Best Shot Monday

it is monday! the beginning of a new week. let's hope this one runs as smoothly as the last one!! :)

here is my "best" shot of the week. this is the face that a child makes when she realizes that sicking the bubble wand (covered in soap, of course) in her mouth was a bad idea. (this was immediately followed by gagging and crying, by the way) why is it that no matter how many times you tell them not to do something they still seem to feel the need to try it?? she did this last year too, only with sand. sigh.
so, i had to go get her some water to wash down the soap. she drank and drank and drank. apparently bubble solution doesn't rinse out of your mouth easily. she kept saying she could still taste it. i'm sure it tasted awful. hopefully she will remember that this time and not do it again. (how much do you want to bet that she does it again?! ha ha ha!)

hope you all had a lovely weekend! don't forget to stop by tracey's and see everyone else's shots!

Weekend Goodness

i got to take a shower yesterday. a long, hot, steamy shower without anyone interrupting me. it was devine! "how did you manage that?" you ask? everyone else was still in bed, of course. no, not sleeping! no, no, no! bean wakes up at the CRACK of dawn so sadly no one was sleeping.
here is a picture of what i found when i got out of the shower. bean reading books to daddy and sprout (and the magpie too, she just didn't fit in the picture!). i believe that she is currently sharing the tales of olivia the pig, one of her favorites. it looks like sprout is enjoying it too! (really i think he is about to start fussing but honestly, doesn't that look like a laugh?!)

hope you are all having a fun and relaxing weeked!!

I can't complain.

awwww, look at that face! look at it! you could just melt from the sweetness of it all, couldn't you?!?! seriously, is that not the cutest sprout you have ever seen?!?
ok, ok! i'll stop gushing over my child now. ;)

so, anyways, we have made it 4/5ths of the way through our first full "alone" week and i must say it was much better than i expected. we all had our "moments" (including mommy) but i think we came through without too many scars! ha!
i am pretty proud of myself too. we left the house 3 of the 4 days! we shopped at a craft store, went to playgroup and attended library story time. and ALL of that went amazingly well because my boy slept through 90% of it! hooray! really, it went SO well that i have plans to leave the house at least 3 times next week too. lets hope it all goes just as well. heck, i'm even ready to tackle the zoo on the next beautiful day!
(clearly i'm deranged or living in a fantasy world... whatever you do don't disturb the crazy lady. allow her to continue to believe in the magical world she has created for herself! there is NO reason to tell her that you know the baby will eventually "wake up" and everything will be blown all to hell. just sit back and nod encouragingly as she spouts her happy drivel. really, it is the best thing you can do for her.)
;)

Going to be an aunt again!!

my little sister is pregnant! hooray! so i will get a new niece or nephew in november. (hopefully a nephew so that sprout has a playmate!) :)

best part of the story is this:
she took my nieces (4 years old and 2 years old) with her to the ultrasound appointment. the 4 year old could not have been happier when she found out. she kept hugging her mom and patting her belly. when they got home she says this, "mommy, did you want another baby?"
my sister says, "yes, of course i did."
and my niece says, "good, i'm glad because i made it happen."
"what? how did you make it happen?" my sister says in disbelief.
"mommy," she says, "i have been very good and i prayed for you to have a baby. i prayed every night. that is how i made it happen."

is that not the cutest thing ever!!! my nieces can be soooo adorable!

Another good day.

yesterday was a pretty good day. first, i took both kids with me to the craft store and did a little shopping. bean was good because i told her if she was i would let her finger paint when we got home. a little bribery never hurt anyone, right?

it was a beautiful day outside- it hit 70 degrees! so the afternoon was spent outside. we did sidewalk chalk, swings, slide, sandbox, ball- it was great fun. sprout, of course, slept through the whole thing. i'm sure he enjoyed the fresh air though. ;)

there wasn't much whining. there wasn't much crying. there really wasn't any drama of any kind until the annoying neighbor boy climbed the fence and came into our yard and wouldn't leave. claimed his mom said he could come over... gah! we will just say that THAT was the worst part of my day and since it had nothing to do with MY children i'm going to call it a successful day.

today is supposed to be super nice again. (we start with the rain again on wednesday.) so, outside we are going to go. hope you are all enjoying some beautiful spring time weather!

Best Shot Monday

ok, enough with the sprout! we need some bean! (i mean, sprout has kinda been hogging the spotlight since he has been born!)

here are a couple of shots of bean in the rain. it was sprinkling the other day and she desperately wanted to go outside with her new rain boots, raincoat, and umbrella. so we did! she had a BLAST! i had a very hard time getting her to come inside when the rain really started coming down. she just loves being outside. and while i don't LOVE being outside on gray rainy days, rain makes the flowers grow. so bring on the rain! ;)

the weather has improved quite a bit here in the past few days. it is definitely spring time now. it is warm. we have daffidils and crocuses blooming. all the bushes and trees are starting to bud. the grass is starting to green up. i just love watching the earth come to life every spring! such a beautiful time of year.

hey, don't forget to visit tracey today and check out what everyone else has been up to this past week!

Sprout Facts

1. after sprout was born, the doctor proclaims "would you look at the size of that placenta! it is HUGE!" i of course look down. why, oh why do i do things like that?! i of course really didn't want to look at it.... it was huge, by the way.

2. shortly after the doctor alerts us to the size of the placenta the nurse says "whoa, look at the knot he tied in his cord!" sure enough there was a very large knot in that umbilical cord. he must have been doing some serious acrobatics in my belly to do that!

3. the pediatrician came in and gave us information about the circumcision. she then left to go do the procedure. this was at 8:00am, so sprout was less than 12 hours old. 30 minutes later she came back and said, "it went really well. he is doing just fine. it seriously couldn't have been any easier, he slept through the whole thing!" WHAT?!?! that is right. my son slept through his circumcision! does anyone else think this is crazy??

4. he sucks his thumb....
5. he did not have a name for 23 hours and 43 minutes. we came up with a girls name about 45 minutes before he was born but we had NOTHING for a boy. husband INSISTED that he be named before the day was through. and it took ALL day to agree on something. the first name was from my list of names, husband picked the middle name. i'm not exactly sure all of our family like the name but what can you do!

