Naps are the best!

I don't remember the nesting thing coming over me when I was pregnant with T, but I think it's finally hit me with BG#2!

T is the greatest sleeper of all time!  I know I'm cursing myself by saying that out loud, but I think we earned it after her first four months when she never slept.  Anyways, she'll sleep 12 hours at night and still take a three hour nap during the day.  I'm really going to miss those afternoons to myself when #2 arrives and their schedules are all out of whack.   

I normally reserve nap time for my lunch, a little cleaning, maybe catching up on a show (or two!).  Sometimes, I try to get some crafting in and put up a tutorial for you guys.  On Thursday last week, I was a whirlwind of activity!

All last week, poor little T was sick, sick, sick.  She would cough so hard that she would get sick and everything in her little stomach would come out.  Unfortunately, in these instances, she loves milk, which I have learned turns to cheese almost instantaneously in her stomach.  Too much?  Sorry.  Anyways, during this wonderful Thursday nap I managed to remove her carseat and clean it out.  While it was out, I figured I'd vacuum the car too.  After that, I dusted inside the car and cleaned the windows, windshield, etc.  Since I was putting her carseat back in, I told myself I might as well put BG#2's carseat in too.  Why not, right?  It must have been a funny sight to see 8-month pregnant me kneeling in each carseat and struggling with belts and latches!

With the car all set, I set my sights on lunch.  Mmm-mmm!  An FLT (fake bacon, lettuce and tomato on toasted sourdough bread). 

Refueled, I make some cake pops for my darling.  Whoever thought of making those things must be rolling in dough (haha!  I'm so funny!).  I made two kinds, German chocolate and confetti cake, dipped in pink colored white chocolate (they were supposed to be for Valentine's Day), and rolled in coconut. 

After sampling a cake pop to make sure it passed quality assurance, I washed and dried 2 loads of laundry and folded four.  Yep, I checked my math here, I had an overflowing basket of clean clothes waiting for me already.

Finally, I went through the stash of maternity clothes that were too big before or too springy/summery and refreshed my dwindling wardrobe.

Phew!  I probably would have done more, but I feared cleaning and organizing in T's room would probably wake her!

So, what do you think?  Nesting?  Just feeling motivated?  Probably should have just taken a nap?  Maybe.  But it felt good to get all of that done!



BTW, here is my cake pop "recipe"

Whenever I have to even out cakes for a tiered cake, or I have leftover batter from cupcakes (I cook that separately in a small pan), I mix it with leftover frosting.  No measuring here, I just add more frosting until it reaches a consistency that I can roll it into "meatballs".  I take about 2 tablespoons of cake/frosting mix, roll it in my hands and place it into a container that I can seal and freeze.  There it stays until I'm ready to make it into a final product.  I thaw the cake balls for 1-2 hours on the counter.  Melt some melting chocolates (either microwave or double boiler, be careful not to burn!).  Insert a lollipop stick into the cake ball and roll it in the melted chocolate.  Before it sets up, roll it in coconut or jimmies (sprinkles) or some other little piece of deliciousness.  Hmm, crushed up toffee bar would be awesome!  Let it harden on a plate at room temperature and you're all set!

Lists, Lists, Lists

I know, I know, I'm keeping you all in great suspense waiting for the big reveal of our brand new guest bathroom.  I made the shower curtain last night and we are putting on some finishing touches during the next week.  Oh yeah, and I'm defending my thesis on Friday, so bear with me, ok?

Have I also mentioned that I'm nearly 35 weeks pregnant!!??!!??  It's really starting to take a toll on me.

(Haha!  If you know my research, you'll get that last pun.  Hah!  I really do make myself laugh.  Toll.)

Anyhoo (wipes tears from my eyes), I'm starting to feel the itch to get ready for labor and delivery, oh and to bring that new little bundle of joy home.  Have I mentioned that we still don't have a crib for her yet, the bassinett is in RI, and nothing is assembled or ready?  Nothing like waiting for the last possible second, right?

