Chic Cheeks!

I'm going to try to participate in this meme I just found, called Chic Cheeks. Each week there's a different Cloth Diaper related topic!

Here are some words from the host, "Chic Mama":

"This past week I have found a couple of things going on in the cloth world that I thought I would pass along to all of you!

First off, there is a great new community called Cloth Diaper Bloggers that I am sure a lot of you would love! It was started by Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry and it is just getting rolling! There are carnivals being planned and lots of fun cloth talk, so head on over and check it out!

Also, Real Diaper Association is hosting a fluffy photo contest for pics to put in their first ever calendar! How fun to have your baby featured on a month!"

This week's task is to share a photo that you would consider entering in the contest...this is one of my FAVORITE pictures of Carolynn in a cloth diaper! I hate that the little birdie is cut off & anyway you crop it that window still gets in the picture, but her big blue eyes & the classic look of a folded flat make me smile!




Thanks for looking!

Pregnancy News

Hey Guess What!!

I finally LOOK pregnant! Yay! I'm out of almost all of my pre-pregnancy clothes & am most comfortable in maternity! Also, my belly seems to be expanding from side to side & also rising up a bit higher. Now the top part of my abdomen is baby too!

Anyway, I'm 27 1/2 weeks pregnant & I finally LOOK pregnant! Wahoo!

Luke's a wiggling little man & I'm mostly enjoying being pregnant!

My wedding ring is starting to get snug & my ankles get swollen by the end of the day if I don't wear sneakers.

Monday & Tuesday

Monday Aug. 3

My daycare kids didn't come on Monday. Their dad came by to drop off the payment though, which was nice. (I wouldn't have minded if he'd waited until today.)

Carolynn & Ashley slept until after 9:30, which was AWESOME! We didn't leave the house at all during the day, mostly the girls just played, slept, or watched movies. I got housework done & bummed around.

Melanie came over w/ her kids around 2 and we all hung out then. Nothing amazing happened worth noting, it was just nice to visit & give the kids some "other kids" to play with!

Around 4:30 Melanie & her crew headed home & we started getting ready for Tim to get home from work.

When he got here, he offered to watch the girls while I ran to the grocery store. Ahh...a moment to relax!

I took Carolynn w/ me, because she was in cloth diapers all day & Tim wasn't quite up to that challenge just yet. (He'll be fine w/ Luke..when the diapers are oranized & he uses them full-time.)

We picked up socks & undies for Ashley & a couple grocery items.

When I got home, we fixed cheese dip, left-over chicken wings, and left-over salad for dinner. Everyone ate pretty well. After Tim & I did laundry, we sat the girls on the couch & read "Little House on the Prairie" for about an hour.

I put Carolynn to bed & then Ashley helped us write a story map of the book. It was nice. Tim gave a chuckle at me in "teacher mode" and wondered out loud why I don't like teaching. (I reminded him it's teaching in PUBLIC school that I don't like.)

After that, we put Ashley in bed, I checked my e-mail & stuff & we put on an Odyssey for her.

Then Tim & I went to bed!

Tuesday Aug. 4

I was up quite a few times overnight, because Carolynn kept whimpering in her sleep. Anyway, i got up early, expecting the day care kids and I couldn't get on my computer, because Ashley was sleeping in the office! I got the dishes washed, made Rice Krispy Treats, and touched up the housework. The DC kids watched a movie until Ashley woke up.

I gave the 3 big kids breakfast together & then Carolynn breakfast as soon as they were done.

When all 4 kids were up, dressed, bathed, and fed, we headed out. It was about 10:15.

We went to the drive-by bank & deposited my day care money. Then we drove to Great Neck in Virginia Beach and dropped Carolynn off w/ Genia and Pat. She was pretty happy to see her dad.

Genia gave me some tomatoes, some homemade cremed corn, and some kind of beans that Ashley and Tim ought to eat.

After we left there we headed to the Cinema Cafe in Virginia Beach. Melanie was right behind us and we all got settled in. We shared the "pizza combo" so all of the kids got pizza & popcorn. (It was nice not having to worry about lunch!)

The movie was exactly what I expected it to be...an environmentalist "you better watch what you're doing" type w/o being overly preachy. I thought it was well done. The kids were kids & oohed & ahhed over the pictures, whined and complained over the animal deaths (a fact of life) and seemed to enjoy it overall. It was ABSOLUTELY FREEZING in the theater & I was not enjoying feeling like a popsicle!

After the movie, we headed out & home.

Since we've been home (almost 2 hours) I've been on the computer (and snacking) and the kids have been playing nicely in the playroom.

So far, having Ashley has added a nice mix to the DC kids, because she adds some fresh ideas to their play!

Ashley is about 6 months older than the DC girl.

Tonight there aren't any plans, though we will have to go out to get water, milk, oats, and an air filter, (unless Tim wants me to do it tomorrow after the movie.)

Tomorrow we're going to see Charlotte's Web for free at Regal 13. I'm going to have Grayson & Spencer in the afternoon, probably around 1:15, so we won't be doing anything special for our actual anniversary. (We're planning on celebrating on Saturday.)