6. he likes to "peek" at people. we refer to it as "the pirate eye."
then again, maybe he's just a little flirt? ;)

Kinda feel like a whiner....

yesterday was much better than thursday. not to say that it was perfect but i never felt like i had to cry and that is always a plus! heck, she ate a meal at dinner time that she usually won't eat! there was no arguing or anything! whoa! :)

bean is actually really good. i've heard a lot of stories about kids adjusting to new siblings recently- all i can say is "WOW, bean is an angel compared to some of those kids!" she really is doing a good job overall. she is a big helper, especially if the chore helps sprout in some way. she will do anything for him. and she isn't upset when i'm feeding sprout, she just sits with us and watches. she wants to know where he is at all times, "where is our baby boy?" is something i hear frequently. she loves him very much. she reads him stories and tries to share her toys with him. yesterday, she even offered him her blankie... yes, her beloved blankie! i was a little shocked myself!
something that i'm really proud of her about is her potty training. everyone told me that she'd have major issues with it once the baby came home and i shouldn't even bother with the training at this time. well, she decided that she wanted to use the potty and i wasn't about to tell her no. she has only had two accidents since sprout came and that is normal for her- she averages one accident per week. she HATES having an accident. she cries and cries when she does, i think it is embarrassment. she has even stayed dry overnight several times now. so, she is doing a super job!!

i'm wondering if part of her problem is that she is tired. is she waking up when sprout does? if she isn't sleeping well she would be much more likely to throw a fit over something silly. hmmmm. it is something to consider. if she is really tired AND she has to share her mommy with a baby... yeah, i could see where that would make her a little demon! ;)
i KNOW most of my problem is that i'm tired!!! i could deal a lot better if i got a little more sleep.

anyways, thanks for all the support and well wishes! you are all wonderfully kind. i feel much better now! hopefully it will stay that way....

Yesterday

for the most part yesterday was fine. unfortunately by 5:00, when daddy got home, i was very close to a breakdown.
you are thinking, "how could it be fine and send you to have a breakdown??" right?

well, bean is doing anything and everything to get my attention and HOLD it. i can't leave her sight, even to go to the bathroom, without her freaking out. she does whatever you tell her not to do. she asks for daddy to come home, not because she wants to see him but because she wants him to take care of sprout. she pouted, whined, and cried- A LOT.... well, a lot for her.
and all this is completely normal for someone her age. plus, there were moments of good spread about here and there. that is why i have to say it was fine overall.
the breakdown comes in because i'm NOT used to fighting with my little girl like this. i've never had to deal with some of the stuff she's done in the past few days. she has always followed directions and listened to what we said to her. it is very difficult when you are suddenly facing the exact opposite. i mean she colored on the carpet, on purpose, right in front of me! when i asked her why she would do that she said, "i just wanted to." i said, "but it is naughty to color on the carpet!" and she responded, "sometimes i like to be naughty" and then she smiled. arrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh! so the coloring book and markers went to time out. and then the high pitched banshee wailing started. she literally screamed for 15 minutes. sigh.

i think she could tell i was about to lose it when i was tucking her into bed because she stood up and gave me a hug and said, "its ok mommy. its ok." all i could do was hug her back.
i must admit that i cried for 15 minutes after i put her to bed. i cried because i suddenly feel unable to parent my little girl, she has turned into someone else. i cried because i feel like i'm ignoring my baby boy because i have to have him in the crib or bouncy seat 90% of the day- bean is too demanding of my time. (and i so just want to hold and cuddle him!) and i cried because i'm just so damn tired that there isn't anything else i can do.

so here is to a better today. it has been a little rough already but what can you do?
i guess i'll just stare at this picture and try to remember what is good......

Today...

... is my first day completely alone with two children. alone with a nearly 3 year old and a one week old. i'm a little nervous. i'm a lot tired. how am i going to make it through the day???

i know in my head i'll be fine BUT it is a long time until 4:30. a LONG time. ;)

Big Sprout

sprout had to visit the doctor today for his one week check-up. let's just say i have a big boy who likes to eat! ha ha!
sprout gained quite a bit in the past 7 1/2 days. he now weighs 9 pounds 3 ounces (up from 8 pounds 9 ounces). he is in the 90th percentile for weight. he is my little chunk!! ;) but i guess that is what happens when all you do is eat and sleep ALL DAY LONG.
this is what he looks like 90% of the time. really, he sleeps, wakes up enough to eat, then goes back to sleep. i'm not sure what i'm going to do when he starts to wake up.... ;)

What's the name?

so you want to know the boy's name, huh?? well, how about this. i'll tell you what his name means and you can see if you can figure it out. kinda like a little game. ;)

sprout's real first name means "hunter".
sprout's middle name means "resolute guardian"

and if you have any desire to know the girl's name here's your clues.

bean's real first name means "god is my strength"
bean's middle name means "consecrated to god"

it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. there are probably tons of websites that can tell you the answers. have fun!
...and here is a little cuteness to inspire you!

Best Shot Monday

here he is, my newest love! i simultaneously can't believe he is here and can't believe i've known him less than a week!
sprout is a sweet, sweet angel. he sleeps ALL THE TIME. as a matter of fact, he is sleeping on my lap right now.

we will say this is my best shot monday for this week. although, i must say that the picture i posted here is probably my real favorite!

for more best shot fun don't forget to stop by tracey's!!

Meeting Brother

several people wanted to know what bean thinks of being a big sister. well, i took this picture when she saw him for the first time. i think it says it all.

she cooed and giggled and loved on him. she wanted to hold and hug and kiss him. she decided that she wouldn't hit him after all.

she is "in love" with her baby brother. how long that will last, i don't know. but so far she hasn't complained or whined about him getting attention. she hasn't gotten upset at me or her daddy. she is a really good helper. everything has gone rather smoothly.
(now picture me frantically knocking on wood)
;)

Sprout's Story

first of all, i'd like to thank everyone who said that they were hoping for a "quick and easy" delivery for me. i don't know who you talked to but they listened! ;) some how, even though sprouty was a full pound and a half bigger and his head was a half inch bigger around, he just came right out like nothin'! so thanks a bunch bloggy friends!!