Anyways, my life is dominated by lists right now; lists of things to study, lists of papers to read, lists of changes to make to my thesis/presentation, shopping lists for Baby Girl #2, etc.  The one I thought I could handle yesterday was the list of things to pack for the hospital.  I only got as far as the list itself.  I can barely remember what I packed  last time and whether or not I needed any of it!  I consulted a few online lists and here is what I came up with.  What do you think?  Am I missing something huge?  Am I packing WAY too much?  Help a girl out and let me know, ok? (they are in no particular order, kind of like my days lately!)

PJ's
Grannie underwear (oh, the joy)
snacks
glasses, Contacts, solution, case
hairbrush, elastics, hairspray
slippers
nursing tanks, yoga pants
Big Sister gift
going home clothes (Me and Baby)
receiving blanket
flip flops
toiletries
Nook (with a new book on it for me)
nursing pads
lip balm

Belly - 24 weeks

Can you see my super cute new shoes?

Yeah, me neither!

Oh, wait!  There they are!

According to my BabyCenter pregnancy iPhone app, baby girl #2 is about the length of an ear of corn right now!  Whoa!  Her brain is growing very quickly right now and taste buds are beginning to develop.

This app also says that my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball, hmmm.  That sounds about right! (see top two pictures above!)

*Hehe, I just figured out how to take a screen snapshot with my iP4, press the home button and the sleep button at the same time.  You should hear a picture sound and the screen shot goes right to your camera roll.  Cool!

I feel like I'm ten times the size I was with T at this time:

24 weeks in 2009 - pregnant with T

I'm super excited to decorate our Christmas tree that we got this weekend!  I can't wait to see little Miss T's eyes light up once the lights and ornaments are on.  She can even say ornament now!

p.s. Check out the rice pack tutorial I posted earlier! http://ticklebugz.blogspot.com/2011/12/rice-coldhot-pack-tutorial.html

I'm linking up this post with Emily of The Anderson Crew for Embrace the Camera.  Can you believe she has a one week old and she is still keeping up with this weekly linky!?  She's amazing, I tell ya!

yawn

Man - oh - man.  Things are really starting to catch up with me.  23 weeks preggo and still nauseated, trying to get a paper published, trying to finish my last couple of experiments and write my thesis, trying to be super mommy and have an amazing Christmas that T will remember forever (even though she is way too young to form those long lasting memories).  Phew!

After B left this morning with T to take her to "school", I plopped myself down on the couch and ate my breakfast in silence.  Ahh.  Two years ago, while pregnant with T, I might have just taken a nap for 30-45 minutes, but there is just too much to get done - every.single.day.  Is it bad that I am eagerly anticipating Saturday morning when we get to sleep in until 8:00am, and I intend on using TV to make sure the little one is on board?  Bad momma, huh?  Whatevs, I'm pooped.

OK, that's enough bellyaching from me.  Back to work.  Today could be a great day with awesome results, so I need to get to it.  Before I do, here is some cuteness for you!

Haha, this is how we're getting all those handmade gifts done this year - my own little sweatshop!  We keep it cold in there to keep productivity up, thus the hat and runny nose!  (Seriously, those are my hands, she just wanted some lap time!)

Our little shutterbug!

Ahh, a sweet moment on Thanksgiving!

Hiking Trip Wrap Up

Warning: Prepare yourself for picture overload!

Well, we're back to real life.  Back in the city, back to doing laundry and making dinner for 3 (really 2, T barely eats what I make), back to the sirens and police chases through our neighborhood.  Seriously.  Welcome home, huh?

Anyways, its the escape from real life that makes our annual NH hiking trip so amazing.  Fresh woodsy air, beautiful scenery, great food and friends, quick visits with family on our way up and back down. 

Seriously, we wake up every morning to this view.  How can you beat this?

