How to Make Rabbit Stew

First: Live in the part of town that has about a billion rabbits hopping about the neighborhood.

Second: Plant a garden to attract the fuzzy bunnies.

Third: Now here's where people are often thrown...put up a buried fence around the garden. Fences not only keep things out, but they keep things in as well.

Fourth: Allow the little tiny baby rabbits to squeeze through the fence links and live there undisturbed for a couple weeks to get a little meat on its bones.

Fifth: Once the rabbit is too big to escape through the fence links, catch the rabbit. They're quick little buggers and can hide quite adeptly in the bushy vines and plants, so it might take you about 45 min. in crazy hot weather like it did us...Our tips: high pressured water sprayer to direct it to the corner. Hope that it tries to get out of the fence but instead gets its head stuck in the fence.

Sixth: Boil it up and strip the meat...Ok, ok. We didn't boil it up this time. But the next time it makes its way into our garden...watch out bunny!

It was so little, I did feel bad to be chasing it around and terrorizing it. He kept getting smarter and smarter with his hiding and by the end it was hard to scare him out of the thick vines. Matt nearly got a gun to shoot it when we were unsuccessfully trying to catch it. Sad, but we couldn't let it continue to live in our garden. Our cantaloupes, watermelons, and cucumbers are looking too good to be eaten by a little bunny.

Work! Tools!

Dean is in love with tools. Last week I bought him his own real looking tool set. His favorite to use is his "hmar", but his favorite to admire is the new edger we got. We've gone through 3 hand held edgers with our large yard since we moved in. So last week Matt bought a heavy duty rolling edger. So far it has proven to be much better than the others. Dean seems to think it is the ultimate tool. He will ask to go to the "grage" to look at the "tool". He'll sit on the hot garage floor and just admire it.

Today as I was cooking and cleaning up the kitchen I kept finding one of our kitchen chairs on it's side. Every time I tried picking it up, Dean would protest and say "Work!", grab his hammer and start pounding on it. Matt had to fix one of our chairs last week and I guess he now thinks it's his duty to keep up the maintenence on it. Haha.

Also, we got him a little stroller last week off Craigslist since he kept getting frustrated trying to push his strollers around the house. He really has enjoyed it. The first day he had it, he tried sitting in it. I told him it was just for toys. He went and grabbed his tools, piled them in the seat, and pushed them around the house! haha. I wanted to take a picture, but my battery was dead.

More Fence Down

Today I looked out our back window and saw that a large section of our back fence is down. Upon inspection at least 2 posts are already broken and a couple more look on the brink. Using the same price/ft. it's costing for the front and side, if we replaced our ENTIRE fence it would cost $15,800. We share the entire fence line with 5 different houses, so imagine how fun that would be trying to get all of them to chip in. HA! I guess we'll just let our back door neighbors worry about this one for now (the posts are in their yard, though that doesn't mean much more than convenience in fixing), and if they come to us wanting to replace it we'll pay our half. The joys of "owning" a home.

Helping adult children help themselves: is it too late? For Anon.

Awhile back, Anonymous commented on my Helping Children Help Themselves post. Anon. had some questions I wanted to prepare myself to answer, but I am only now getting around to answering them. Hopefully Anon. will read this, and hopefully it will help. Sorry it took me so long to respond! Let it be known I am not a certified therapist or counselor, I don't have adult children, and I'm just an opinionated person who took lots of classes and got a BS in a marriage and family related major. Please, if anyone reading this is more qualified or wiser than I am, contribute your thoughts in the comments.

So, what do you do to make up for the past?

Well, it's easy as a parent to look into a mirror and see a distorted perspective like we're at a carnival fun house. Have we made mistakes? Sure. Are they as big or as bad as we think they are? Maybe, but it's also possible that we're horriblizing our role in the problem.

A wise leader said, "The first thing you should understand is that you can’t go back and begin where you once were. But all is not lost. You can begin where you are. Choose to begin your [change] now."

You can't go back and fix the mistakes in the past, but you can acknowledge them and then learn from them and do what you can not to repeat them. It is never too late to improve yourself as a parent by learning to set and keep boundaries.

My daughter is now 19 and and lacks the motivation to even take advantage of opportunities that are given to her.

I'd try and figure out the root reason your daughter is lacking in motivation. Is it because she's too comfortable living off of someone else's (usually your) hard work? Is there a factor of drug or alcohol abuse? Peer pressure? Low self-esteem? Learning disorders? There are lots of possibilities, so it's up to you to try and figure out the underlying problem. You must come to a realization that your 19 year old daughter is ultimately responsible for how she responds to your changes and efforts.

She will probably test your resolve to change, push your buttons, lay the guilt on thick. It's up to you to keep in mind that you love her, and because you love her you will maintain the new boundaries. Always respond with love in your heart rather than anger. A great, great book(s) to read is Leadership and Self-deception and/or Bonds that Make us Free. Bonds is much longer, but it is geared more to a family situation where as leadership is an easy read set more for corporate. They both say a lot of the same stuff.

I am not rich and struggled to obtain a school loan for her (which I agreed to help her pay off) The school is in another state (where her boyfriend lives). I receive updates from her all the time about how school is going only to find out that she hasn't even been attending classes and has now been dropped from the program.

Honestly, I don't know much about loans and/or the terms of your loan. If you're a co-signer on her loan, I would imagine that regardless of her decisions you'll have to continue paying or your credit will be shot. If you were not a co-signer on her loan, and the agreement to help out was only verbal, I would definitely have a talk to her about your terms for helping out. The loan is for school. If she is not in school, she does not receive help. I would also make sure she understands how it will effect her credit rating and why that is important to worry about. Also, help does not mean you'll just pay it all. In my opinion, she needs to be responsible for at least half.

She is not working and stays at home all day with the dogs doing nothing. I don't get it. Is cutting her off financially the only option left.

Think of it as a weening process. You wouldn't want your baby to breastfeed forever now would you? The thought of it is absurd; it is just as absurd to think that you should financially support a capable adult the rest of his/her life.

It's up to you to decide if cold turkey or gradual weaning will be best for your situation. I would set terms and conditions for your financial help, should you decide a gradual approach. "If you get a job, get back in school, and contribute to your situation, then I will help with X amount each month." Never, never, never let them have full access to your bank account. Help her understand the dangers of credit card debt. Also have a plan that she is fully aware of (and stick to it) for when you will no longer contribute to her financial situation. She probably won't find a job overnight, but she can find one in a couple of months, even if it is fast food, retail, etc.

I try to guide her in positive directions but she refuses to help herself. If I have unintentionally instilled this in her, is there anything I can do to reverse the damage done. Any thoughts here?

All you can do is guide and direct to good paths. As to reversing the damage done, I'd say stop rescuing her. It's kind of the sink or swim theory. It is within her power to do both. Keep coaching, loving, guiding, and teaching (these do not equal nagging) about how to be a responsible adult. But she has the opportunity to choose to help herself or to choose to sink. It's possible she will sink, but that is her choice. It's a painful one to watch. It may be pretty rocky in the beginning and then level out. With age and maturity she might get it and start to do something productive and responsible. She honestly may not. Her ultimate success is not your responsibility. Your responsibility is to help guide and direct her to better paths, continually love her, and support her good decisions.

Scorched

Holy heck has it been hot here this week! Triple digits every day and today is looking to be the hottest yet. We got to the park at 8:30 and we were both ready to leave before 9! By 11am it was 96* real temp, but with 49% humidity the heat index is more like 101 already. Tooooooo hot!

We need a swimming pool.