we arrived at the hospital around 6:30ish. i was registered and put in a gown. got all hooked up to monitors. got i.v. (oh, that was fun, took three tries!) then the nurse checked me. "4 cm... well, almost 5 actually" is what she said. she calls anesthesia to prepare for my epidural. my back really starts to ache and i start to worry that this baby is "sunny side up" too. (but it isn't- thank god!)
they take me to the delivery room. we chat with the nurse as she prepares the room for delivery and we wait for that magical epidural. my nurse is funny and cool- SO unlike my nurse with bean!! i get the epidural and i enjoy the warm fuzzy sensation creeping up my legs. the nurse checks me, i'm a "good 7 cm". woo hoo! "call me if your water breaks", she says as she leaves the room.
mostly now we wait and discuss what to name this child since we still didn't have names picked out. the doctor comes in to introduce herself and to break my water. she is just about as cool and nice as the nurse. (my doctor was on call until 5:00pm so i just missed her) nurse and doctor tell me to call when i start feeling pressure, they will be back in 15-20 minutes. we sit and discuss names again.
the nurse comes back checks me. has me roll to one side for a while. then i roll to the other for a while. fun. i'm almost there according to her. (in my head i think she is full of it- it can't really be that close to being over with!) she checks again. she decides to stretch my cervix- there is just a "lip" left and she figures if she stretches and i push the baby down a little we can get rid of it. so i push a few times for her. she stops and says, "ok, let's push." i'm thinking, "is she for real? i can push now??" it wasn't a joke though. it is time to have a baby.
so, i push through one contraction. there is some intense pressure. the nurse tells me i'm doing a great job and grabs the call button. she needs the doctor now. (that is when it occurs to me that the pressure is the baby crowning! holy crap!)
the doctor comes in and says "how is everything going?" then she looks down at me, smirks and says, "so i bet you're feeling some pressure now!" i start laughing and say "uh, yeah, just a little!" (yes, i was laughing during delivery. crazy!) the doctor gets all set up and then it is go time.
i push through 2 contractions. they tell me i'm almost there. i push again, the head is out. the next contraction i push again, out come the shoulders. the nurse says, "look down, look down." i can see it is a boy before the doctor says anything but my first thought is, "he's huge."

his apgars were 9 and 9. his head was perfectly shaped. he looked great. it was 9:13pm, we hadn't even been at the hospital for a full three hours yet! none of our family made it to the hospital in time. it was all very surreal. wonderful but surreal.

that is the story. it is short and sweet. the exact opposite of my first birth experience. i was not unhappy with my first labor and delivery but it was difficult to say the least. this time was truly a blessing! i couldn't be happier.

It's a......

BOY!

"baby sprout"
march 25th, 9:13pm
8 pounds 9 ounces
20 inches long

thanks for all the well wishes and support! i'll share the story soon i promise... it's seems i'm a little busy right now! ;)

Soon

we will be leaving for the hospital soon. i'm close to reaching my pain thresh-hold... well, at least what i'm willing to let my daughter see. she knows it is supposed to hurt when the baby comes but i really don't want her to see how much it hurts!

contractions are still a little weird. but then again, they were with bean too. big one (lasting about a minute) then around 3 minutes later a smaller one (lasting about (40 seconds) then 2-3 minutes later another bigger one. obviously the "bigger" ones hurt more too.

daddy took a couple of mommy/daughter pictures a few hours ago but i don't have it in me to try to download them right now. sorry, the last hours of "blueberry and bean" will have to be picture-less. when next you see us it really will be blueberry and bean AND little sprout! ....unless of course we get to the hospital and they send me home! ;)

thanks for the well wishes! i'll get back to ya'll as soon as possible!

Last Sprouty Update

yep, this is the last sprouty update before the baby makes its appearance!

soooooo, yeah. today i feel like... uck. that's right, uck! not a word but a sound that best describes what i am currently feeling. i told the doctor that. i also told her that i wasn't sure if i'd had any contractions or not. (seems like if you are having your second kid you would know this, but i guess not.)
anyways, i'm now 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced. (woo hoo!) she pulled my cervix forward again and tried stretching it again to see if that would help move things along. she is fairly certain that i was having a contraction while i was trying to lie down on the exam table. she said she was very pleased with the progress i had made. AND...

she thinks that it is possible that i could have the baby today. that is right people, i said today. of course she has no way of knowing for sure but she said everything looked very favorable and she wouldn't be surprised if she saw me again. whoa!

so, today's doctor visit was a good one..... ok, except for the fact that i weighed in at 201.2 pounds. GAH! darn that easter candy! it gets me everytime!!!! ;)


(don't worry, if i go to the hospital i will let you know. unfortunately, once i'm there i have no way to let you know anything SO i guess you will have to wait 'till i bring sprout home to hear about it. sorry!)

Best Shot Monday

ahhh, the joy one experiences when one discovers that sometimes eggs are plastic and sometimes those plastic eggs contain... m&m's!!! seeing everything again for the first time is one of the greatest joys of having a child. :) and, since it is monday again (already!) we will say that this is my best shot monday.

i tried to take lots of adorable pictures of bean. bean didn't think this was particularly fun. i got pouty pictures, tongue pictures, back of head pictures, and down right silly pictures. sigh. some of them did turn out nice though. she doesn't look happy (she was ready to "hunt eggs NOW") but man does she look sweet clutching that easter bunny!

it was a good easter. we had an egg hunt. bean and i made chocolate chip pancakes (that were dyed pink... i guess i started a "thing" on st. pat's day that i may not be able to stop!). we also had dinner with grandma and grandpa and one of bean's aunts. overall, a nice family day.

this was also bean's last holiday as an only child. did i find it bitter sweet. no. i'm actually a little annoyed that the new member of our family hasn't arrived yet! i was hoping we would have him/her with us this easter... or at least he/she would be born on easter. sorry sprouty, i know you like it in mom's tum but your getting kicked out on thursday!

anyways, i hope you all had a lovely easter weekend! and don't forget to hop on over to tracey's and see what everyone else has to share this monday!

Nope, not yet!

no, sorry folks, no labor yet. just an update:

the induction has been scheduled. it will be thursday march 27th at 8:30 am.

there is and end in sight people! woo hoo!

Gimme a Little Attitude!

i had bean try on her easter dress. i needed to make sure it would fit and all. and she really did like it. she squealed with delight when she saw herself in the "big mirror". she though she looked pretty- which she does, of course.
but when i tried to take a picture, this is what i got...

little stinker!!
she still is darn cute though, isn't she?

Easter Eggs

yesterday (before the fever hit) bean and i dyed easter eggs. she seemed to enjoy it last year so i was really looking forward to doing it again. and since i have no idea when sprout is going to decide to make an appearance, i figured we better get our easter preparations taken care of!

she had quite a lot of fun picking out what colors to make. deciding what mommy should draw and write on each egg was important too. we made and egg with her name, one that said "i love mommy", one that said "i love daddy", one that said "magpie" and one that said "little babers"- because the baby needed an egg too don't you know! it was a good time and a lot less messy than it was last year!

we also learned that yellow and blue make green. she wanted sprout's egg to be green but we hadn't made green dye. so i told her to make it yellow then we'd put it in the blue and see what happened. she was a little skeptical but did what i said. she was quite pleased when the egg turned a soft green color! hooray!

as for the sickies that have hit our house.... bean's fever is basically gone now. she still isn't eating much- i think she may have a stomach ache, but i'm not sure. but i think we are on the mends..... oh gosh, i hope i didn't say that too soon!

The Sickies

bean is officially sick. i really didn't think much of her runny nose when it started on monday. i mean, toddlers get runny noses and 90% of the time it doesn't bother them a bit. i still didn't think anything was terribly amiss when she started coughing monday night. runny noses sometimes have a cough attached to them, especially at night. so no big deal, right?

well, this afternoon, after dying her easter eggs, she sat down with me and snuggled up real close. she felt warm. no, she actually felt hot. oh dear. i hunt down the thermometer. she has a fever- 102.5. lovely! just what i need.

we go to the computer to look at pictures- this usually cheers her up. after a while i notice she is awfully quiet. yep, you guessed it, she was sound asleep. this is a child that DOES NOT nap- EVER. clearly, she is NOT well.

she sleeps fitfully for about an hour. i make her some dinner of which she eats very little. she asks to take a bath. ok. so, she splashes around a bit. then i get her dressed in cozy jammies and try to think of something relaxing to do. i almost suggest tv- even though she has already watched a fair bit today- because i'm at a complete loss. then she says, "mommy, i want to go to bed. i'm tired. i don't feel good."
WHAT??
it was 6:25. she normally goes to bed at 8:00. she has NEVER asked to go to bed- especially not early. she must feel REALLY bad!! so, i started the bed time routine. i turned out her light at 6:50. she has been asleep for close to thirty minutes now.

what now? i'm praying she wakes up feeling better. i'm praying that she sleeps soundly until morning. (and i'm praying that i don't get whatever it is that she has!)

Sprouty Update

well, it is that time of the week again. the time when you find out more about my cervix than you care to know. ;)

anyways, there really isn't much change. i'm now a full 1 cm dilated, still 80% effaced, and baby is still at -1 station. i'm not really encouraged by that. sigh. but at least things changed a little, i guess. the doctor did pull my cervix forward and try to stretch it- and boy did that feel good! ahh!- to see if that would help. i guess we will have to wait and see on that one.

as for the induction it is in the process of being scheduled. it will either be the 25th or the 27th. the reason is the baby seems like it may be big. i had trouble delivering bean (she was delivered via vacuum) and she was only 6 pounds 15 ounces. a bigger baby may present even more difficulties. i really want to avoid a c-section if at all possible so we are going to try it. the doctor also said it is very common to go into labor after scheduling an induction, so we are hoping that sprout decides to come out on his/her own in the next couple of days and i won't even need the appointment. ;)

so that is that. by next week we should be a family of four. wish me luck!! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

happy st. patrick's day everyone! bean and i celebrated with a green breakfast this morning. we had green pancakes and green grapes, yummy! bean loves to cook and was especially excited about stirring the batter after i added the food coloring. she loved watching the batter slowly swirl into the color green. here she is pictured waiting for the pancakes to "bubble" so she can tell me to flip them over. she is a very good helper!

then the very best part- eating the green pancakes!! bean learned that adding green didn't change the pancakes- they still tasted as delicious as always. as a matter of fact, she ate two! :)

this second shot here also shows her "nasty head wound" that she got saturday. it doesn't look like anything at all now. but on saturday (when it happened) it was a doozy! just ask her daddy!!

hope you all have a great st. patty's day AND we'll just call this our best shot monday too while we are at it! ;) stop by tracey's for more best shot fun!!

Sometimes the weekend isn't so relaxing....

it started saturday morning. the husband decided to take the bean to the recycling dumpster with him. woo hoo! i get a little break. she helped him load the car and i... well, i'll be honest, i went back to bed. a while later i hear this from the hall: "um, honey. we had a little accident and need some first aid."
so i stumble into the bathroom then turn back to reach for the girl. i'll say they had an accident! bean's hair, face and coat are covered in blood. delightful, what a way to wake up! so i wash her face and hair with a wash cloth while telling everything is just fine. it is just a little cut but when you cut your head it bleeds a lot because there are lots of blood vessels in your head (yeah, too much information for a 2 1/2 year old, i know. but she was going to ask why and i find it easier to just give her a reason, even if it is one she doesn't really understand completely!) we got a band aid on it and then i took her coat to the laundry room to see if i could get the blood off that.

the story is that daddy was letting bean grab small bags of recyclables from the car and run them to the dumpster where he would lift her up so she could throw them in. she was LOVING it. well, on the way back to the car she tripped and landed smack on her face. apparently we don't have a first aid kit in our car (yeah, we are on top of things aren't we) so the only thing that daddy could find to slow the bleeding was the lambswool padding on the dogs car harness- yes, i'm sure that was oh so clean BUT you gotta do what ya gotta do. then he brought her home for me to deal with.
what i find so odd is that i never freak out when i see blood all over my kid. i just calmly clean her up and talk to her in a soft voice. i would think that i would panic, but i don't. why do you suppose that is??

in "me" news.... the weekend is also much less relaxing when you are nauseas, crampy, and achy all the time. no contractions that i have noticed. just a general feeling of complete yuck that has lasted for about 2 days now.
sprout, if you are listening, it is time to come out! mommy wants to feel good again and having you in my arms instead of my belly is probably the only way that is going to happen!!

Look what bean learned today!

she can make the letter "e"! hooray! the coolest part is that she did it mostly on her own. she drew a line and asked me how to make it into an "e". i told her she had to add three lines and pointed to where they should go. she just went and did it, just like that. of course, a couple times she added a few too many lines or the lines weren't quite in the right spot, but i think this is pretty darn good for a 2 1/2 year old.
why the letter "e" you ask? well, it is the first letter in the name she goes by. i think she wants to write her name. she almost knows how to spell it, so writing it would be the next step i guess.
she is quite proud of herself right now. we had to email this picture to grandma, nana and daddy at work because she wanted to show them her "e's". i'm pretty proud of her too! :)

Good Intentions

good intentions. i'm sure bean was full of good intentions when this conversation occurred.

i was reading her a bed time story when i let out a very large yawn.
"you yawned mommy!" she declared
"i'm sorry honey, mommy is just really tired tonight. i'll try not to do it again, " i reply and start back into the story.
she lays her hand on my leg and says, "don't worry mommy. i'll sleep good tonight. i won't wake up in the night time. i won't wake up too early. i'll sleep good for you." she smiles up at me nodding her head.
"oh honey," i say, "that is so nice of you." i give her a hug and kiss. we finish the story and our bedtime routine. she falls asleep rather quickly.

oh yes, good intentions. but not good follow through....
no, she didn't wake up in the night, but she did wake up at 7:15am. and since she has been sleeping until 8:00am since the time change, 7:15 felt awfully early to mama! i might be yawning at story time again tonight. hmmm, i wonder what she will promise me this time? ;)

GAH!

due to a slight misunderstanding by the husband and a computer error we nearly lost 3 months of pictures of bean a few days ago! OMG!!! i thought i was going to die!
i think i recovered everything. i think. i'm not 100% sure... well, i'm fairly certain that i recovered all the originals- i'm not sure i have all the edited versions. sigh. but the originals are what is important, right?

so, for the past three nights i have reorganized, burned to cd, labeled the cds, and copied to an external hard drive all of bean's photos. this took a while because i was pretty far behind on archiving. (i'm now exhausted) i will not let this happen again! i have a system of sorts in place now- it seems pretty complex compared to what i used to do (which we will call the "deal with it when you have time" system) but i think i can handle it.

public service announcement: i highly recommend that no one else use my former "system" when dealing with their digital photos- unless of course you like having panic attacks. ;)

Baby Love

here is a picture that shows the monstrosity of my tum. admire the hugeness! it weighs a metic ton.... ok, so maybe not but it sure feels like it when i'm lumbering around the house!

bean likes to hug her baby. she talks to her baby. she likes to say, "daddy, look at mommy's big baby belly!!" (gah!) she declared yesterday "i think babers is ready to come out." unfortunately i don't think babers was listening.

i'm not sure she completely understands what life will be like when the baby comes home. she knows it all. baby sprout will sleep in her old crib in her old room. baby's don't talk, they can only cry. baby's don't eat food they only drink "special milk". she will go on and on telling you about all the stuff about babies. my worry is that she won't let daddy help her with anything. when i remind her that the baby will need mommy sometimes and daddy will have to help her she tells me that "daddy can take care of babers and you can take care of me." i have a feeling we are going to have an interesting first few days at home learning how to share mommy...
i'm really not all that worried about how she'll treat the baby. my concern is how she is going to react to me!

Nothing to report

sprout is happy where he/she is apparently. there has been no change at all. everything is exactly the same. it all looks good, of course. but still.....
this is very depressing to me.

i loved being pregnant when i was pregnant with bean. i was happy, relaxed, nothing really bothered me.
this time around- i'm irritable, uptight, impatient, and totally stressed out. everything is much more uncomfortable. i yell at my daughter over ridiculous things and then feel horrible. i'm so tired and cranky and i take it out on my husband. gah! i'm really starting to dislike myself.

you would think i would be getting nervous about the baby coming. you know, how to handle two kids at once and all that, but i'm not. i just want it over. i know it is only 16 days 'til my due date but that seems like a life time to me. is that pathetic or what?!?

so, we wait. we wait for a week and see what (if anything) happens.
yeah, waiting sucks.

Fort!

yesterday there was no school here (because of the snow, obviously) so daddy was home. when daddy plays you get to do things you don't normally get to do, like build snow forts!

i was tired and had to make dinner so i didn't get to enjoy the outdoor play this time. i had no idea what they were going to do but i was ever so curious when they went into the garage to "look for something". turns out they just needed a "mold" to build their fort and a bucket worked perfectly. i'm SO glad i made daddy take the camera out with him. othewise i never would have gotten to experience this! see that little face peeking out! akkk, i might die from the cuteness of it all!! ha!

i'm so glad they went out to play yesterday. the snow is melting quickly. the temperatures will be in the 40's today and tomorrow and in the 50's on thursday. sigh. our yard will be back to muddy swamp land and my house filled with muddy dog and toddler prints in no time at all!

Best Shot Monday

here is my best shot of the week. bean in her butterfly princess dress and wings. it is a little blurry, but i think that it makes the picture better. a bit more on the dreamy side, perhaps?

it is hard to get her to dress up. she would rather throw all the clothes on the floor and play in the empty box. i sometimes wonder why that is. maybe she is "too busy" to bother with the clothes. maybe she doesn't think she needs to dress up to pretend? i don't know. what i do know is she looks simply adorable when she does dress up and i feel like i must take pictures. you know, to hold that moment forever....

if you want to see what every one else is up to this monday, stop by tracey's and check it out!

Oooooh! Pretty!

what do you think of the new look?? my friend mommee (who is obviously very cool) did this for me in her free time. free time!! i don't know where she found that! all i did was ask her to teach me how to do it and a couple weeks later i get this in my email! isn't she just the coolest!

thanks so much!!! i love it! i feel so much cooler now!

now, mommee, in a few weeks we will have to add pictures of sprout ya know.... ;)

She LOVES it!!

well, i took bean out and threw her into the snow for a photo op..... she didn't want me to take her out! she loved being in the snow up to her waist! she kept reaching down into the snow and throwing it up into the air. she was giggling uncontrollably. every time we pulled her out she wanted thrown right back in. it was pretty fun watching her and hearing her voice echo across the whole neighborhood.

later in the day, daddy helped bean make some delicious snow ice cream. we added chocolate syrup and peanuts, yummy!! sometimes daddy does have some pretty great ideas. ;)

we took the yard stick out to the the most level portion of the yard and took a reading of 15 inches. the deepest drift we measured was 28 inches. it was still snowing at this point so i think it is pretty safe to say we got at least another inch, if not more. it is the most snow we've seen in a long while- especially in MARCH. ;)

we went outside twice yesterday. and you know, as soon as she woke up this morning, bean was ready to go out again! so, it looks like we are playing in the snow today. hope you are all having a fun weekend!!

Winter Storm!

this is the magpie looking at me saying. "holy crap woman! i know you said it was snowing but HONESTLY! how am i supposed to go to the bathroom?!?!? heck, how am i supposed to get to the yard?!"
poor magpie! i guess i'm going to have to drag daddy out to dig you a path to a place you can "do your business"!

yeah, we got a march "blizzard". the winds are not quite strong enough to be a real blizzard but when you open your back door and find a drift this big you can call it whatever you want! ;) you can also see that the snow is still falling steadily so it isn't over yet! i really want to bundle the bean up and drop her into the snow for a few pictures! how funny would that be!

here are a couple more shots- one that shows how deep that drift of snow really is and one that shows how much the snow is blowing....

oh and a big happy birthday to mommee- she turns 25 today! and boy, i'm sure she is really happy about all the snow she got as her gift! he he he!

Snow...

the snow started. it is blowing. it is getting a little slick on the roads.

we are expecting blizzard conditions, 8-15 inches of snow accompanied by some pretty strong winds, over the next 24 hours or so. so, what do you want to bet i go into labor tonight? wouldn't that be FUN! i don't feel like i'm going to but, you just never know....

the fact that i said to my mother a month ago "watch we will have a blizzard in march and that is when i will have the baby!" makes me worry just a wee bit! ;) ha!

Sprout....

after saturday's post a few of you wanted to know what i thought about sprout's gender. do i think sprout is a boy or girl? hmmmm.

to be honest, i really don't have any idea. i've spent 90% of this pregnancy referring to the baby as a "she". does that mean anything? probably not. i mean, i have a little girl and a female dog. my guess is that saying "she" is just a habit. the fact that when i imagine the baby it is a girl is probably for a similar reason.

i don't dream about the baby. i had one baby related dream with bean and 2 with sprout. all the rest of my dreams are weird and involve lots of people from my past mixed with people from my present (that have never met). it is quite odd. my baby related dreams involve me being pregnant and having the baby kick me and you can clearly see the shape of the foot coming out of the side of my belly. creepy! so, you see, i haven't dreamed the gender of the baby either.

something somewhere inside me keeps me thinking girl though. but that could just be the fact that both bean and her father have expressed interest in this child being a girl and i don't want to disappoint them. (yeah, can you believe that daddy has actually said he wanted another girl!) to be honest, i guess i have to say that part of me really wants another girl too. would i be sad if i had a boy, no! but gosh, i love being the mommy to a little girl!

if you ask our family.... i think 90% of them will tell you boy. but i think that is because there are no grandsons/nephews on either side of the family and they all just want one. ;)

i'm trying to keep my mind neutral at this point. i don't want to find myself in tears in the delivery room because the baby isn't who i thought i wanted them to be. (obviously, god is giving us the baby that we are supposed to have!) whoever is in my belly is perfect the way they are and we will love him/her with all of our hearts! we will just have to wait a little longer to find out "who" they really are. :)

so there you have it. a wishy washy post in which i say virtually nothing! ha! but if you have any advice (especially if you have experience with this!) on the decision i have to make (from this post) feel free to leave a comment. thanks!!

Beautiful Day

yesterday was a beautiful day. yesterday it was 65 degrees. bean tried to do the tricycle again. she still can't really do it. she is getting real close to learning to peddle though. we also did some chalk drawings and took some of bean's babies out for a stroll. it was nice.
except for the wind. bean does not like the wind blowing her hair around. she doesn't want hair on her face. she kept asking me to hold her hair down while we were drawing and walking her babies in their stroller. ;) silly girl!

today it is currently 31 degrees. it is also raining- a lot. my backyard looks like swamp land.
bean could not figure out why she couldn't wear a short sleeve shirt and her "hoodie-hood" today. why on earth should she have to wear her winter coat?!?!

don't you just love it when the weather plays with your kids mind?

Weekly Sprout Update

i'm back from the o.b. not much to report. you guys didn't do a very good job on that homework i gave you... you were supposed to send me dilation and effacement vibes!! ;)

baby appears very healthy still, even though there has definitely been a decrease in movement. seems sprout is running out of room. heart rate is still in the 150's.

pretty much no change for me though. still less than a centimeter dilated and baby is still sitting at -1. the only change to note is that i'm now 80% effaced. i'm pretty bummed. why? i don't know. i was hoping for a little more progress. i shouldn't be surprised though. when pregnant with bean i was 2 cm and 80% for a whole month. why do i think things should be so much different this time around??

as for induction, i can't be induced before 39 weeks- no medical reason to do so at this point. so the earliest it can be done is march 20th. the only other day available is my due date. so, now i have to decide. do i want induced? if the answer is yes- do i want to try to go early or do i want to wait and evict sprout on his/her due date?
hmmmmmmmm........ i guess i have a week to figure it out.

seriously, my next appointment is in a week. remember, think dilation and effacement! :)

Best Shot Monday

here is a shot of "super bean" from the past week. who knew that blankie was so versatile? i mean, it is great for sleeping with, helping you stop crying, and companionship while watching tv BUT who knew it also made a great cape?! she ran around the house for quite a while with that soft white blankie tied around her neck. then she needed a rest (plus blankie had come untied and was starting to fall off!) and i got this shot. nothing amazing but it is a sweet shot. maybe the last time she plays "super bean" as an only child?

that has popped into my mind several times in the past week. "this could be the last time we do (insert activity) before the baby comes." "this could be the last time she (insert another activity) as an only child." it isn't a sad thought. it is exciting to know that baby sprout will be here before too much longer. it is another chapter in our lives and i can't wait to start it!!

as always, don't forget to stop by tracey's and see what everyone else has been up to. you won't be disappointed!! :)

Oh dear.....

oh i really did it this morning! i accidentally referred to sprout as a "him". this upset my little bean quite a bit.
"no mommy, babers is a girl! you called her "him", him's are boys," she tells me.
"honey, we don't know what baby is. baby might be a girl or baby might be a boy. we won't know until the baby comes out," i gently explain.
"i think babers is a girl," she says.
"well, what will you do if baby comes out and is a boy?"
"i probably will hit him," she says. (what?!?! this is a surprise. she doesn't hit and knows we have rules about hitting.)
"no, you cannot hit the baby. that isn't nice. and it isn't the baby's fault that you didn't get what you want. we don't get to choose what kind of baby we get. i think that you will love a brother just as much as a sister," i tell her.
"i don't think so mommy. i want a sister girl baby."

the conversation went on like this for several more minutes. i finally just gave up. she won't stop expressing animosity for the possible baby brother in mommy's tummy. her mind is made up, baby IS a girl and there is no changing it.
you don't think she'd really hit the baby, do you? nah, she'll love the baby once she sees it...... right?

A coloring story.

"what? i have marker on my forehead? how could that possibly be? markers are for paper. i only put them on paper, mommy. honest! there is no way that i have gotten bright pink marker on my face. that would look ridiculous, and i am certainly not ridiculous! really mother, how could you suggest such a thing? me putting marker on my face, HA! good joke. now stop taking pictures of me and let me color in peace!"

yes, my girl you have marker on your face. how did it get there? hmmmm, i don't know. but does this picture give you any ideas?? yeah, that's what i thought! ;)

by the way, she says that picture is supposed to be daddy. he is a handsome devil, isn't he? tee he he! my favorite part is that she gave him blue eyes, which is basically true... it is just that she made one about 10 times bigger than the other! ;) i swear he isn't a mutant!!! he he he!

Feelin' Crafty

bean and i have been crafty lately! ok, it isn't always fun to do crafts with a two year old. they can't do a lot of the steps and they don't always listen to what you say. so, frustration is part of the game. BUT for some reason it is only frustrating to me, bean seems to really enjoy it.

craft one: vase of flowers. empty pringles can decorated with construction paper, peel and stick wonderfoam flowers and crayons. flowers made by tracing child's hand, wraping the wrist part of the hand around a pipe cleaner and gluing (use two different colors of pipe cleaners twisted together if you want your stem and stamen different colors), and curling back the fingers. add leaves if wanted.
i think this one turned out WAY cuter than i ever thought possible!! i LOVE our vase of fake flowers!

craft two: toilet paper roll bunnies. easy peasy. paint tubes desired color. glue on ears, faces, tails... whatever deco you want. daddy thinks that we made too many. he claims it looks like a small easter army is occupying our family room! what a goof!

bean is ready to start another project. she wants to make ducks, hmmmm. i'll let you know how it goes. ;)

Sprouty-kins Update!

i'm back from my appointment so it is once again time for your sprout update!

uterus measuring a little big this time (37 weeks when i'm actually barely 36 weeks). heart rate great (still in the 150's). got my group b strep test done.
and........
i'm about 1/2 cm dilated, 50% effaced and the baby is at -1 station.
being induced during week 39 is a possibility. (bean got stuck coming out and they nearly had to do a c-section. they don't want me to go over my due date and have a TOO BIG baby. plus doctor is going out of town 3 days after my due date.) i'm sure you realize this doesn't make me sad. although it would feel weird knowing my baby's birthday in advance....

let me tell you, i can tell the baby moved down! it is pushing against my pelvic bones all the time. talk about uncomfortable! ok, down right painful at times! i was hoping for a little more action "down there", but i'm one day away from being 36 weeks so i guess it is a good start.

OH and the other good news..... I LOST ONE WHOLE POUND!! (believe me this is nothing to worry about since i've gained around 35 pounds total so far) he he he! :)

so, next appointment in a week! remember your homework- think dilation and effacement!!!

Best Shot Monday

good monday to ya!

i actually didn't take any pictures this week. that is VERY unlike me! so, i guess i will have to share a photo from last weeks dress up session. here is the firefighter checking out her beads. you know that firefighters need to look good when they are on duty, right? ;)

she is fun to photograph when she is in front of the mirror. she makes such interesting faces AND she doesn't seem to realize that when she turns her back on me i can still see her face in the mirror. which means i can actually get a picture with her face in it! hooray!

have a great week!! and don't forget to stop by tracey's and see what everyone else has to share!!

Again?!

another true conversation.

"would you like to take a bath, sweetie?" i ask.

"yes, mommy i would love to take a bath!" she declares before adding, "BUT don't wash my hair."

"oh, how 'bout i wash it just a little?"

"ok," she says turning towards the bathroom, "but i might freak."

(she might freak?!?!? what the?!?!)


*in case you are wondering she didn't freak... just some mild panic during the rinse cycle. ;)

Another one of those moments

i go in to the bathroom. i close the door. i hear little feet in the hall. the door opens. bean prances in. she stops and just stares at me.

"whacha doing?" i ask her.
"pestering you!" she declares.

ohhhh-kaaaaaay...

Uh...No!

in the last 24 hours these are the names bean has suggested for sprout:
girl: gladys
boy: clifford
girl: oval
boy: triangle
and...

"maybe just o", she says
"the letter 'o'?" i ask.
"yes, just the letter o," she replies with a smile.

her name choices keep getting weirder. others she has provided recently have been "baked beans", "bunt cake", "pink", and "bowl".

she is now officially banned from helping name the baby. ;)

A Bright Spot...

she needs me to do everything for her. she needs me to do everything with her. she claims she doesn't "like daddy". she will turn into a shrieking banshee if he tries to help her with even the simplest task. there is nothing that i have been able to do or say that has changed this for the better.... as a matter of fact it has only gotten worse.
so it was very refreshing to witness this sunday morning.

awwwwww! sweet, huh? ...even though it makes her a total liar! ;) but it is good to know she does love her daddy- some of the time.

Nothing...

i'm sure there are tons of things i could say. i mean bean is a wacky kid and does all sorts of story worthy stuff, but i just don't feel like putting forth the effort. i'm tired. i'm sad. i'm lonely. i don't feel good physically or mentally. i don't have fun playing with my child anymore. i'm no fun to be around. all i do is look for blogs to read. when you haven't updated i just read the comments others have left for you. i'm living through you people. that probably isn't good...
so, i'm not going to blog unless i really have something good to say. you shouldn't have to listen to me whine, who wants to read that? no one! anyways, i didn't want you to think i went and had the baby early or something.... i mean, i would write about that, that is blog worthy! see ya'll later...............

Hearts to You!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

bean, the magpie, sprout and i (oh, and i guess daddy too) would like to wish you all a very happy valentine's day. one filled with love, happiness, and lots of chocolate candies! mmmmm, chocolate!
hope it is a great day!

Dressy Bean

soooo, i finally got bean to put on some dress up clothes!!!! yes, and it was oh so much fun. she didn't really care for it until i took her to the mirror.... then she turned into a total ham! she stood in front of that mirror making faces, giggling, jumping around, dancing, and kissing herself. she even did a little singing. it was too cute not to take pictures, of course.

this here is the "fashionable pirate" look. because you know, girl pirates should wear feather boas, pearls, and sparkling shoes! :) we also had the "princess witch" look. that consisted of a black and orange witch dress, pink tiara, purple and white feather boa, and white feather fan. she also tried out the "pretty firefighter" (firefighter coat with several strand of beads) and the "butterfly clown" (clown outfit with butterfly princess wings... oh, and a huge plastic ring). they were all pretty funny!

i wish i got good pictures of all the outfits. she just wouldn't hold still. too much running, and jumping (and giggling on my part) to stay in frame!! maybe next time i can get a good picture of "elmo girl".... that is who she is right now. sprinting around in her elmo costume, several strings of beads, purple pajama pants and, of course, red sparkle shoes!

Sprout!

ahh, yes i had an appointment today.
everything is still just fine. still measuring good. still has a heart rate in the 150's. still kicking at the doctor while she is trying to find the heartbeat.

i didn't enjoy the weigh in. i gained A LOT this time. i'm feeling particularly crappy and so have been over compensating with food and BOY DOES IT SHOW. i'm not sure i can keep it under 200 pounds this pregnancy. you think that would whip me into shape and make me eat better, etc. no, it just makes me want to eat a pan of brownies. sigh. clearly i'm a little self destructive.

next appointment in 2 weeks- 36 week check.... let's hope for some dilation and effacement kids. mama loves her little sproutling but is really getting ready to get him/her OUT. ;)

Best Shot Monday

didn't take a lot of quality photo's this week but here is a shot of bean at the children's museum. they had a section of wall covered with these mirrors and she really seemed to enjoy looking at herself in them!
the children's museum was fun. they had a huge room completely full of sand, a room with a large water table, and another area with a grocery store, bank, hospital, house, bus, and car for the kids to play in. the sand was the best part according to her. :) a good time was had by all, i believe!

have a great monday, and don't forget to stop by tracey's and check out what everyone else was up to this past week!!

Cooperation

bean wanted to play but she really hasn't gotten the hang of peddling yet. her stubby little legs (that she got from both her parents) just barely get her little feet to the peddles, so pushing them around is an issue. she was doomed to lose every game....
until her cousin had this solution to the problem. the two of them figured this out all on their own. bean manned the handle bars and cousin issy manned the peddles. hooray for cooperation!

Mama's Girl

ok, this sucks. i am going out to dinner with a friend tonight. this is like the first time in over a year i'm going out with someone other than my husband and child. i was really looking forward to it. daddy planned this great evening for the two of them- her favorite restaurant, a trip to the pet store, etc. so, 10 minutes ago she decided that she wasn't cool with this plan. she needed mommy to go with her. according to her, daddy could go eat with mommy's friend and mommy could take her out for pizza. i did everything i could but it was useless. daddy just dragged her from the house bawling. "no, i want mommy!" she was screaming as they left. huge tears pouring down her face.
i feel bad. not that i'm going out without her, i'm still cool with that part of the plan. i just know that daddy's feelings had to be at least a little hurt. i know mine would have been.

Running Bean

here is bean doing one of her favorite things, running on the porch. sounds weird huh? her favorite thing is that i'm waiting at the end to catch her in a giant hug. she did this about 20 times yesterday after our walk. i had to tell her "no more" because my back was starting to ache!

it was strangely warm here yesterday. mid 50's in february is not really normal! and today is warmer... i was woken up by a thunder storm this morning, huh? we don't usually get those in the winter time!

i'm crabby, cranky, and otherwise irritable. not a good mommy day for me. sigh. i've been having a lot of those lately. i keep hoping the next day will be better, but... you know. fortunately bean seems fairly resilient. i'm still the one she wants- for EVERYTHING- so i guess she isn't too mad at me... yet.

Best Shot Monday

i finally got one! after days of chasing bean around with the camera i finally got her to sit still long enough for me to take a decent picture. (we needed a good picture because we are crafting our valentine's cards soon and they require a photo).

she is lying on the floor talking to her daddy. (see, you need some sort of distraction to keep her from running or covering her face when she sees the camera come out.) so, that sweet little face was all for daddy. awww.

hope you all had a great weekend! and remember to stop by tracey's and see what everyone else is sharing today.

Big...

you know you are just too hugely pregnant when your pants routinely slide down as you are waddling around. i officially have one pair of pants that don't have to be hiked up every 5 minutes. one pair. 52 days and one pair of comfortable pants.... oh good grief! ;)

Stealing Daddy's Candy

tonight bean decided to try some of daddy's candy. he was eating pop rocks. she really wanted some so of course we gave her some!

she liked it at first. then she didn't like it. then she asked for more. then she said she didn't like it. then she said she didn't want anymore but she was going to stick out her tongue and i could put some on it! then, of course, she didn't like it AGAIN. she ate an awful lot of the stuff for not liking it! ;)

i was hoping for some crazy reaction from her when the candy hit her tongue. candy that pops and fizzes in your mouth, you think that would freak a two year old right out. no, not so much. it was pretty cute though. she'd sit there and be all smiling while you could hear the candy fizzing in her mouth, then suddenly both her hands would fly up and cover her mouth. she would stare at us with big eyes and say, "i don't like it". then, 30 seconds later, she wanted more! what a turkey!