the swing of things

We finally seem to have settled into somewhat of a schedule around here (right in time for MAJOR upheaval, right?) now that we're not only done with winter semester, but soccer camp and swimming lessons are over. I must say, I'm loving it. My favorite bits? The fact that the girls will play calmly together for half an hour right after breakfast so that I have time to exercise and read my scriptures (simultaneously. Love the treadmill). The ridiculous amount of time that we have to spend reading stories. The freedom to go for walks and play on the swings. The cozy mornings where we sit at the table and color pictures for each other or mash Play-Doh around (or learn the finer points of painting, i.e. this is not lipstick, Juliet). The joy of looking forward to our regularly scheduled outings--whether to the library or a friend's house. Doing chores together--it really is satisfying for me to see how eagerly the girls seize the chance to make beds, dust furniture, and fold their own clothes (oh, how I wish that enthusiasm would last another fifteen years!) Quiet time, where Jules naps, Abigail reads, and I write storyboards as fast as I can. Making dinner together and the occasional "hold it together until Neil's home" last half hour.

I like these days.

progress!

doctor's visit this morning:

• losing weight
• 1.5 cm dilated
• 50% effaced
• baby at zero station

such a relief to be progressing, even though there are still 3 weeks to go.

37 weeks (almost)

Another belly shot--we're getting closer. Which is good because I feel enormous, and my foot is seriously swelling like mad.

Don't believe me? Feast your eyes on this, which is what my foot looked like when I took my sandal and Ace bandage off after church. GROSS. Like that big puffy thing between where the sandal ends and the bandage began? For the record, my feet are usually the kind where you can see every vein and tendon.

the moment i wake up

I have an alarm clock.

Its name is Juliet.

Today it went off at 6:48 a.m. Cries of "I fell out my bed!" rapidly changed to "Milk sippy!" (hence the picture, which is the first I saw of Jules today) and then to an explanation (directed at Neil) of the fact that she had a baby in her tummy (also pictured), and it is a "gull" named "eee hare."

Your guess is as good as mine.

victory!

I just finished the first draft of a 41-page storyboard for a client (an enormous branched module dealing with arthritis, overview of joint replacement, specifics of 3 types of hip replacement, 3 types of knee replacement, shoulder replacement, and caregiver info).

I feel that deserves an announcement.

and I think I am going to buy a new computer chair. this one is worthless.

now back to my real, post-naptime life. Juliet needs a diaper change.

today

bananas, scriptures, long walk, laundry, play-doh, garden, puzzles, goldfish, dusting, apples, fingerpaints, naptime writing writing fast, playing "chickens," photography, storytime, dollies, chicken gyros, daddy's almost home.

wednesday.

is this working?

grateful...

abigail's latest haircut--cute, but I still hope it grows quickly because I miss all the clouds of blonde fluff.

...that Neil vacuumed the house and mopped the kitchen before he left for work this morning. That man, I tell you.

...that Abigail looked at her plate at breakfast this morning and said, "Mom, you are just great!" (a justifiable response for fresh whole-wheat waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream)

...that we had time to go on an "adventure" today. we rode the public buses down to the bus garage and through the bus car wash. the kids thought it was awesome.

...that a random stranger told me "you are just so beautiful." things like that are always nice to hear, but even more so when you have small children in tow and you feel of elephantine proportions.

...that my new digital photography class starts tonight. hurray!!

ps comments are back on. sorry about that--I was feeling sulky one day.

the whys and wherefores

So I feel like I should explain why I don't really feel like blogging lately (I'm tired of whining), and also how my little sisters are the best ever (read on).

Today I was feeling pretty miserable. Everything has been hurting lately. I have all the characteristic pregnancy symptoms that have NEVER bothered me before--morning sickness, my back hurts, my shoes won't fit because my foot is so swollen, I can't sleep because the baby's kicking so hard, my joints hurt so much that if I don't exercise first thing in the morning before the girls are up, it's not likely to happen that day. All that fun stuff.

So today I went to the doctor really hoping to hear great news about things progressing along. Unfortunately, while the baby is between a -1 and a 0 station already (!!), I haven't dilated at all (I was a 1 at this point with Juliet) and I'm 30% effaced. The best thing I can say about itis that at least I haven't gained any weight, because I am depressed about my weight gain (I started out weighing less than with either previous pregnancy, and I've already gained as much weight as I did with Juliet. Although with Jules I lost 4 lbs right at the end, so hopefully this will happen again, rather than going up another 6 lbs and hitting my total weight gain with Abigail).

In any case, I felt fairly glum about that, plus we had a huge list of grocery essentials, and I had to finish changing all the sheets when we got home from the store. So I dragged through the grocery store (heavy cart, heavier Juliet), finished up 3 loads of laundry with lots of help from the girls (they really are great helpers!), fed everyone lunch, read stories, and then sat down to indulge in some good self-indulgent misery time. And then the dratted doorbell rang right when Juliet was finally quiet, and I made faces at the door which I was guessing concealed the neighbor kids who had yet again kicked a football into our garden and wanted me to go retrieve it.