Some people just have issues

You remember our fence issues? Well, after pricing it out and having 5-6 companies give us estimates, we found a company. They weren't the cheapest nor the most expensive, but they seemed the most professional and thorough. We decided to get the rot board on the bottom and have them stain it, so for our 130' of fencing it's going to cost us $3969 total. Not a small chunk of change. Plus, half has to be paid up front when they start and the other half has to be paid upon completion. So, it's not like we're financing this or anything.

One of the two sections we're replacing is totally ours since it's the front of our house facing the street.

Originally I thought the other section of the fence was totally our neighbor's responsibility. I figured that whatever side the posts were signified ownership of the fence. I was wrong and found out that it is legally a shared fence. I know this because the last time we had fence issues and received a letter from our HOA, I double checked legal responsibility. It was discovered that it was a shared fence, so they then sent her the same letter they sent us. After she got the letter saying the fence needed fixing, she came over and went off on this rampage about how it's not her fence and she'd had fence problems in her back yard and the people sharing the fence wouldn't help and blah, blah, blah. I tried to be really nice and non-defensive. By the time she left she had diffused a little bit and later when Matt was fixing the fence, she came out to see if he needed any help. Finally, I thought we were on the same page (or at least close to it) about the legality of the shared fence.

Before we got the fence replaced this time, I thought it would be best to run it by her, especialy since we'll be staining it. Anyway, I tried going over and chatting with her, but no one was home. So I made a copy of the estimate invoice and wrote a little note on the back. I explained we were getting the fence replaced and that it was a little more expensive than we expected. I let her know that the shared fence portion was costing us $1736. I tried to keep it from sounding like we expected them to pay half for that section, but that anything that they could contribute would be greatly appreciated. I gave her my number and said if she had any questions or concerns to either call or come by.

Tonight while I was out, Matt received a nasty call from her. She went through the same things she did the last time, claiming it wasn't her fence because of the positioning of her house, so she shouldn't be responsible for anything. Matt explained that according to the platt that it was legally a shared fence. He said that we can't force her to pay anything, but that seeing as though it was a shared fence and bordered her yard, it would be nice if she could help with something. She was defensive and belligerant until they hung up. So no help there. Honestly, we wouldn't have blinked an eye if she called and said, "You know, I really wish I could help you out, but I'm really strapped right now." But her tone and quarrelsome nature make it so much more annoying. Especially since we've been through this before with her.

The funny thing is, she was soooo mad about her back door neighbor not helping when their shared fence needed to be fixed. Um, hello lady. Don't you see you're doing the same exact thing?

Summer days

We've had two great days in a row. Yesterday was just packed full of fun.

6:30 -7:45 Got up with Dean, gave him milk, made us oatmeal, saw dad off to work
8-9 Walked to the park and played until I got too hot
10:30-10:45 Library
11-12 Pool
1-2:30 Nap for Dean while I made some low sugar blueberry jam
3:30-4 Errands
4-5:30 Dean played with Susie (he calls her Suzu) and I visited with Alexis (my awesomely organized friend)
5:45-6:15 Dinner
6:45-7 Scriptures, teeth brushing, prayers, and bed time for Dean
7-9 Tried organizing our files while I watched SYTYCD. The only judge I ever listen to anymore is Nigel. I mute everyone else and it helped me focus and get more done.
9-10 Relaxed
10-11:45 Cleaned up, watched Conan (still sad Leno's gone), read scriptures, and went to bed


This morning hasn't been quite as packed, but we had lots of fun at the pool. We met a couple friends there, so that's always fun.

Dean was the most adventurous I've ever seen him! I bought some water toys and that really helped keep him entertained. He also ventured to play in the fountains rather than just touch them with his hand. He still wasn't too keen on the idea of his feet coming off the ground when he got too deep, but he was more content to stay in the shallow end because of his new toys. I also experimented and tried to get him showered and dressed for the day there, and it worked out decently. Note to self: remember to bring "no tears" shampoo because it's really, really hard to wash the soap out of his hair in the shower without getting it in his eyes. I used his little watering can and that helped, but it was still hard. He was a real champ at the pool though.

I really love the good days.

Organizational Envy

I was at a friend's today and was slightly envious of her mad organizational skills. I want to be organized. I try to organize. But some how I always fall short of finding good, lasting systems. I don't have great vision as to how everything will work together or what I'll do if I get more stuff that will need to fit into my organization. Plus, I can't quite figure out a good system on a good budget. I finally found a nice looking file cabinet with 2 locking drawers, but I think it's going to have to take the back burner to the fence for a little while at least. And if I can't buy a $200 file cabinet, I surely can't justify buying a $135 Tupperware pantry storage set. Rats.

I am even having a hard time organizing my files properly. I made a good effort tonight, but I didn't even make it half way. It just isn't in my wheelhouse* I guess.

*I'd never heard that phrase "in my wheelhouse" until Matt used it a while ago. I had no clue what he was talking about or that it was a real saying. Since then I've heard it quite a bit! How did I miss it previously? Am I the only one?

Officially Scheduled

In the beginning of this pregnancy, I went back and forth on whether or not I should try a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) or just schedule a c-section. At first I was all for VBAC. We've discussed having a total of 3-5 kids, taking it one at a time and seeing how we feel after each addition. Since we're not sure how many kids we'll have, I was worried that having too many c-sections would limit that number. I've heard many doctors only recommend 3 c-sections, but my sister just had her 4th and she said recovery was easiest this last time! So, who knows.

Matt was very opposed to trying a VBAC. He was worried I'd have the same problems I had with Dean. If my original c-section had been the result of a cord wrapped incorrectly, the baby being breech, the baby having a BM before delivery, etc. I would have tried VBAC. But I was just plain too small for him to fit through. Since I haven't gotten any larger, and this baby probably won't be any smaller than Dean (he was only 8 lbs. 6 oz.), it's highly likely that this one will get stuck as well.

So, in the end, we decided to eliminate the 18 hours of labor and the emergency part of the c-section and just schedule one instead.

While this option is nice because 1. I will get to deliver a little early and 2. We can plan a little better as to when we need help, this is not without it's drawbacks. Matt's done a lot of internet searching as to the problems that can arise with scheduled c-sections. Apparently the chance for respitory and other problems is higher for babies born before 39 weeks. My doctor won't deliver any more than 1 week from the due date (so 39 weeks), so this shouldn't be that big of a deal. But it still scares Matt, and if anything happens to go wrong health wise, I know he'll always blame it on the c-section being too early...

Yesterday when I told him his concerns just made me want to try a VBAC, he said that scares him even more than scheduling a week early. So on the books we go; the scheduling nurse called me today and set it up.

If all goes according to plan (and who knows, I could always go into labor before this. People tell me all the time that "it must be any day now, right? You look like you're gonna pop!"), I'll be having this baby on Monday July 27, 2009 at 7:30 am. That is exactly 1 week before my due date of August 3rd. Monday is the day she normally does surgery, and I want to be sure that she is the one doing it. She did such a fabulous job the first time around (even after a full day of delivering babies and going home only to be called back in under emergency cicumstances), I don't want to risk someone else botching this one up.

I have to check into the hospital at 5:30 AM, so we'll probably have someone come and hang out here until Dean wakes up and take care of him until Matt gets home from the hospital a couple hours later. Today I asked a former piano student of mine (oldest of 5 kids and I trust her and her family completely!) if she could, and while she didn't have her schedule with her (we were at the store when I saw her), she thought she'd be able to do it.

It's kind of weird to have such a detailed plan involving a birth.

Some days just don't go as planned

It's 2PM and I'm finally feeling human. Last night I was determined to clean the day away today. I'm getting sick of seeing the grime on my fridge doors and bathroom sinks.

