfect.

So, let me know if you find anything like that on the market, in, Uniontown, PA, Leadville, CO, or Hampton Roads, VA. (or the surrounding areas)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Momdot Blog Bingo G42



Momdot is hosting a Blog Bingo this week as part of the PR blackout/"Content Week".

I missed out on the first couple balls that were drawn because I was out & about, but I'm going to try to play along for the rest of the week because I really need new blog material!

Today's first ball is G 42.

Task-What did you want to be when you grew up, and what are you now?
Ever since I was 10 years old in the fifth grade, I've wanted to be a teacher. I've always loved watching, taking care of, and teaching little kids.
In 2001, I went away to Longwood College to work on my degree in education.
In 2005, I graduated from Longwood University, as a fully certified teacher, for grades Pre-K through eight.
I began working as a teacher in 2005 in Norfolk, VA. I taught for 4 school years and officially resigned in June of 2009. Technically, I'm still a teacher and I have EVERY intention of recertifing myself next year.
However, I consider myself a stay-at-home-mom. Of course, my babe is on the inside, and I'm doing day-care from home, but I don' t have a "real" job and my goal is to be Luke's mom and Tim's wife and not much more!

Chic Cheeks--My Imperfect Wash Routine


I'm participating in a new blog meme, called "Chic Cheeks". Each week a different topic will be discussed and other cloth diapering mamas will be asked to share their views on that issue.


So, this week's topic is, "Now I want to hear what your favorite detergent is! What is your washing routine? What has (and hasn't) worked for you?!"


So, I don't cloth diaper full time just yet, but I have been using cloth diapers for weekends at a time, since Carolynn was 4 months old. (She's now 2 years old.) So I've gone through the easy, only eats formula, stage, to the messy baby food stage, to the now disgusting toddler pee stink stage.


Up until recently, I was pretty happy with my overall wash routine, because it wasn't any different than my regular routine!


We have a Frigidair Affinity HE front loader set. We bought it when we bought this house 2 years ago.


So, we have to use HE detergents or else cut down on regular detergents. I have SEVERE skin allergies and am allergic to all forms of fragrances including my husband's cologne! I can not use any detergent with smelly stuff in it. Tide is the worst. I can't even use Tide Free & Clear!


So, whenever I found out that ONE company besides Tide was making and selling an HE and Free and Clear detergent I was so happy. The only problem? Said detergent cost $7.50 a bottle and was only sold in Pennsylvania! My mom bought us a bottle and sent it down the next time we saw them. It worked! Our clothes were clean & my skin didn't react to it!


So, then I was on a hunt to find "Seventh Generation HE Laundry Detergent: Free and Clear" and finally I did at Farm Fresh. For a LONG time they were the only ones carrying it!


So, our wash routine goes like this:


Load in clothes/diapers

Put in 1 scoop of "Oxyclean Free and Clear" (in tank)

Fill 7th Gen. detergent cap to "0" line & pour in dispenser

Run "Quick" cycle (39 minutes)

Run "Spin Only" cycle-with the "Extra Rinse" feature turned on (18 mins)

Check for suds against the window


If no suds--switch to dryer

If suds--run "Spin Only" w/ "Extra Rinse" again. Repeat last step until no suds.


PUL covers & pockets don't go in the dryer, neither do most of my tops, we have a drying rack set up in the laundry room.


I have occasionally "stripped" my diapers with a TINY squirt of dawn. (and then LOTS of rinse cycles)


I have used a dry pail & a wet pail. I don't notice a difference with either one so far, other than the wet pail makes loading the diapers a lot more disgusting. (I wear the big ugly yellow gloves when I do it!)


Recently, after washing & drying a load of Carolynn's diapers & being left with AWFUL ammonia stench, I soaked my entire stash in hot vinegar water. Unfortunately, although it HELPED, it didn't remove the stench. My toddler sized diapers (and my microfiber) still smell yucky!


So, all this to say, I think with Luke, I'm going to use a wet pail, rinse in the bath tub, normal wash (hot), spin only+rinse, spin only+ rinse again, dry. I'm also going to look into laundry additives such as Bac Out and the other things Diaperswappers mamas recommend.


So, I don't have it all figured out just yet!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Bloggity Bingo O 26


Momdot is hosting a Blog Bingo this week as part of the PR blackout/"Content Week".

I missed out on the first couple balls that were drawn because I was out & about, but I'm going to try to play along for the rest of the week because I really need new blog material!

Today's second ball is O 26, "Have your child color on a paint or graphics program, save the ‘art’ and post displaying them!"
Well, since my baby is still snug as a bug on the inside, I let the day-care girl & my niece do this one. This is what they came up with. Niether of them had ever used "Paint" before & they were pretty thrilled to be allowed to touch my computer!

Blogger Bingo-B 14



Momdot is hosting a Blog Bingo this week as part of the PR blackout/"Content Week".

I missed out on the first couple balls that were drawn because I was out & about, but I'm going to try to play along for the rest of the week because I really need new blog material!

Today's first ball is B14, "Tell us about your dream vacation."

My dream vacation would be a 2 week long, family trip to Disney World, with a great big huge expense count.

Tim and I went to Disney World for our honeymoon. We loved it. It was perfect. We had plenty of spending money, not so much that we went crazy, but enough that we could get an ice cream or a drink if we wanted one. I've wanted to go back ever since then.

I think it would be great to take our entire family, my parents & siblings, Tim's parents & siblings, and spend a good 2 weeks down there. I think it would be good to have a vehicle to share amongst us (something big that could seat at least 12) as well as use the Disney transportation. We could stay on Disney property, possibly spread out over different resorts, so we'd have our own space & access to all the different properties! (Plus, like Mom & Dad could stay at one of the swankier hotels & Chrissy & the kids could stay in the cabins or a hotel w/ kitchen amenities or more activities for kids.)

I'd love to watch Chrissy's kids as well as Luke experience Disney World & I'd like to give Mandy & Frankie another chance to go when our family is on better terms. (Just ask Mandy about that one if you want to, but beware, she will probably either cry or get upset.)

So, my dream vacation, of all the places in the world, would be to go to Disney World w/ my family.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Momdot Blog Bingo-E18


Momdot is hosting a Blog Bingo this week as part of the PR blackout/"Content Week".

I missed out on the first couple balls that were drawn because I was out & about, but I'm going to try to play along for the rest of the week because I really need new blog material!

So, E18 is the ball that is up right now & it's task is to have your DH write a blog post on your blog. That's my intro! Now I have to convince Tim to come talk to you ladies!
This is Tim. This CRAZY wife of mine has decided that she wants to try to win this prize so she's forcing me to write things on whatever page this is she's asked me to write on....I hope length doesn't count because this is all I'm going to put.