Despite my irrational, hormone fueled paranoia last week about taking T hiking, we did actually make it out for a short hike.  I was worried that the rest of our party wouldn't be as interested in a "family friendly" hike, seeing as in past years we have climbed 1500 feet in elevation over 4 miles, but given that the weather was questionable the whole weekend, it actually worked out.  We took a nice 1.5 mile hike to "Diana's Baths".  The path was wide, clear and pretty flat.  There were streams alongside and a massive waterfall at the end. 

We stayed far, far away from the waterfall (insert paranoia here), but were able to view its beauty from afar.  T got to pick up pinecones, leaves, rocks.  She got to jump little streams (with help), climb on boulders, and stand on tree stumps.  She waved "Bye" to everything.  I was so happy she got to get outside and experience all of that.  It breaks my heart that she doesn't have a backyard to explore the world in right now, and I'm not about to let her explore the city parks where dogs and people relieve themselves and people abuse drugs.

Anyways, the weekend is much more than just hiking.  The friends we meet up with there every year are the kind of friends that no matter how far away you live or how infrequently they see you, you know they've got you back.  In fact, recently, we were trying to find a way to make a move back up north.  In the end, it just wasn't going to work, but one of these friends was willing to open their home to us to give us time to find a new house.  Can you imagine? Two adults, one child (and one more about to makes its appearance, a dog and two cats and they were still willing to let us stay with them?  Now that's friendship!

We ate gluttonously all weekend.  Pepperjack mac and cheese, amazing homemade tomato soup with the grilled cheese spectacular (Oh my word, it was sooooooo good!), vegetarian chili, braised pork tacos (ok, veggie tacos for me), pancakes, egg and cheese sandwiches, never mind the brownies, Chex mix, chips and dip, etc.  Oy.  If I was feeling 100% the entire weekend, I would have gained 20 pounds!  Luckily (?), I'm still feeling nauseous regularly and vomiting occasionally (sorry hiking trip ladies for the reality check, but that's pregnancy!).

But really, the best part about the trip was just being able to relax with my family and our amazing friends, getting to watch T play with the two little boys that were there and watching her attach herself to our friend Karen.  I truly have never seen her adore someone so quickly!  There were no schedules, no timelines, nothing that had to be done ever.  Ahhh, it was so peaceful!

During out last stop at my in-laws (I love them!  Have I mentioned this before?), T got to play with her cousin K for a while.  It was so sweet to watch them instantly bond.  I have visions of the two of them spending a week or two at the grandparents over the coming summers and beign the closest friends.  Here's a pic of them "helping" Grandpa feed the birds and playing with K's new bro, D.  So cute!

Gosh, I love those smiles!!

Tuesday Ten: Food

I know, I know.  Being pregnant you're probably expecting me to list all the crazy foods I've been craving and just can't get enough of.  Well, if that's the post you're looking for, check back again in about a month or so.  As of right now, food disgusts me.  That's right.  I think I want something and by the time its in front of me, hot and ready to consume, I am green up to my ears.  So, here's a lovely list of ten foods that I normally love (and I LOVE food), that currently make my stomach turn:

1. Coffee.  I hate to even say it, but yes, coffee, we need to break up for a while.
2. Salad.  I was really starting to love it, putting all kinds of fun things on it.  It still tastes pretty good.  The problem is the lasting taste in my mouth that won't go away.  Sorry lettuce, veggies, and dressings, we must part ways.
3. Chips and queso.  After a particularly rough evening of being nauseous to the point of tears, I was finally able to eat a bunch of chips and glorious queso. Consider it a last meal - for the chips and queso of course.
4. Mexican food in general.  This is particularly rough.  Not being able to eat meat, I get a lot of protein from beans and I find Mexican food very accomodating and the whole family likes it too.  Oh well.  I even made B get rid of the Mexican gumbo when I wasn't home because I couldn't even look at it anymore.
5. Pasta casserole.  So easy to put together,just throw pasta, veggies and a sauce topped with some cheese, baked and you're got a healthy vegetarian friendly meal ready to go.  Not anymore.  I actually tossed the one I had frozen away because the mere awareness of its existence taking up real estate in my freezer was sending me to the ..., well you know.
6. Mints.  If one more person gives me pregnancy anti-nausea advice that includes mints, I'm going to make them sit there with me the next time cookies are being tossed.  Mints don't work and I'm sick of hoping they will only to be let down.
7. Alcohol.  Now this one is sort of obvious, except that even the smell of alcohol is completely revolting to me.  We were at a fabulous family wedding a couple of weeks ago.  I had to leave the dance floor because the smell of booze was going to knock me down!
8. Ice cream.  Poor ice cream.  We had a good run, didn't we?  Snuggling up together every single night.  And you never got jealous when I wanted to try another flavor!  I hope that we can work things out.  Maybe we just need some time apart, some space to find who we are individually.  Don't call me, I'll call you.
9. Peanut butter crackers.  At one time a life saver, you always had a place in the bottom of my purse.  I think I abused you and now, I just can't even look at you anymore.
10. Well, I'll just leave this one blank.  I mean, it won't be long until another one (or ten) are added to the list.  Oy just 5 more weeks of this (hopefully!).

Let me just say that this post was both challenging and sad to write.  Coffee and Ice Cream might be my most favorite edible things ever!  The challenging part was trying to remember the things that the mere thought of make me sick - without getting sick!  Phew.  Ok.  I did it!  Hmmm.  Not feeling so well now.  Maybe the mints will work this time...  :p

I'm linking up here!

BOOM

(Just to be clear, everything is going perfectly fine wtih this pregnancy.  We are 10 weeks along, I'm nauseous most of the time, and we've seen a heartbeat.  However, sometimes I write blog posts that I never intend to publish.  It's therapeutic for me to get my thoughts out, organized and stored away.  While I didn't intend to publish this one, (we were trying not to spead the word too much before we knew for sure), I think it's important to share.  I know so many women who have had to face one or several miscarriages in their lives and there are many more who have never shared that kind of heartbreak.  None of us talk about it, but I bet many of us feel the same way.  Leading up to our first OB appointment, these were my thoughts and feelings.  I hope that for those who have had to face this too, you can read this and know you're not alone.  For those that haven't had to go through this, perhaps this can help you relate to those that you know who have.  I know I had no idea before I went through it myself.)

Written 8/29/11, four days before our first OB/GYN appointment:

For the past several weeks, I have been a ticking time bomb.  At any moment, I feel like my world could explode... again.

As very few of you know, we are pregnant.  I am about 9 weeks along and waiting for that "first" ultrasound.  I say "first" because, impatient people that we are, and having the resources/connections that we do, we had an off-the record ultrasound a few weeks ago, courtesy of B's friends who are residents, training in ultrasound at the hospital.  And though B said he saw "something", I didn't see anything.  Just a speck.  And that's when my fuse was lit.

Just over two years ago, B and I miscarried.  It's still hard for me to type it, never mind say it.  Those weeks were such a roller coaster.  From total elation that we were pregnant, to denial, that something would of course start to show up in the many, many ultrasounds, to the absolute dread of the D&C.  I was in a funk for a long time.  No, not just a funk, I was flat out depressed.  I felt like a failure as a woman.  I know it wasn't "my fault" and that I didn't do anything wrong.  I know in my head that it was nature's way of screening out the incompatible combinations of chromosomes.  I know that miscarriage is very common and happens to so many women (but why do none of us talk about it?). 

None of that information got to my heart though.  In my heart, I still grieve for the child that never happened.  Despite the fact that we were able to conceive relatively quickly afterward and had a beautiful, complete, perfect little girl, I still miss the idea of what that first pregnancy might have been. 

And now, having seen a preliminary speck, similar to what we saw the first time, where it  was just the empty sac, the blighted ovum, the dread has returned.  Have I failed again?