But then I woke up today, and BOY was I tired. Almost non-functionally tired. I had tears of tiredness in my eyes as Matt left for work. After he left, I made Dean and me some waffles at Dean's request. They were blueberry waffles and Dean just picked out all the blueberries and ate those. (Though he did eat a waffle for lunch that he pulled off the counter after we got home.) By the time we ate and I got the kitchen cleaned up it was 10. Dean wanted to go to the park really badly so I got us dressed and stepped out the door. We made it about 1/2 a block before I turned back home. Yahoo weather says it was 85*. My body said it was at least 90*.

I just couldn't take that mile walk and 1-1 1/2 hour of play at the park in that kind of weather at 33 weeks pregnant.

So I came back home, got us dressed for the pool and by 11 we were "swimming". I use that term loosely. Dean is not yet a water baby. Oh, he LOVES playing in sinks and with watering cans and drinking from the spigot, but he is a little afraid of getting his whole body wet at once. The pool we go to is less than 4 ft. deep at its deepest. It has a nice shallow area with little fountains. For some reason he wants to wander the whole pool and gets thoroughly freaked out (shrieks and screams..sometimes with a terrified smile...sometimes not) when his life jacket picks his feet up off the bottom when he walks too far out. Even with me holding him and making sure he doesn't face plant in the water.

We got home at 12:20 and by the time I fed Dean lunch and got him down for a nap it was 1. I took a shower and decided it would be best to lay down for a half hour. Then I was starving and had to eat lunch myself.

Now it's 2:11 and I'm feeling human again. But what am I doing? Blogging instead of cleaning. I guess that means I should get a move on. Who knows how much longer Dean will be asleep...

A father's day message from Dean

It's always difficult to film a wiggly toddler, but boy is he a funny and smart 19 mo. old.

Moving in the right direction

I figured I ought to write about our attempts at potty training. Yes, this post is about poop and pee. So stop reading now if you don't care to read about such topics.

We got a potty chair from a co-worker when I was pregnant with Dean. When I was doing the cloth diapering trial it seemed like a good time to introduce the concept at least, knowing full well he probably wouldn't really get it. So I pulled it out. Since he was pretty young the chair was a little too tall for him to sit on by himself, plus the hole seemed way too small for a boy. If he ever made any mention of the potty, or wanted to sit on it, we let him try. I was getting pretty frustrated with the ergonomically incorrect potty chair, so I purchased a bjorn potty off of craigslist. Waaaayyyy better. He could sit on it by himself and the hole seemed correctly proportioned so a boy fit without spraying everywhere.

He's starting to get the concept a little more, and he'll request to go at least once a day. However, he doesn't quite understand timing. He'll request to go "pee pee" most frequently after he's just pooped in his diaper. Since I have to change his diaper anyway, I figure it doesn't hurt to let him try. He likes to sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up. That's a bit tiresome, but at least he's not afraid of the potty. We've had one incident of pee all over the floor, but twice he's actually made it in the potty. It's pretty cute to see him try to "squeeze it out" when I tell him to. He'll even make grunting sounds and really make an effort to push. haha. Not bad. I just need to start putting him on his toilet (without him necessarily requesting) in the morning right after he's had a sippy full of milk. That's almost a guaranteed poop time. Maybe that would help him understand that poop goes in the potty as well.

Here's to hoping he'll be out of diapers by 2 1/2! (I think that's totally possible.)

Reaping what we sow

This is our third year in attempting a garden. We've always gotten something out of our garden, but we've had our share of failures and problems. This year Matt put me in charge of planting, and I kind of messed up a bit.

I put the zucchini closest to our fence since that row had the most room, but it also has the most shade. Matt's had to spray the plants daily with neem oil to keep the powdery mildew from taking over. We've never had much luck with our zucchini, unfortunately, but we'll keep trying. At least it's not the vine borers yet this year...

I also have the watermelons and cantaloupe sharing a row right next to the cucumbers. They're going a bit crazy and it's hard to keep the vines all separated. While I did thin the cucumbers, I guess I didn't thin them enough, so Matt's had to do powdery midlew spraying on them as well. Additionally, I either didn't plant the seeds deep enough or our storms took off a bit of our top soil, so Matt had to use potting soil to cover some of the exposed roots. *sigh* I never have claimed to have a green thumb.

Despite my mistakes, we're starting to get some veggies. Yippee! We've had a couple great dinners with our fresh green beans. Two nights ago I made some delicious chicken fajitas with fresh bell peppers from our garden (and fresh onions from the farmer's market). We also have little veggie buds on our squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The carrots seem to be doing well, though they take AGES to grow. Our strawberries had tiny marble sized fruit, but something (I'm guessing birds since we have a fence around the garden) ate them before we could pick them.

It's always exciting to eat stuff we grow ourselves. It feels like such an accomplishment, and I feel so self-sufficient. I got a water bath canner this year (and proper tools so I don't burn myself like last year) to can our picklers. Oh divine. I cannot wait for homemade pickles...

And here are two pictures showing our fence damage from the storm. The remaining sections on the front fence are not stable at all. I've been getting quotes to replace the fence (rather than repair...it's just such junk wood and it would be a ton of work for Matt to repair) and we're looking at about $3000 for the front and side with the most damage. Boo!

Vocab at 19 mo.

My sister-in-law recently had a great post about her son's vocab boom, and I thought it was a good time to copy the idea since Dean's going through the same thing. In the last week or two he's gotten way better at mimicking me. The words I'm listing here, though, are things he's said multiple times on his own without me prompting him much, if at all. He constantly surprises me with words I didn't know he knew. It's hard to make a comprehensive list, and I know it will be impossible in a few months. Plus, it's really interesting to me to see some of his interests.

Food
Tortilla, egg, milk, nini (zucchini), gee-use (juice), nana (banana), grape, cracker, snack, fruit, water, drink, pizzia (he does add that "i") , oatmeal, mint (he loves cinnamon altoids! this also refers to life savors), jelly beans

*Side note on food* I think it's a bit odd that he will not eat melted cheese or red sauce things very well. He doesn't care for grilled cheese, pastas with red sauces, lasagna, pizza, etc. However, he really likes oatmeal, zucchini, V8 juice, and yesterday asked for more broccoli 3 times. He also loves short grain sticky rice, but he won't eat long grain white rice. Odd. He's drinking from a regular cup (glass cups at that!) at meal times, and he's doing quite a good job with it. Only spilled once this week.

People
Mom/Mommy, Dad/Daddy/Matt, Shosh/Ern (Erin Schlosser), M-ma/M-pa (G'ma & G'pa), Ca-ey (Cathey), baby (this is used for my belly and all children, even up to 8-9 year olds!), Mammen

Items around the house
Couch, scissors, marker, draw, tack, bag, phone, chair, bike, car, keys, DVD, TV, CD, hammer, screw, screwdriver, tool, pool, weeds, fan, speaker, shoe, sock, shampoo, shower, ba(th), soap, bubbles, picture, seat, scriptures, (air) conditioner (sounds like a mix between "scriptures" and "picture"), dirt, mud, high chair, googly eyes (this is one of his latest and it CRACKS me up.), gooey-a (toothpaste...where he got gooey-a, I'm not sure), chapstick, (s)ink, book, tractor

Animals/Animal Sounds (stuffed or otherwise)
Kitty/kittycat, teddy, doggie, duckie, moo, baa, oink, neigh, hoohoo heehee, tsu tsu (bird), nunny (bunny), gaff (giraffe), och (ostrich),

Places
Church, home, bop or pop (park),

Comings and Goings
Hi, Hi Dean (when he wants to be picked up), Bye bye, see ya, out (when he wants to get out of his chair, take his clothes off, go outside, etc.),

Descriptions
Ouch/owie, pokey, ewwww (referring to his feet when we take off his crocks...it really is disgusting), yucky, mmmm, dangerous (it takes a parent to hear it though...), orange (though he usually follows it with juice...even when he's just talking about the color), pee pee, old, hot, cold, cool, wet, no, gyeah (yeah)

Body Parts
Hair, nose, toes, knees, arm, feet, neck, back, ears, teeth, eyes

He still refuses to even attempt touching his "shoulders" in Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes and moves directly to knees instead. He can point to a lot more than he can say.

