Ramblings

My mind is full of busy thoughts, worries, lists and general clutter.  I feel like I need to clean it out here on this blogging page.  So here goes.

• I registered at the hospital today.  Is this really happening?  Baby #2?  It took 15 minutes to get there.  With the way Jason drove last time to the hospital, I bet it will take 5.
• How is it that I could possibly love this next child as much as Silas?  Sounds horrible, but how does love expand?  This kid fills my heart so much...is there really room for another?
• We are still finishing tiling our kitchen.  Phew.  Lot of work these home renovations.  It's looking good though (see pictures below).
• We met with the pastor today about leading a small group this fall.  Ummm.  Do we REALLY have time?  I'm excited though to see Jason teaching and leading again and I love hostessing...
• September starts tomorrow.  That's crazy!  I look forward to a lot this fall though!  Visitors, swimming lessons, leaves, crisp air, women's breakaway, helping lead my first kidswap!  Fun. Stuff.
• I need to spend more time with God.  I always 'mean' to, but rarely find the time.  How do I NOT have time?  I need to make time.
• Somehow, we need to finish our New Testament seminary course by November.  That's funny.
• Silas makes me laugh every day.  He is a little chatter box, saying anything and everything we say.  He is starting to get an imagination too.  He drew a little picture for me (of scribbles) and when I asked what it was, he said "a dog!"  He makes engine noises and says "airplane."  He loves sticks, rocks, and just roaming outside.  We spend HOURS walking the lovely toddler pace just exploring the neighborhood every day. He is definitely. A. Boy.
• But what is the next baby?  Is IT A BOY OR GIRL?  This is driving me a little crazy.  Why did we choose to let it be a surprise again?
• We are camping this weekend and I'm excited.  The best part?  Trying to fit 4 adults, 1 child, and 3 days worth of 'stuff' in our vehicle.  HA!  
• Our tomato plants are SO close to becoming red but are not there yet.  Come on sun....a few more days!  We have a little pepper growing too.  One.  But hey, that's cool, we will enjoy every last bite of it!
• My heart is racing often and I break out in sweats...my silly thyroid is already betraying me.  Hopefully it won't start to wreak havoc on my sleep too.
• We need to transition Silas to a toddler bed.  Should be fun.  I imagine it will take nights of sitting outside his door, putting him back to bed when he comes running out.  Good thing he's too short to reach the door knob!

28 weeks pregnant

 The tiles we chose for the kitchen backsplash.  We put enhancer on them- look at the difference (the left one has the enhancer)

Tiles on the wall with icky grout

 

Once cleaned up...although still need to be sealed.

our lone growing pepper

Silas with his buddies.  Visiting over snacks.

My little performer at the PNE.  Sigh.  This kid is hysterical.

Pillow Covering Mis-Adventure

I'm entering panic mode: 2.5 months until baby?  Good heavens.  Lots to do, lots to do.  We've started stripping our kitchen to ready it for new backsplash tiles.  Our thinking: we'll probably want to sell our place in the next 1-2 years to get a bigger place and SO we should do some renovations now to increase the value (before baby arrives) and so that we'll have some time to enjoy our new renovations before selling.  I'll post an 'after' shot once we're done.  Home renovations with a toddler, should be fun!  I also finally got myself together enough to take on this breastfeeding pillow cover experiment.  My mom gave me a great idea to cover it and make it reversible with a fabric for if the baby's a girl, and then the other side- for if it's a boy.  SO I scoured the internet looking for how to videos and guess what?  No one makes them!  Or, I didn't find anyone who does.  You know why?  IT'S IMPOSSIBLE.  I had to make it up as I went along.  Did I mention I don't really sew all that much?  Oh, and that I have a very, very old sewing machine?  Oh well, at least I have the manual from the 1930s to help me out!  I'm left with an 'ok' end result.  Oh well.  It will do what's intended: protect the pillow from spit up and allow me to clean it with ease.  I think if I COULD perfect this idea, it could be a real hit in the mom-market.  We'll see if I ever attempt that again...


Oh, and I finally took another belly shot.  Silas kindly approached me the other day, pointed to my belly and said "ball!"  Oh boy.  Ball indeed.  He's also learned how to say 'brother' and when asked if he's having a brother or sister- he says brother 100% of the time.  (But he also says it's going to be a girl, so...not sure what that means).

girl side of cover

 boy side of cover (buttons on both sides, but holes yet to be made)

 kitchen: pre backsplash (paneling has to go)

step one: remove panels (check)

This shirt doesn't do it justice.  At 28 weeks I feel like a blimp.