The Drama

Chrissy called Sunday evening & asked if our offer to have Ashley stay w/ us during the week was still available.

I told her that yes, it was fine and we made plans for her to bring Ashley by later that evening.

Well, then a couple hours later, she called to say, that she was on her way, could I please print directions to Pennsylvania, and could I keep Carolynn until she got home.

She was planning to drive from Chesapeake to Lemont Furnace, PA (a 7-8 hour trip) starting at 7:30 pm. She'd arrive around 3:30 & was planning on IMMEDIATELY driving back after dropping Tony off with mom and dad. I tried to talk her out of it, but she got all teary eyed and started crying.

Apparantly John had dropped the kids off at home (alone) while she was at an AA meeting & the kids were complaining about her new living situation & the fact that she doesn't have AC.

So, Tony supposedly threw a fit & she made arrangements to take him to Mom & Dad's.

Anyway, obviously this is the short & sweet version of things & I was A LOT more stressed about it on Sunday.

Dad talked her out of her crazy mad-through-the-night driving thing, so she actually got a decent morning's sleep before heading home around 2:00 yesterday.

She was late getting into town (supposedly) and so Carolynn spent another night here.

Weekend Update

Friday July 31

Friday was a pretty good day overall. I had the daycare kids all day from about 7:15 until 5:15. Tim stayed home from work to help me out. He was technically working from home, but if I needed a hand he was there to offer it.

Grayson & Spencer got here around 11:30 and then things got a bit busy! I had to feed all 4 kids + Tim lunch and then Tim had a call, so the kids had to stay quiet for a long time.

When Tim finished w/ his call, we took the kids to the park. Tim, the daycare kids, and Grayson all walked. Spencer and I took the car.

After the daycare kids went home, I put Spencer down for a nap w/ me & Tim sat on the couch w/ Grayson until he fell asleep.

I slept from about 5:45 until 9:10! When I got up, we woke up Grayson, moved Spencer to the pack n play & cooked tuna casserole for dinner.

After Grayson ate, we let him watch about 1/2 of the Pixar Shorts. Then we sent him to bed & we went to bed ourselves.

Saturday Aug. 1

Saturday morning Chrissy showed up around 9ish w/ Carolynn. We spent the day just doing stuff around the house. Then around 2:00 we headed to Virginia Beach for sound practice.

We ended up dropping Caro off w/ Chrissy, then dropping Tim off at church, and then I went to Rock A Bye to shop! I traded in the left-overs from Melanie's freecycled maternity clothes & got an even exchange for 3 pairs of maternity shorts! Yay!

Then I headed back to church and Tim and I enjoyed the service. After church we went to Wal-Mart to get some groceries. I had another bad BH contraction while we were shopping so we didn't dilly-dally.

When we got home, we had frozen fried fish & frozen clams and frozen french fries for dinner. We also watched "Knowing". I gave it a so-so, I'm not into "end of times" movies & this one wasn't even all that well done.

Then we went to bed.

Sunday we slept in. Tim cut the grass, I finished Harry Potter 7 and then made sausage & eggs for breakfast. I also got chili started & made tea.

Then we both got busy cleaning house & Tim ran to the grocery store. I also made a French Vanilla Creme pie that was delicious!

Around 4:00ish, Tom and Peggy, Beth & Loren showed up and we visited w/ them. I made 2 batches of corn bread (the first one the mix expired in 2006 & it was FLAT, like paper thin) and then we ate. It was nice. (Except for the aforementioned Coming-Home-Outfit drama)

Then Tim and Loren took off to go rotate Tim's tires & the whole Chrissy drama followed.

I'll be back later to post about the Chrissy drama & Monday.

Possible Coming Home Outfit Drama

Yesterday, Peggy brought this outfit over for Tim & I to have/look at. Apparantly it is what Tim came home from the hospital in. His Aunt made it (it's knit, I think.)

It has a green collar, green & white striped top, then green, blue and white striped bottom, and green trim on the wrists & waist. There is a green soaker as well.

Tim was born in July. So a soaker was OK for him. Luke is due in November. I want pants on my baby. I also wanted him to come home in BLUE, not "pansy green" as Tim so eloquently put it.

Here's the soaker. The knitting is a little uneven around the edges, but its a flaw I can overlook. The drawstring would need replaced & I don't like that there's 27 year old elastic in it.
This is the soaker from the back. You can see the uneven stitches on the edges.


Here's just the sweater. The only things about this I can't really stand is the elastic & the velcro dots. What can we do about the velcro dots? There aren't any button holes.

This is a close up of the colors on the bottom 1/2 of the sweater.

I could try to find blue to match & get pants made out of solid blue & maybe a hat/blanket/booties too. OR, I could see if I can get a diaperswappers mama to custom dye a colorway to match this. (We could use the white or blue booties my mom has made.)

This is the neck band of the sweater, that 27 yo elastic makes an appearance here too.

And finally one more of the whole outfit.

So, WWYD? What should I do? Tim says it's REALLY up to me & that he told his mom to STILL make the blue outfit I picked out. (If she won't, well then Mom, that's one more thing you need to make!)

Carolynn Playing