Letters and numbers
C, O, R, 2, 3, can usually be said without me prompting, but not always. Just in the last two days he's been more willing to copy me in counting to 10 and saying more letters of the alphabet than R. His favorites are definitely #2 and R, and he'll say those if he's a bit stumped. I figured I'd leave a few videos of these. I know it'll probably only be interesting for grandparents and relatives.

Counting 1-10


ABC's (a valiant effort)

Too soon in coming

My best friend of the past 3 years here in McKinney, Erin Schlosser (of Schlosser Designs), is moving tomorrow. She'll most likely be back in TX after her husband gets his MBA in a year, but boy am I sad. It's not nearly as easy finding "bosom buddies" that you can hang out with, craft with, and easily gab with after you leave the college roommate scene; so when you find one, it's hard to let go! She will be sorely missed by both Dean and me. Dean loves her (and her kitties) just as much as I do!! He asks for her all the time. "Shosh. Shosh. Kitties. Shosh." He cried yesterday when we didn't stop at her house on the way home from the park!

Goodbye Erin! Good luck in Chicago. May you survive the winter there and come back soon!

4 more posts to replace

I was just about to leave the house to a goodbye party for one of my best friends who's moving this weekend when Matt said there was a tornado warning. The wind was crazy! The worst I've seen since we've been here. I was glad I heeded his advice not to leave. In a town close by, a semi was blown over! Just as the rain/winds started, I heard a crash in back. I looked out our window and our little blow up pool was just about to blow over our fence. Matt ran out and grabbed it. I pulled in the other small toys that were getting tossed about. The crash I heard was our big propane grill being picked up and blown over! It was probably about 6 ft. from where it normally stands. Most of our front fence was blown over. Poor Matt has 4 more fence posts to replace (unless we just replace that part of the fence professionally...I'll have to price that out tomorrow), and one of them is one he just replaced a few months ago!

This was the first time we decided to pull Dean out of bed for the tornado warning. He'd just fallen asleep about 15 min. before, so I felt horrible taking him out. He cried at first since he was so disoriented, but he got over it soon enough. He was very confused by the pillows and blankets in our master bath and kept saying and pointing "uh oh! ba(th)." He did not want to get into the tub with it like that! We stayed there about 10-15 min. and checked the news to find the worst had passed. We let Dean run around the living room for another 15 min. to make sure it was really ok. He was SO FUNNY! He was literally running circles around our coffee table like a crazy man. Matt was on our couch and every time Dean passed him, he bonked Matt's arm with his head and then held his head and said, "Ouch!". I knew I shouldn't laugh, but it was just so funny!

I was super worried he wouldn't go back to bed since he was so wired, but we went into his room, read two books, and I put him in bed. Not a peep out of him. He didn't cry or make a fuss about it at all. I was so relieved.

Belly Beautiful: 32 weeks

Lets see...according to my picture schedule, I technically only have 1 picture left after this! Since I'm scheduling a c-section, I only have 7 weeks left (unless I go into labor early, but I kinda doubt that one). My doctor visits are more frequent than monthly now, so I can't give accurate stats for this week. I weighed 150 at my visit a week and a half ago. That would have been 19 lbs. at that point.


2007

2009
tonight,
two different shirts

The "Deluxe" Baby Gift Set: Complete!

Since I had Dean, my favorite baby gift set to give is a large wrap blanket, 2 burp cloths, and a tag blanket. (Basic tutorial here, though I modified some of the measurements this time around.) These were some of my favorite and most used items that we received.

My sister-in-law is due with a baby boy a week or two before me, and since it's been 13 years since their last baby (don't worry, this baby was planned!), they're starting from scratch again. So, I decided I'd make a "deluxe" gift set. I was really excited with how this all turned out (and that I'm finished so I can now move on to my next project...hehe).

Items in the set:

• double sided large flannel wrap blanket
• single sided large flannel wrap blanket (for the hot summer months)
• hooded bath towel (tutorial here...thanks V!)
  
• tag blanket (I made this larger this time and I like it better. pre-sewn measurements are 16"X17")
  
• 2 burp cloths (gerber cloth diapers embelished. I did a horizontal stripe on the bottom rather than the vertical in my original tutorial.)
  

Cool.

Dean's new favorite word is "cool".

I do say it often when he repeats words over and over. He'll say something like, "Doggie. Doggie. Doggie." and I'll say, "Yep. That doggie's pretty cool."

He picked up on it. It started out that Daddy and his shoes were cool. Now almost everything he likes is "cool". It totally cracks me up.

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On a totally unrelated note, Dean head butted me so hard (not maliciously, though he sometimes does it when he's mad) today that it made me cry. Not just tears in my eye, but full out cry for a couple minutes. He hit me right on my ear and it pushed my ear into my glasses arm that pushed into my head. I still have a welt and bruise on my head because of it. Ouch. Not cool.

Spring Recital is OVER!

Honestly this was the smallest and least stressful recital I've had, but it's still nice to have it behind me! Last fall I started with 13 students, but all of my high school kids dropped because of time and stress, and I had a couple drop for financial reasons. I was supposed to have 7 kids play, but one had a last minute conflict and another broke her arm a few weeks ago, so it was just 5 kids and myself performing.

The theme was show tunes. The kids were able to choose any song from any movie, musical or TV show. If I couldn't find it in their level, I arranged it for them. I actually arranged all but 1 this time! It's pretty rewarding to hear something I had a part in creating, actually.

Payton (lvl 1): The Pink Panther
Natalie (lvl 1): Zip-a-de-doo-da (couldn't come)
Lexi (lvl 2B/3A): Popular (from Wicked)
Annelise (lvl 1): Beauty and the Beast
Lora (lvl 1): Masquerade (from Phantom)
Cami (lvl 2B/3A): Hedwig's Theme (the one I didn't arrange)
Zoe (lvl 2A): Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo (broke her arm)
Celia: Hungarian Dance No. 5 (featured in Lemony Snicket's)

It took less than 20 min. for everyone to play! The only disappointment for me was how few siblings were there to support their family member(s). My family was so good at that growing up. Unless we had a scheduling conflict, we pretty much went to all performances of our siblings. I think it's good for kids to support their family.

Help your children help themselves

Yesterday we had a Stake Enrichment. I only got to make it for half of it, but what I got to attend was great. The best class I went to was "Help your children help themselves". It felt like I was back in one of my major classes at BYU. I just wished it was longer! She gave us some "homework", so I really wanted to do a series of posts relating to what I learn.

One hand out she gave us was by a bishop in our stake (Mark Ogletree, PhD) who specializes in MFT and Parenting Solutions (among other things). The article was called "These Beggars are Choosers" and was pretty much about the rising generations' entitlement problems and how parents enable children and give them too much. The whole thing was just packed with great stuff. (I promise, I won't normally quote so much, rather I'll talk about what I learned, but I just thought this was too good not to put up!)

The whole article is pretty awesome, and I wish I could find it online to link, but I couldn't. It's in Family Times Volume 3, Issue 12. Here are some examples of the great info in the article:

"Unfortunately, such a couple [independent, responsible and self-sufficient] is now the exception rather than the rule. More common is an experience I had in my counseling office not too long ago. I was visiting with a distraught middle-aged mother. She was worried about how she and her husband were going to pay for their son's rent and living expenses--mind you, their son had just been married the week before. This perplexed mother did not know how she and her husband were going to support two households. Why would this couple be footing the bill for their newly married son and his wife? Then, the mother shared that she was equally concerned that they had to rent a trailer for the newlyweds to transport their gifts and other belongings from TX to UT. Renting the trailer wasn't going to be cheap. Once again, I was bewildered that the parents were paying the way for these newlyweds. Then, the nail in the coffin was when the mother added, "I am also concerned that they will be driving all through the night to travel back to UT, but, they are adults, so I guess I can't say anything." Because I didn't want to offend this mother, I decided not to correct her on the spot. However, if I was more bold, I supposed I could have said something like, 'excuse me...Adults? what do you mean adults? These are grown kids just playing house!" In fact, they are just kids in grown up bodies! Just to set the record straight, an adult doesn't mooch off their parents; an adult is someone who can financially back up their decisions and pay their own way. An adult is someone who can stand, independednt of their parents. Simply put, and adult is someone who can process the consequences of their choices."

He notes some alarming trends such as:

• teenage boy who doesn't mow the lawn because the dad doesn't think he can make it look nice (so they have a lawn service come)
• 21 yr old who lives in parents home, eats their food, refuses to go to school, go on a mission, or work. He has retired, and ironically, has never worked a day of his life.
• Kids who want to work but parents won't let them because there's no need since they're rich.
• Parents who cover for their children so they don't have to bear the full consewuences of their mistakes.
• Teens who stay up till 2-3 AM and/or sleep in until noon or later.

"We cannot raise future church leaders, civic leaders, parents, and teachers on a steady diet of cotton candy, video games, and country club memberships. Ask yourself, "What is the hardest thing my child has to do?"

Enabling Parenting Quiz

1. Do you often rescue your children and bale them out of trouble and responsibility?
2. Do you practically do everything for your children [chores, projects, scouting, young women's] and don't expect anything in return?
3. Do you not expect your children to have chores, work, or be respectful at home?
4. Do you often defend your children, feeling like they can do no wrong?
5. Do you believe that your children's problems are someone else's fault?
6. Do your children believe they are entitled to have rights?
7. Do your children believe that they are entitled to success without any effort?
8. Are you more concerned with political correctness rather than teaching standards, values, and beliefs?
9. Do you buy your children something every time you walk into a store?
10. Do you let your children come and go as they please, having set no limits or boundaries?
11. Do you let your children sit inside day after day, watching TV, playing Video games, and complaining that there is "nothing to do."

If you said yes to more than 5 of these questions, run as fast as you can...the inmates are running the prison!

"Elder Maxwell has voiced this concern when he said, 'A few of our wonderful youth and young adults in the Church are unstretched. They have almost a free pass. Perks are provided, including cars, complete with fuel and insurance--all paid for by parents who sometimes listen in vain for a few courteous and appreciative words. What is thus taken for granted....Tends to underwrite selfishness and a sense of entitlement.'" (Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Devotional, January 1999)

So what do we need to do as parents?

1. For those of you who have children living at home, I would give them a daily does of Vitamin "N". Just tell them "No."
2. Give your children responsibilities. They need to work; they need to have chores, they need to help around the house; they need to pick weeds. Children will never become responsible adults if they do not learn responsibility in their childhood. No child should have a cell phone who is not helping to pay for the monthly fees, or working for the privilege.
3. Have children pay for some of their activities. If they drive, they can help with gas. if they have a cell phone, they better ante up each month; etc.
4. Get rid of teenage retirement in your home! If I can't retire until 65, I'll be danged if my kids can do it at 13!

What about those who have adult children? Do the same rules apply?

Absolutely! If you have a 22 year old son or daughter who has retired before you have, then you had better make some changes! I am aware of parents who are paying the entire way for their college-aged children who are fully capable of working their way through school. If you are paying for everything in your adult child's life, please reconsider. Your child is being robbed of the experiences of growth and development.
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What I learned about myself:
You know, my parents did a whole lot of things right! My mom was occasionally chided by her contemporaries and professors for having so many kids (7), but she knew she was raising producers and not just moochers! We learned to work hard, set and achieve goals, and to produce results.

I also realized that I do "rescue" Dean more than I should. I know, he's only 18 months. That's part of my problem. I'm an inexperienced mom who's trying to figure out what kids are and aren't capable of for their age. I decided after attending the class, that I needed to stop going to nursery with Dean for the first hour. I didn't go today, and Matt said it was one of Dean's best days in nursery! I'm sure not all weeks will be this great for him, but goodness, the kid needs to learn that I'm not going to be at his disposal 24/7 like I am right now. In 8 short weeks he's going to have to share me with another little being.

I also realized that I should say "no" more often than I do. I need to practice saying things like, "No, Dean, you can't play with the [toothpaste, hair gel, glasses, sink, lotion, CD player, soap, etc.]." Sometimes I don't say no because I want to avoid a fight, a tantrum, or I'm tired of stopping him or redirecting him all day long. However, the better I get at saying no now, the better I'll be at holding boundaries later when they're deliberately pushing the line on more important issues.

My time as a vegetarian

I haven't felt much inspired to post recently. Spring/summer fever perhaps?

For the sake of getting a new post up, I thought I'd answer a request posed a couple months back in a comment.

What is the story behind my vegetarian years?

Well, when I was about 7 years old I made the solid connection that the chickens running around in Annie Frost's coop were the same thing as the chicken on my dinner plate, I pretty much was grossed out big time. I'm sure I knew that meat came from animals, but I'd never really thought about what that meant exactly.

It wasn't an animal rights issue. I wasn't worried about the poor beasts being slain for my consumption. It was the thought that I was eating the muscles of something that really got to me. *shudder* It still grosses me out a bit. That's why I still have an incredibly hard time eating meat off of bones.

I guess I couldn't be called a true vegetarian because I would eat meals with meat (like lasagna or something), but I'd pick the meat out. I never, ever expected my mom to make me something special. It just didn't work like that at my house. I'd also use chicken or beef broth to reconstitute my TVP meat substitute or eat regular soups but pick out the meat. I'd very occasionally eat thin meats like bacon or lunch meats. Those were easier to forget that they were animal flesh.

My family ate roast and potatoes (and lots of other stuff) every Sunday growing up. My little brother loved to torment me. "Ooooohhhh. Yuuuuum. This cow is de-li-cious!" and then he'd take a big bite of the roast. I think I was supposed to eat a bite of it because I remember often having one or two tiny shreds on my plate, but it wasn't strictly enforced or anything.

What did I eat?
In the way of protein, I ate lots and lots of cheese and beans, peanut butter, eggs, and meat substitutes (though this was more later high school and college). I liked pasta well enough, but it wasn't a main staple for me. I ate lots of salads or wraps with eggs and meat substitutes. Honestly, for lunches I often ate meal replacement things from whatever MLM my parents were in at the time. In Jr. High I had an Amway food bar every day for lunch. In high school I came home for lunch, so I often had quesadillas, burritos, or nachos always accompanied by salad made by my mom. In college I had Nutrition for Life SlenderAge shakes and bars for 1-2 meals a day for sake of ease and time. Now I drink Isagenix shakes maybe every other day for a lunch. The SlenderAge probably tasted the best, but I feel the best after Isagenix.