This Time a Round

I always wondered how women can report that subsequent pregnancies can be 'sooo' different from previous ones.  But here I am, contemplating the same thing.  Just so that baby #2 doesn't feel ripped off about not having anything documented about his/her mom's pregnancy, I'm copying another blogger's idea of what is same or different about this pregnancy for me (see her blog here: Same different)

Different:

I've been sick more often.  I was a glowing, healthy pregnant lady last time.  This time?  Colds, sinus infections... 

I am bigger, I'm sure of it.  So much bigger in fact that if I walk even the slightest bit fast while also having a full bladder, I get instant cramps in my belly.

I think I'm carrying lower? I don't know but I'm having more pant issues than last time.  Ie. they don't fit.

More heartburn-like symptoms.  

It's going much, much faster.  This time around my pregnancy is in the periphery, where as last time it was my focus

I'm totally unprepared.  As in, I haven't read anything, haven't thought about names, I haven't gathered or purchased or nested.  This poor child is just going to get thrown into the crazy mix of a household that is lived-in (toddler style) and not pristine.

I am dreading labor in a different kind of way but more hopeful I'll find better ways to cope.

I feel less 'glowy' and more, well, 'ugh.'

Same:

I pee all. the. time.

I kinda like the attention again.  I know, I know.  Hate to admit it but the opening of doors and the 'ohhh, when are you due' questions still make me giggle a little.

Itchy. Itchy. Itchy belly.

Sleep less.  I wake up a lot in the night.

It's a surprise!  No idea if it's a boy or girl...which I love and hate at the same time.  (I mean, do I buy pink or not?)

and YES I need to take another picture of my almost 27 week pregnant belly but I just look so huge. The other day I thought for sure the baby was just going to explode out of my abdomen my skin felt so stretched.

In other news:

Our garden is producing some marvelous produce this year including gigantic zucchini.  We've maxed out menu items to make with this abundant harvest though.  (I mean, what DO you do with 8 lb zucchinis anyways?)  But I love taking Silas to the garden cause he just chews on beans/peas like a true veggie lover even though he doesn't eat them when I put them on his high chair.  

As for Silas, I am loving this stage.  He is constantly chattering, running, moving, exploring, chasing, giggling, show-and-telling, and is just a lot of fun to have around.  In general the 6 month increments have been my favourite.  At 6 months he was more settled, more responsive, and we were together a much better team.  At 12 months he was weaned, he was scooting around, playing, and taking two naps a day, eating solids and trying new things all the time.  And now, at 18 months he's so fun to take places.  He loves kids and is constantly chattering alongside them like they're part of his fan club.  He plays in water forever, can recognize and say the names of soooo many things, mimics most everything we say, makes up games, and says 'cooookie' in such a cute way I can hardly say no!  He even sits on his little potty with his little books and acts like a big boy which is so fun!  Only downside is that when I ask for a kiss or hug he says 'noooo' in a cheeky kind of way.  Oh well!  

tasting another bean on his wagon ride back from our garden

 

Look Mommy, I really DO love veggies!

Picasso in the making...

Nothing like the beach! 

First boat ride (and hanging on tight!)

MUUUUUUUD.

Slow Down. Stop. Breathe. Enjoy.

Life. Is. Busy.  I enjoy busy, don't get me wrong.  I enjoy having a purpose in my day.  A place to go, people to meet, chores to do, life to accomplish.  I hate being bored and bemoan being bored. But on the other end sometimes it starts to feel like I never actually surface or ever get caught up.  Thing is, I know this is my new reality.  No use trying to make my life like it was.  It's not.  I'm a mom.  I'm a wife.  I have a home to keep, ministry to do, work to show up for, meals to cook, things to sew etc.  I recognize, only superficially, that these days are THE days of my life.  One day all too soon I will look back and this will all be a glorious blur, and I will long for these days of being a mother with small children. However, that seems to be a peripheral thought that only intrudes for a few moments at a time.  Most of the time I feel like I'm running full speed and drowning at the same time.  How can I learn to just enjoy these days, be content with an overflowing 'to do' list that will never end, and to really soak in the moments that will one day be distant memories?  Lord help me enjoy the everyday-ness of the everyday.   Help me slow down, stop, breathe, and enjoy it all as it whirs along.  

Countdown to Baby

Many days that I am home with Silas, I am scratching my head as to what to do with him.  Seems strange but I guess I get bored of taking him to the same parks, playing in the backyard pool, and well, having him follow me around while I try to get SOME things done in the day.  And, I just am out of ideas.  He's such a busy boy and LOVES to be with other kids and so I just don't know what to do to entertain him when I'm on my own.  It just dawned on me the other day that he looks to me as his main playmate.  I'm no longer just his meal provider and diaper changer, but I'm his educator and playmate and he desperately wants my undivided attention.
I've decided to therefore, have a bit more of a routine.  AND, actually take specific time out of my day to not try and get other things done, not do chores around Silas, or feel guilty about not doing them, but just PLAY with him.  Baby 2 is coming soon and really, there will not be much time after baby's arrival for me to just focus one-on-one time with Silas.  Maybe it seems silly, but I just need to make a schedule and write it down that I'm going to take a few hours in the morning to do some chores, but then there will be hours in the afternoon of just simply playing with and focusing on Silas.  Somehow writing it down makes me more likely to do it I think.


Even though in some ways I'm bored at home, the clock is ticking and there's a real sense of baby's imminent arrival.  In light of what I said above, here's a list of my 'to-do-countdown' before baby comes:


4 months until baby arrives
2 weeks of out of town visitors
3 bathrooms to renovate
5 rooms to paint
4 kitchen walls to put up backsplash on (who wants to help?)
1 double stroller to buy
1 toddler bed to set up and get Silas to get used to
1 quilt to finish (oh man, this is taking me forever)
23 shifts left to work
2 weekends away (one without Silas for the first time, one women's retreat)
1 kidswap fall event to plan for my church
8 swimming classes to go to with Silas
1 freezer to stock full of meals and homemade applesauce 
2 zucchini plants to harvest and do something with
1 breastfeeding pillow to recover (any tips on how to do that anyone?)
2 camping trips to take


phew.  the list goes on.  oh yeah, and somehow I need to take care of Silas in there, possibly potty train him (since he seems interested these days), prep for the arduous task that labor is, keep house, pick a name for baby, keep up my relationship with God, and friends, start a bible study, all while huge and pregnant.  And I wonder why I'm so out of shape these days...when do I have time to exercise?


somehow I'll get this to-do-list done.  by God's strength anyways.

23 weeks Pregnant and Veggies

So.  Back from Saskatoon and ready to tackle feeding Silas and well, life.  Although, I can't believe I work so much in the next few weeks.  It's to make up for all the time I had 'off' over these last 7 weeks but I don't feel ready to go to work tomorrow!  Do I even remember my job?  I feel so much more busy with Silas and keeping up the house, and my belly is bigger - with ligament cramps to boot.  How am I going to work for 12 hour stretches?  Ack?

23 weeks have flown by.  I get a wave of fresh panic every time I think of it because I'm not ready for the baby to be born yet!  Or maybe, just not ready for the aftermath of having a new baby.  We haven't even really thought about names yet!  Oh boy.  Better get the move on.

In the meantime we're trying anything and everything to get this little boy of ours to eat something.  Over these last 2 months he's been a terrible terrible eater.  Not that being on the road is helpful for that- we ended up feeding him staples of cheese, grapes, crackers and yogurt.  So much so, that maybe that's why he has almost completely banned regular meals, veggies, protein...  I'm excited about trying all these new 'deceptively delicious' recipes and so far, they've been a hit!  I made chocolate pancakes (with blueberries and spinach), banana pancakes (with yams and carrots), and just tried adding cawliflower and zucchini to a recipe I already have (orange chocolate chip muffins) and all of these things were a hit!  I figure, this will be a new way of cooking and baking for me.  I've pureed a bunch of veggie combos in the freezer in convenient ice cube sizes and I just pop them out and replace their liquid for other wet stuff in recipes.  My goal: no matter what Silas eats, whether snacks or meals, that he'll always be getting something truly nutritious.  That means- veggie and fruit juice (instead of regular juice), mashed avocado and banana concealed in his favourite yogurt, and pureed veggies in whatever I can possibly put them into.

We'll see.  We have to cut back on snacking because otherwise he won't eat meals with us, we have to let HIM feed himself even though he's a messy eater- cause he won't eat if he can't do it himself, and well, we'll see.  It's been very frustrating so I hope that there are better days ahead!

Here's some pictures as of late:

little Elizabeth Thomas- so cute

Silas trying to give her a hug, but being rejected

serious photo of buddies Nate and Silas

Happier!

Visit in the hotel in Saskatoon- Mom-superheroes

my growing pregnant belly!

infamous chocolate, blueberry, spinach pancakes- seriously, they're good!

yam/carrot pancakes

my fav' chocolate orange muffins (with veggies snuck in)

having fun with Uncle Kevin