Let me tell you, this was the absolute perfect day for a package from my darling little sisters to arrive from Utah, full of sweet little funny notes and for-no-reason presents like jelly sandals for the girls, some adorable clothes for the baby, and some foot-pampering delights for Neil and I (lucky Neil. :-)) Thank you, girls. You saved me today. Seriously, you are the best. I miss you so much!

still here...just too much real life going on to spend much time in the blogosphere. but since a number of people have been checking in to see if I had the baby or something exciting like that, I thought I'd better post. (although I did get to spend the afternoon in the hospital on Monday having a bunch of scans done to check for blood clots and pre-eclampsia, nothing happening on the baby front yet! thank goodness).

happy father's day!

hello, monday

We had a really lovely weekend. We made cherry jam, grape jelly, and apple jelly as a family (so grateful that it was nice enough outside so that we could work out there and just hose everyone off afterwards) on Saturday morning and went to the pool Saturday afternoon. Oh, and Neil built a diaper sprayer (hurray for the engineer!!!) that makes diaper changes immeasurably easier.

The downside to all this loveliness is that all my swelling in the leg where I had all the vascular repair with the hernia surgery (which I was hoping was just weather-related) is back with a vengeance--yesterday it was bad enough that my arch was too swollen to walk much, and my leg was starting to go numb. Neil spent (literally, not exaggerating) four hours rubbing my foot and ankle last night, and managed to get the swelling down enough so that I could sleep. Blessed man.

So this morning I have a semi-emergency appointment with my surgeon and another this afternoon with my OB--hopefully I don't have to have more vascular repair or anything exciting like that. Or have my activity restricted even further. Now I just have to puzzle-piece the rest of my day around those two: visiting teaching appointment, swimming lessons, trip to the grocery store, etc.

On the bright side--in another seven weeks I'm hoping to be running again (slowly, yes, but running nonetheless!)

weekend plans:

• party for our little people and their friends so that our friends can have a date
• weed the garden
• make jam (outside as much as possible, 'cause I don't feel like cleaning a sticky kitchen and sticky children)
• go to the pool

can't wait!! it's been a long long long week.

what are you looking forward to this weekend?

great giveaway!

My uber-talented blogging friend Danielle always has the most creative and gorgeous ideas. Right now she's hosting a giveaway for this bonnet (pattern for sale in her etsy shop).

So darling, although her little girl Avery just might be cuter than the bonnet!

this is real life

waking up earlier than you'd like, getting the kids dressed, cramming in a fast workout and shower before your husband leaves, juggling washing the breakfast dishes with laundry and arriving playdates, trying to answer client emails while everyone is momentarily occupied while also putting on makeup, finally sitting down to breakfast (almost 3 hours after waking up) only to have one child inform you they need a diaper change, spending ten minutes cleaning up the particularly foul diaper only to walk back into the kitchen and realize that half of your oatmeal was eaten by the Juliet in your absence and the other half used to paint the kitchen. liberally.

welcome to the trenches.

oh and it's raining.

meditations

I've done fifteen hours of editing in the last week. It doesn't sound like much until you think about cramming it into the few precious hours when the kids are asleep--and after a day packed full of our regular chores, swimming lessons, storytime, working in the garden, exercising, coloring, etc. And a week that has also included a temple trip, hosting the missionaries for dinner, preparing a lesson for Enrichment, making dinner for the homeless shelter, and watching far too many episodes of The Office after some friends loaned us the third and fourth season. Hence the lack of much activity in the blogging world.

Too bad Neil is playing basketball right now, 'cause right now I could really go for The Office, a couple of fresh peaches, and a foot rub (my poor damaged vascular system is not holding up to pregnancy well, despite all the surgical repairs).

But life goes on, and meanwhile I can laugh at Juliet eating peas right off the vine (she's the perfect height to walk up and start munching!), Neil's description of how they caught a spider in the lab and checked it out under a microscope to ascertain whether it was indeed a brown recluse (can't you just imagine all these focused doctoral students crowded around?), and Abigail's prayer to "please bless Mommy so it doesn't hurt her to bend over" (to pick up toys, presumably?) And being really, really, really grateful that we have an ingrained habit of reading stories every day, because those breaks on the couch are totally saving my aching joints. Relishing tiny little moments of joy like the ten minutes I spent with the kids stripping cilantro leaves off the stems. Something tiny and insignificant, but so heart-warming to see how eagerly they both volunteered to help and how diligently they worked.

These things are good.

cloth update

Since a bunch of people have asked, here's how I feel after a week about the cloth diapers.

Loving them.

Yes, it's a little more work. Mostly just running another load of laundry every couple of days. I've been really impressed by a) how well the diapers hold everything in and b) how clean they get in the wash--not a sight or a scent of a stain. (I'm doing a cold soak, cold rinse, then adding a little Tide Free and Clear and running a hot wash/cold rinse, then air-drying the covers). But it isn't gross--actually, I would say that the "stinky" diapers aren't nearly as noticeable odor-wise as with disposable diapers. (and believe me, I've had plenty of chances to test this theory out.) I was really amazed to see how things just sort of...peeled right off (and btw, did you know that it's technically illegal to not dispose of the waste in disposable diapers in the toilet before dropping them in the trash? I certainly didn't).

In addition to the Fuzzibunz, we also ordered some prefolds and wraps (the Try-it Kit from cottonbabies.com) and I have really liked those. In fact, the prefold lasts just fine through Juliet's nap, which is great because those are much, much, much cheaper. So right now we have 2 Fuzzibunz, 6 prefolds, and 2 wraps, which is about enough to get us through one day. I ordered three bumGenius today and I'm planning to order another lot of prefolds and wraps so that I can do laundry about every other day.

Juliet has really taken to the new diapers--I must say that she's much more compliant about diaper changes now when she's had the chance to pick out the panda bear cover over the froggies, etc. And I really think her little backside looks darling in all the fun colors and patterns (seriously, have you checked out how adorable cloth diapers are? Totally stylish). I was a little worried about how much more frequently I'd have to change her, but it hasn't been much of an issue at all--I change her about every 2-3 hours during the day, depending on how much she's drinking, and then she's gone up to 13 hours at night.

The only thing I'm not crazy about is the fact that I haven't yet mastered the art of folding the prefolds so they don't leave little red marks over her backside, and they tend to bunch up a bit between her legs. The Fuzzibunz don't have this problem, but then again, each diaper is $18 more. Juliet doesn't seem to care, so I don't know if it's just me being neurotic or if it really makes a difference. And depending on how I do the fold (standard three-fold vs. bikini twist) her shorts don't fit as well (bikini twist works best, but has the drawback of occasionally leaking a bit onto the cover--but it's never made it through to her clothes). I'm also liking the velcro wraps better than the snaps on the Fuzzibunz--just a bit more user-friendly. The one thing I really do love about the Fuzzibunz is they're basically just like a disposable diaper--it takes me a grand total of 20 seconds to change a diaper, whereas the prefolds and wraps require a bit more finesse for a novice like me (a minute or two per change, depending on how wiggly Jules is).

Anyway, I'm really liking the switch. And here's a little secret I haven't told Neil (are you reading this, honey?)...I really don't care whether it saves money or not (although it certainly will). The more I learn about cloth diapering, the more I wish I would have done it earlier, and the more I wish I'd even known it was an option. Super easy, kind to the backside (who wouldn't want to have a nice little layer of microfleece?), and guilt-free.

i love my job

Q: Why is being a stay-at-home mom awesome?

A: Because you have the time (and the opportunity) to watch your kids wake up from naps. To

gently rub tiny shoulders. To smooth sleep-tousled damp curls. To watch little hazel eyes open up, and have chubby arms thrown around your neck in drowsy delight. To hear a little voice chirp, "I hadda good seep, Mommy. What we do now, huh? Yuv you."

roundup

• we're headed up to the temple tomorrow. I am really looking forward to this, because we haven't been able to go in a LONG time (some pipes burst in the winter and it was closed for awhile for repair; then I got to be out of commission for awhile following surgery). I can't even tell you how excited I am, especially after all the great Conference talks on the blessings of the temple. I'm also excited because we're going up overnight so it's a less rushed and more peaceful experience, and what's not to love about a hotel suite with a pool (thank you, Priceline).
• we tried the first cloth diaper last night. Juliet was SO excited, and I was pretty happy with the performance of the diaper--it did leak a little, but then again, it was on her for 13.5 hours (we did bedtime early last night, because it was that kind of day) and I forgot to stuff the soakers more towards the front, because she's a total stomach sleeper. In any case, the fleece liner and Juliet were totally dry (and the soakers were definitely not). Thus far, I am optimistic--I think the next shipment should arrive today (we decided to try out prefolds and wraps too) so I'm looking forward to giving those a spin too.
• our garden is growing like CRAZY. we keep having thunderstorms, and every night it seems like the peas have grown 6 inches and the tomatoes are trying to break free of their cages. already.
• we have also had tornadoes, and all the fun weather means that my left foot has been swelling like crazy. I think this is probably due to some of the vascular repair that the surgeon did along with the hernia removal, but it was sure a relief when the weather cleared up and I could see the veins and tendons in my foot again.
• I'm doing some editing work again--I kind of had a dry spell there for awhile, so it was a relief when on the day I got my last paycheck from the university, I also got a call asking me to take on a fairly large project. I really do like editing--for one thing, it's always nice to have a measurable accomplishment at the end of the day that stays done (unlike laundry).
• speaking of measurable accomplishments--I finished up my 8 weeks of meal plans and grocery lists for the months after the baby is born. enormous relief. and I've made 3 of the 15 planned freezer meals, so we're on a roll!

call me biased...

...but I think these two are pretty dang cute.