Why did I start eating meat again?
Well, I started dating Matt my freshman year of college. He asked why I didn't eat meat. When I said I didn't because I didn't like the texture or taste, he asked how long it'd been since I'd really eaten it. When I said about 10 years, he said I ought to try it again and if I didn't like it I could continue not eating it. Sure, that made enough sense. I didn't really try to eat it until he left on his mission and I left for China. I was in a situation where I couldn't be as choosy about my meals, so I'd try some meat here and there. It was fun to write Matt and tell him I'd tried different meats. I started very, very slowly with small amounts and worked my way up to eating a full chicken breast at a meal after a couple years. I still wouldn't touch or prepare meat when we were married three years after we met, though. I only started touching raw meat after I became the cook at a residential treatment center called New Haven in UT in 2004. I cooked for 25-35 people 5 days a week for 2 years. Couldn't avoid using meat in that situation. So, I've gotten pretty good at cooking and eating a variety of meats.

Do I like meat now?
It is nice to have more variety in my meals, but I did not grow to like the taste (or texture) of meat very much. I will eat most meats, though steak and other thick slabs or anything with bones still grosses me out and I avoid them. Ground beef and chicken are probably my most used meats since they're so versatile. I actually still hate the taste of all meats (except salty cured meats like ham and bacon) and won't eat them unless they're well seasoned or marinated and have no "meat flavor" left. I still only eat a very small slice of turkey on Thanksgiving. I don't like roasts unless they're crockpot cooked and shredded. I've tried to work fish into my diet as well, mainly for variety (neither of us like seafood much). The only fishes I will actually use regularly are halibut and tilapia since they're so mild.

If I'd married a vegetarian I am positive I'd have continued with it with no problems or regrets. We still eat "meatless" dinners a couple times a week. I'm very lucky that Matt's not one who needs meat every night. The last couple months I've not really wanted meat, but I force myself to use it occasionally for Matt's sake and so I don't become anemic while pregnant.

That's the long answer. Good job if you actually read the whole thing! Questions? Comments? Concerns? ;oD

One bright spot in his day

We did manage to get a great picture of him drinking his "leprechaun shake"(as my niece calls it) before church, after his fall (see the post below). (Vanilla isagenix shake with greens mixed in.) As you can see, we just love that stuff. He could be their new poster boy. I've really not had much of an appetite the past few weeks, but this usually hits the spot for my lunch. I've really enjoyed mixing it with milk and frozen strawberries or bananas for a heartier, higher calorie lunch.

An Alexander Day

We all have them. Those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. Poor little Dean had one today (and I was pretty close to having one myself). He woke up pretty grouchy, despite his 12 hours of sleep. I woke up very tired because of my 5 hours of sleep.

When I was taking my shower, he dumped out half of my 32 oz. water bottle on the carpet by my bed.

When I was making his lunch for nursery, he climbed onto a chair. He was standing up, hanging onto the back of the chair; he started shaking the back of it, and it tipped over. He and I screamed simultaneously and Matt shot out of bed to see what had happened. His fingers were crushed under the chair. We started examining him, trying to get him to wiggle his fingers to make sure nothing was broken. He was crying pretty hard. We finally saw one hand move all the fingers, but his pinkie wasn't moving on the other hand. It was then that I noticed his mouth was bloody. He cut the inside of his lower lip with his teeth. After we stopped that bleeding, we saw his pinkie move, so all was ok and no medical attention was necessary.

We were only a few minutes late to church, but he was CRAZY during sacrament meeting. Immediately upon entering the chapel overflow he saw a boy a couple months older than him and started slapping at his face and ears. During the meeting he ended up climbing up the stairs to the front twice. He kept running out into the foyer to try and play with the water fountain and tear down the poster board advertising a Testament video night presented by the missionaries. He was all over the place!

It was train and car day in nursery. That's when they only pull out the trains and cars for the kids to play with during the first hour. They're my least favorite of the toys there because they do not hold Dean's attention for more than about 2 minutes! He was very clingy and cried on and off that first hour, despite the fact that I was still in the room. I was feeling pretty exhausted, a little sick, and very overwhelmed at this point, so I had to dab away tears during that hour. I snuck out during lunch/snack time to go to R.S.

At the beginning of Relief Society some friends asked how I was doing and I started BAWLING and just blabbered on about how tired I was and how exhausting of a day it had already been and it was only 12:30! It was a good lesson, though, and a nice break.

Dean was bawling when I got to nursery. He always starts crying when other kids get picked up before him. (Need I remind you that Matt is one of the nursery leaders?? It's not like he's in there with no parent. And I go immediately after R.S.) I started crying again when a friend (who was picking up her child in nursery) told me I could drop him off at her place if I ever needed a break. I told her that was nice, but it didn't seem plausible since he can't even make it through an hour of nursery with Matt in there without crying. So there we were, the two of us cry babies together, and we headed for home. Luckily Matt was driving.

He only took an hour nap though I know he was exhausted. I only took about a half hour nap even though I was exhausted.

He was pretty grouchy and touchy the rest of the day. I could tell his mouth was still hurting him a bit so we gave him some tylenol and I put orajel on his lip. That helped a little.

I was pretty happy when bed time rolled around.

Reveling in the Sweetness

The other day I walked into the kitchen looking for Dean and what did I see? His little hand poking through the cat door in our laundry room. He'd shut himself in there and was happy as could be swinging the door in and out. When he noticed I was there he tried to poke his head through to say hi, but he couldn't quite make it (thank heavens!).

All week he has been begging to go to the "Bop...duckie" (Town Lake Park where there are ducks). We finally went today, and he was very happy. I, on the other hand, was a bit freaked out feeding the massive horde of birds. There is one spot where the majority congregate waiting for food. It would not be so scary if the geese were not there honking and running toward you! After I dispersed most of my bread I hurried away, slightly panicking at the gaggle following me. He kept asking for more duckies, so we found two ducks off on their own and fed them the rest of the bread (well, at least the bread that Dean didn't eat).

He's been obssessed with the letter R recenlty. Everytime he sees one on a book cover or on a sign he goes crazy for it. When I sing the ABC's, he just says "r" over and over until I get to it in the song.

Dean told me "gank gew" (unprompted I might add) all day for just about everything I did for him or when I gave him something he wanted. It was melting my little heart!

He loves, loves, loves playing in the sink. As I was making dinner, he pushed a chair over to the sink and turned on the water. He got a glass cup off the drying rack and filled it himself and drank it quite well! I was impressed with how well he did.

Tonight at bed we were reading books. One of them ends with "good night!" and I quickly slammed the book shut after saying it. He DIED laughing. He kept asking for more so I did it over and over until he was almost to the point of tears. I knew I was riling him up a bit when he should have been winding down, but it was just too hilarious to pass up! Sure enough, I heard him talk to himself for nearly a half an hour. He was quiet for about 15 min. and then I quietly heard humming coming from his room! That only lasted a few minutes and then all was quiet, but it was so sweet to hear.

Sometimes I am just purely amazed at how much I love him, how big he's getting, and how much he learns every day.

Caving in

I have been extremely resistant to joining facebook, mostly because I don't need another time waster and excuse for not doing projects. Plus, blogging has already fulfilled a lot of the connections I wanted to rekindle.

But I decided today that I miss out on lots of local happenings amongst my church friends since I don't have an account. I don't think I'm intentionally left out of the loop. I've just been resistant to joining their most used communication of choice and essentially leave myself out of the loop.

So I created an account.

Sheesh. What is this world coming to?

Pregnancy PMS?

PMS sure is an easy thing to blame emotional craziness on, so I was wondering if I could still use that excuse while I'm 29 weeks pregnant.

I've had one short fuse the past few days.

"Don't do this! Don't do that! Come here now! NOW! You're going into Time Out mister! Get down! No you can't play with that!" (insert an open hand swat on the bum or hand here and there)

It's a miserable way to live. I'm glad I'm normally not like this. I've had moments where I make Dean say a random prayer with me to help me gain composure and be more patient and loving. I am not entirely sure why I'm feeling like this and why it's harder to shake than normal. Usually it only lasts a few minutes or an hour. But a couple days? Bad Celia.

So I'll just blame PMS and abdicate all responsibility. That'll make me feel better. Right?

Okay, ok. I'll take some responsibility and figure out how to get out of this funk. It really is a horrible way to live, especially because I know I'm being self -deceived and a victim.


Update: I am feeling like the storm has finally broken. Dean had a near 3 hour nap after playing in the sun all morning, and that gave me a little break to recuperate I think. I felt much more like myself this afternoon.

Necessity and Excess

I have decided I'm just not a fitness center kinda person. While I'd like to work out at a gym, I honestly can't imagine leaving an infant or toddler in their daycare. I also don't like paying a membership to exercise. So, that leaves jogging and walking and home exercise. Because of this, one thing I really, really want is a good double jogging stroller. I've used our single jogger more than any other stroller. It was a cheap In-Step jogger I got off Craigslist. I didn't absolutely love the stroller itself, but it has worked well enough for $60.

During my stroller research, I have found there are only a handful of double joggers that can accept a car seat on one side. These strollers are not cheap. They run between $500-700 new. I've decided I REALLY want a Bob Revolution Duallie, but it's one of the most expensive with the accessories I want. I've found one here in town on Craigslist for $350. I was going to look at it tomorrow, but I realised that I would have to buy the car seat adapter if I want to use it before the baby is 6 months. That is an additional $90!! Now it's up to $440 and I feel like that's past the point of reasonable and entered the realm of excess.

There isn't a whole lot I need to get for this second baby since we already have a lot of boy stuff from Dean, so a part of me thinks, "What the heck. You don't have to buy all that other stuff. Just get it." But then I think about the crappy economy and what a necessity really is. We've been lucky to avoid job and financial problems thus far, but you never know what will come down the road. It's better to save and be prepared than "live it up" and be caught unaware. I keep trying to tell myself that.

I guess I don't really have a reason for posting this except to voice how frustrating it is to find something I want and would use that goes against my financial conscience.

A few words

Today I tried to capture some of my favorite words that Dean uses. These are only a few, and most of these are relatively new. It's not great editing, but it's only about 30 seconds. Featured in this video: Snack, thank you, computer, couch, and bye-bye.

Ruffle Skirt: Finally Finished!

(Please don't mind my crazified hair. It got wet at the park.)

It took me long enough! I was so ready to have this skirt done a couple weeks ago. I'm trying to not start new projects until I finish projects I'm already working on. I finally decided I wanted to make some baby stuff, so I needed to get myself into gear and finish this up.

The ruffle proved to be much more of a pain than I imagined. It took me 3 nights of trial and error to finally get something to work. I almost wish I'd just kept it a regular old A-line skirt. The ruffle is supposed to be in a contrasting fabric, but the pink I bought just seemed too...bright pink...to make into the whole ruffle. So I just did a "ribbon" band of the pink fabric at the top of the ruffle to help visually differentiate it from the body of the skirt. Overall I'm happy with how it turned out, though I think it would have been better with a full contrasting ruffle. I am definitely happy to be done with it!

Mother's day deliciousness

When Matt asked what I wanted for dinner on Mother's day, I told him he could make anything but Mac n' Cheese from a box! I was very happy when he said he was going to make habichuelas con arroz y tostones. It's Puertorican/Dominican red bean and rice dish with smashed and fried plantains on the side. He had it often on his mission in Philadelphia (he was Spanish speaking and there were many Puertoricans and Domincans there). When we lived in UT he made habichuelas every so often, but I don't think he's made it here in TX. I don't generally make it because he makes it much better than I do. I haven't felt much like eating meat recently, so this really hit the spot.

Boy was it good!!! I'd never had the tostones; they were good despite the fact that the plantain was slightly under ripe. (We'd never bought one, so we didn't quite know what to look for. Now we know.)

Here's a picture of Matt's plate (He couldn't finish it all. We both had eyes bigger than our stomachs!) It really was tasty and I've eaten it for lunch the last two days.


Church was good. Dean was mostly good during Sacrament meeting, but at one point he kept trying to bite my leg, so Matt took him out. That meant I got to actually listen to the speakers! He integrated so nicely in nursery I only stayed about 15 min. and snuck out to sunday school. I later found out that while he didn't notice I'd left immediately, he clung to Matt and stopped playing like he had been when he realised I was gone. Baby steps. I got to stay for all of Relief Society, so I felt like I almost had a full 3 hours of church! It was a good Mother's day.

Belly Beautiful: 28 weeks

Well, here's the monthly update. Here are my 28 week comparison photos. At church on Sunday I was told I look as though I have a basketball stuffed up my shirt. I would have to agree! haha.

As you can see, my curly hair STILL looks like junk here in TX despite the fact that I've tried almost every "anti frizz" "curly hair" concoction. It makes me very sad. Give me my dry heat! I'm done with humidity.

Pictured left: 2007

Pictured right: 2009

Guilty as charged

Ok. I wasn't actually charged. I just know I'm guilty of having perfectly good things to blog about and choosing to do different things all together. So, this post is merely to tell myself that life is still moving forward even if I'm not religiously blogging about it. I know, catch up posts are never as good as "in the moment" posts. Too much stuff. Too disjointed. Whatever though.

We had been renting out an electric piano we are keeping for my in-law's and it was returned to us last week. After a year of renting they decided they needed to make a commitment and buy something if their son was going to continue. We pushed down our dresser and set it up in our bedroom so I can have something quiet enough to practice on when Dean is sleeping. It is not a piano, nor does it feel like a piano despite the pedals and weighted keys, but does allow me to practice when I could not otherwise. I am grateful to have it back. I don't know if we'll have room for it when I set the baby up in there, but maybe, just maybe, I will be able to pull something together for my spring recital. It is the first time I'm attempting to learn and perform an entirely new to me piece for a solo performance since...well, I guess since the Miss Navajo County pageant way back in 1999. Brahms' Hungarian Dance no. 5. The song is not extremely difficult except that it has a HUGE left hand range that jumps back and forth with chords that make my hand feel too little. I just have to work on my hand strength and extension and musicality a bit. We'll see if I can pull it together in a month...

It has been hot and oppressively humid (my mom said it was 85% humidity or something) here this week, and I have not liked it one bit. I have gone to bed feeling very sticky almost every night this week. Yesterday the heat broke, we had our windows open and fans blowing, and our temperature in the house was a nice 71*. So much nicer. The temp. started to rise again today, so when it really heats up again this week, I'll have to break out sprinklers or go to a sprinkler park or something. I wish I wasn't so paranoid of playing in our big yard. Darned fire ants. It will be quite nice when the pool opens again on May 23rd. I have a feeling many of our mornings will be spent there instead of the park.

Dean's obsession with the park has been rekindled. He begs every day to go, and regardless of how long we stay, he always wants "mo bahk" or "mo bahp"(more park). He's getting very good at climbing the fake rock wall up to the slides by himself. He won't slide by himself, so if I slide down with him, I am very careful to keep his feet inside mine so we don't hurt his foot again.

I got a whole slew of books to read from my friend Laura. I'm nearly finished with Emily Climbs, and I just got it on Thursday night.

I attempted to work on my unfinished skirt on Friday. I made a little progress, but as I was trying to gather the bottom ruffle, the basting stitches busted so I will have to figure out a different method to gather it. It's just way too much ruffle to pull through the thread I have.

Our garden's starting to look like a garden with everything popping up. We've had tons of rain this week, so that's been helpful. I really hope it does well this year since we got it planted much earlier than the last two years. We have planted:

• 1/2 row watermelons (though I don't have much hope for them)
• 1/2 row cantaloupe
• full row green beans
• pickler and straight eight cucumbers
• 4 tomato plants (I had only planned on two. The first two I got looked like they froze since we had a freakish cold wave in April. I pulled them up and left them on the side of the garden with their root ball still attached. My friend Erin noticed that they were alive and growing on Friday! So I replanted them along side the two replacement plants.)
  
• 2 bell pepper plants
• 1 jalapeno plant
• 1/2 row of yellow squash
• 1/2 row of zucchini
• 3 planter boxes with strawberry plants (I think we have about 7 plants that made it through the cold spell)
  

I had my 28 week check up on Friday and things are looking on track as usual. Gained another 5 lbs. this month, so I'm now up to 147 with a total weight gain to date of 16 lbs. I think by this point I'd gained about 20 with Dean and continued to gain about a lb. a week thereafter. We'll see how this one compares. It was the 1 hour glucose visit, so I had Matt work from home so he could stay with Dean. I can't imagine trying to entertain him for over an hour at my doctor's office. It was a pleasant hour by myself and I spent most of it reading. I'm leaning toward Monday July 27th for my c-section. Four days before Matt's birthday. One week before the due date. We're having a hard time coming up with names we both like.

Matt and I went on our anniversary date last night. Nothing too fancy. Dinner and a movie. (Our annual Olive Garden visit- purely for the salad dressing on my end since I'm not terribly impressed with their entrees, but Matt likes their food better than I do- and X-men: Wolverine.) It's something we never really do, so that was nice. The movie was good and entertaining. I really do like that Dean goes to bed early enough that we could put him down before we left. Nice to not have to mess with a sitter trying to do it. The girl who baby sat for us was our 12 year old neighbor (or R.S. Pres's daughter) and she did it for free! The missionaries challenged their family to do service for 3 people in our neighborhood, so she chose this as one of her opportunities. Cool.

So, all-in-all it was a good week. It went by quickly and it was nice to have a low-key week after our medical craziness last week. However, Matt has had a rash for the last 3 days, and the doctor thinks he's allergic to the antibiotics (sulfa).

The end.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Well, we didn't die from (or even contract) the Mexican swine flu, so I celebrated by making a delicious Mexican meal for a nice Cinco de Mayo dinner tonight. I was trying to decide why we even "celebrate" cinco de mayo here and what significance the date even holds in Mexico, but I gave up guessing and just cooked instead!

I wish I'd taken a picture, but I was way too hungry by the end so I just ate it instead. So, here's what I made (visualize with me if you will):

• homemade flour tortillas
• homemade quacamole
• homemade pico de gallo
• homemade horchata (seriously, I was so happy with how this turned out! It's been a long time since I've had it. yuuuum.)
• tried a new homemade seasoning recipe mix for taco meat
• cannery refried beans
• lettuce, sour cream, olives, cotija cheese (fresh Mexican cheese that's nice and salty)

Dean even ate more of his little bean burrito than normal, even with the unusual (for him) additions of the pico, sour cream, and cotija cheese (though I bribed about 4-5 bites out of him by telling him he could have olives for his fingers. he LOVES olives, especially sucking them off his fingers. He's not nearly as fond of broken olives.)

I am stuffed!

Oh, and I made our anniversary dinner last night successfully! When Matt came into the kitchen he said it was one of the best smelling meals I've ever made. And when it was all done he said it was delicious and successful! Now, if you know him well, two compliments at one dinner is not common! So I was happy. We had:

• Alice Spring Chicken (honey mustard marinade, bacon, mushrooms and topped with cheese...so rich we might have this once or twice a year! But boy is it tasty.)
  
• Corn on the cob (very, very rare here. we eat corn maybe less than 5 times a year, including canned corn. I don't really consider it a vegetable since it's not green, so I haven't figured out how to work it in. Plus, the few times I've tried to give it to Dean he's been extremely unreceptive.)
• Baked Potatoes

The chicken was a little involved, so I kept the sides simple. I'll try and post all (or at least some of) the recipes on my food blog sometime soon.

We're all feeling much better here. Dean and I have gotten over our stomach bugs and Matt can put on shoes again! The swelling is completely gone now and his blister just scabbed over after he popped it on Sunday night. Gross I know, but I figured I'd give an update.

[Cr/H]appy 6th Anniversary

Well, last year I'd hoped we'd be in Scotland today for our "every other year anniversary trip". We're not in Scotland since I'm 6 mo. pregnant. It feels like we're in Miseryland though. Ok, not really Miseryland. Just plain sick.

Dean didn't throw up at all yesterday and I probably gave him too many hugs and kisses (silly mommy!), so here I am puking and nauseous today. No church for us. We settled for listening to a conference talk online.

Stomach Flu + pregnant and starving+ full time mom + anniversary= no fun.

Dean and Matt are on the mend, so that's good. Dean's been able to keep down food today. The swelling in Matt's foot is going down. He still can't put on his shoes, though, because of the horrible blister where the bite is.

We canceled our anniversary date last night and there's no way I'll be able to cook/eat our anniversary dinner tonight. Ah well. Such is life. At least it's not giardia in Guatemala like our 2nd anniversary! That was worse, I must say.

Weird to think we've lived here in TX in this house for half of our married lives! I hear my little guy waking up from a nap. Duty calls even if I don't feel like answering!

Can't...stop...(just yet at least)

I have always gone through cycles of enjoyment and fulfillment. I'll hit something with all my energy and then in weeks, months or years I'll get bored and feel the need to conquor/learn something else. When I feel sufficient time has passed, I'll often return to my old hobbies and start cycles all over.

Last year scrapping was one of my hobbies. Then I splurged and bought lots of paper and shortly after I lost interest and switched to sewing. I've been sewing quite a bit (for one who had no previous knowledge of sewing) since Christmas. Books, bags, wrap blankets, clothing, etc. Recently I splurged on materials for skirts I wanted to make. I got to the last one, nearly finished, and have felt unmotivated the past few weeks to complete it. I'm a little worried I won't find enough motivation to finish it in time to wear it this pregnancy!!!

All I've wanted to do recently is read. Matt savors his books and reads only a little every night to stretch them out. Most of my life I've devoured books, finishing them in a day or two, regardless of length, if I got caught up in them. I have tried to switch to Matt's system after having Dean since it's not really practical to read all day long with a toddler running around needing attention. I did really well stretching out the Anne of Green Gables series. Then this week I read Fablehaven in 2 days (the first book, the rest were all checked out) and Emily of New Moon in about 3 days I think. I couldn't put them down in my "spare moments" (i.e. Dean's naps and evenings after dinner was cooked and at least mostly cleaned up). TV and the computer haven't held much interest for me. Much of the housework suffered because of it. Not horribly. Just enough for me to notice really.

I just finished Emily of New Moon. Maybe I can finally convince myself to finish that skirt that's been haunting my sewing table.

Or maybe I'll just go check out the other books in the two series tomorrow (if they're in) and continue to take a little break from life. Sometimes little breaks are nice. Even if they're not productive.

Let's hope it's not the swine flu!

After a nice 2 hour nap Dean woke up scream-crying which fairly unusual these days. When I opened his door I smelled the rancid puke smell. He and his crib were completely covered. When I got to him he threw up a little more in my hands. I took off his shirt and Matt (who had worked from home because of his foot) filled up a bath. After we took care of him I tossed everything from his crib, stuffed animals and all, in the wash.

I just gave him some juice and started typing this and he threw up juice all over our computer room floor. Other than throwing up, he seems normal. Before we put him in the bath his temp was 98*. After he threw up this second time it was 99*. Hope it doesn't get higher.

As of last night there was only one confirmed case of swine flu in collin county according to the news. Lets hope they weren't at the ER two nights ago when we took Dean!!!!!!

I think we may have to cancel our anniversary date tomorrow night. I guess we'll see...