We'll know for sure on Thursday when we have our first OB/GYN appointment and our first official ultrasound.  At that point, if there will be a baby, then there will be something to see.  And if not...  Well, we've been down that road before...  I hope this bomb is a dud.  I hope that the joy that is Miss T will help carry me through and remind me that even though this one might not be successful, the next one might.  I hope I can be strong enough to face Thursday and the information we might receive.  The few family members we have told are so excited for us.  They talk about it as if they are sure of the outcome.  I find myself reeling them in, refusing to celebrate until I know.  I refuse to board the roller coaster again, I'll just stay on the platform until Thursday.  Until then, I'll take try to take some comfort in the daily, non-stop nausea that I didn't have with the first pregnancy, the frequent night wakings, and the already growing belly.  Tick, tick, tick...

Of course, as we announced here, everything seems to be going well.  I've finally allowed myself to start getting excited and thinking/dreaming about our new addition to our family.  I'm finding myself falling asleep with my hands on my belly.  It surprises me how real the pain of our miscarriage still is, even now.  Anyways, I think I'll leave you with a positive note, a very silly picture of me trying to capture my 10-week bump in my bathroom mirror!  My acceptable wardrobe is getting smaller every day!

Tuesday Ten: My Purse Contents

I like to try and stay up on current fashion and trends.  I may not always be able to implement them due to expenses or current fitness, but I at least like to be aware.  The other day, a friend of mine told me to expect the return of small purses this fall, that big Grandma bags like mine were out.

"Noooooooo!"  Say it isn't so!  That has been my saving grace!  The diaper bag has just been too clunky and I can fit all the necessities in my big purse and still look like I have it all together (I don't, I just look the part!).

As I thought about these implications, I started thinking about how my purse is a reflection of my current state of life.  A much younger me would have had vastly different items collected, such as (gasp) makeup, lip gloss, money, recent ticket stubs, etc.  Who has time for these things now?

Here is a sampling of things in my purse currently that exemplify my life:

1. iPhone: the only thing holding me together right now, a compact solution to the calendars of three people, contacts, connecting to the outside world and being able to take 3 seconds to check my email any time of day.
2. Pencil case: my last grip on organization.  It actually still contains pencils/pens, probably because T hasn't learned that there is something interesting inside.  We'll see how long that lasts.
3. Loose Cheerios: I probably don't need to explain this to any moms out there at all.  However, I do need to state the I detest Cheerios.  I hate their smell, I hate the smell of Cheerio breath, I simply cannot stand them.  Only because I love Miss T so much do I put up with them taking residence in my purse.
4. Peanut butter crackers:  if you read my last post, you probably have an idea why these are in there.  You never know when all of a sudden you are going to be completely starving.  Should that happen during traffic or church, I'm all set.
5. Mint Mentos: Just as starvation can attack without notice, so too can the swing to complete and utter nausea.  These can provide some temporary relief.
6. Hand sanitizer: I'm a mom, enough said.
7. Bandaids: See #6, but also, fall is back and being in a lab, I feel that the summer flip flops need to go and the fall flats need to come back.  Along with them come blisters, many, many blisters.
8. Dr.'s appointment reminder card: every month for a while.  I'll need to brush up on my skills of peeing in a cup again.
9. Wallet: with more receipts than actual money.
10. Half eaten bag of animal crackers: just like her Mummy, T gets sudden hunger swings too!

So that's my life, a combination of preggo mummy needs and the last vestiges of an organized life.  Is your life reflected in your purse?  Are you ready/able for a downgrade this fall?  Leave me a comment and let me know what's your 10 items in your purse that exemplify your life!

BTW, I usually announce new posts on facebook for all of you to see, but in the coming months, just as I did earlier this week, we'll have special announcements that I thought might be fun to give my subscribers a sneak preview for a couple of days before announcing.  If you'd like to be on the inside track, click the "join this site" button over there on the right under "follow me", or the "follow me by email" button.

I'll be linking up this post to these blogs: