Long Days, Long Nights

So in case you don't already know from my friend, Facebook, I'm still pregnant....and bored to death. My last appointment I had really high blood pressure and almost got sent to the doctor for a "consult" and basically "permission to still homebirth" with blood pressure that high. Yikes! It had been slowly going up my last few appointments. Instead of the doctor, my midwife and another midwife came up with some "last resort" actions for me to follow to see if I couldn't get it to go down on its own. Basically, cut out carbs (just protein and veggies, bleh), rest as much as possible on my left side, float in a pool or tub at least an hour a day, increase calcium and magnesium supplements and take 2 emergen-C packs a day. I've been following it to the letter (except for a few carbs here and there) and it's working like a charm. I've basically stopped doing anything. No more dishes, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, picking up, making beds, etc. Sounds great, I know, but it's driving me crazy. I just lay around and I feel like I just want to hop up and get organized. But, my blood pressure is great now, and the awful swelling I was having in my legs and feet is just about gone. Small sacrifices for a great reward. So now it is literally just a waiting game. My due date has arrived and I get the feeling this may never end. Little ignats seems perfectly happy to just stay in there, darn it! I expect to see my midwife again on Wednesday and perhaps after that appointment things will get rolling...if you catch my drift. So until then, I rest.....even if it is a little un-restfully.

Summerish

We hit 80 today. A little warm for this time of year, but welcome nonetheless for my 2 little swimmer dudes. We hung out at my parent's pad today (the pool there is heated) and had a good old fashioned BBQ and afternoon swim.



We were waiting for the javelinas to come by, but only saw a few rabbits.


My dad and Wyatt went around the world in a golf cart (Minnesota, Hawaii, and Antarctica to name a few of their stops)
And back to Arizona

Nursery Trials

I've taken pictures, but I think tonight just words will suffice. I've given a little tid-bit on here about my crib and changing table situation. The set I have I got as a hand-me-down from a friend in Portland, OR. It had been through her 2 boys and then I used it for my 2 boys when we lived in WA. Knowing we would probably have more kids I packed it with me to AZ...where we then packed it and moved it to PA. Half way through my pregnancy I put it all together and in a room that was going to be the nursery. True, it had seen better days and I was contemplating taking it all apart and painting it, but knew our weather in PA probably wouldn't be too great for that kind of a project which needed to be done outside.
Fast forward and it does indeed get taken apart, but not to get painted...to get moved again. Now it's pretty darn thrashed with marks and spilled paint and other such moving disasters that just happen when you move like we do.
Not having the funds to replace it I set to work on getting it looking at least a little better. Paint. And heck, our weather is pretty great right now. I'm really not in any shape to be doing this sort of work, but I'm desperate and I'm really wanting it to look better than it does. So I paint, and I paint, and I paint, and I paint some more. Outside, in between our rainy days, with a fan going, and a mask on, etc. I completed the changing table first and put it together and moved it into the nursery and loaded it with diapers and wipes and blankets and all sorts of other baby bottom necessities. Then the crib. I took more time on the crib because I knew it was going to get more wear and tear. Extra coats, top coats, etc. Finally I finished, let it all completely dry and air out and brought it in the house (after vacuuming real good in the babies room). I was beat, but excited to get it all put together. Hmmm, where the heck are those silver rods that hold on the sides? Come to think of it, I haven't seen them....at all. I look around...everywhere. I call Rand, my mom, Joanna (all of who may have seen them in the unpacking). Nothing. Nowhere. Well, there is no crib without them. I give up for the day.
So, the next day I think, "Gosh, they have to be here somewhere." So I grab one end of the changing table to move it away from the wall thinking that maybe, just maybe, I missed them the day before and they were hidden underneath or something. As I do this, the side literally pops off and the top and middle shelf go crashing down. I yell something and everyone comes running in. It's ruined, and honestly, unsafe for holding a child even if it could be put back together. While I am grateful to have figured this out before there was a child involved in an accident, I still threw myself one big pity party and had a good cry about it all. Brendan fretted over my state and cried himself when he feared that maybe the baby really would have to sleep in a drawer.
I pulled myself up by the bootstraps eventually and decided I'd just hit the garage sales this weekend. Craigslist was only showing slight potential. I just didn't want to pay a bunch of money for new used crib and changing table. People on craigslist really want a lot of money for their junk!
Well, anyway, one of the blessings of moving back to Arizona is my friends. And I have good ones. They are coming to the rescue and my friend Ashley brought me over a changing table today. And another friend says she's got a crib I can use. And I'm really grateful. Still a little stunned and ticked that I spent so much time doing what I've been doing the last few weeks, but still. The Lord provides!
I still hit up the garage sales today, mostly because I was looking for a swing and I found one. And she only wanted 5 dollars for it! So I took it, and it will be just great. And I also got a bouncy seat that looks brand new for next to nothing. So that's basically it. What else do I need? Not much. A diaper pail is the only thing I can think of!
Tomorrow marks one week. One week to go! There's a new moon in 2 days, so I'm kind of hoping things happen then, but whatever. One week isn't that long. (Please don't let it be longer!!!!)
I realize this is a long, rather lame story, but I'm kind of hoping to remember it and laugh one day. Ha ha ha ha, remember what I went through when I was pregnant with #3? Let's start with ummmm, moving across the country! Oy Vey! It's been an interesting few months. I'm hoping with this baby comes a little bit of calmness to my life. Is that wishful thinking?

Science Experiment #6::Growing Beans (part 2)

My favorite quote:
"MOM!!!! Come quick! They're germinating!!!!"


(to be continued again.....)

Baseball=Spring in Arizona

Spring is here! Actually it isn't (I would know because my due date is the first day of spring), but Spring Training is here, and that means Spring for most people. There are lots of people here in Arizona right now just to watch baseball games. Yesterday we went to a Mariner's game with my parents and our friends from Washington (Greg and Linda). It was lots of fun. When we lived in Arizona before we lived right by the Mariner's spring training field, but for some reason we never went to a game. I have no idea why. Guess we didn't think we'd be moving in a year....and then moving back in a year....well, you know the story....
It was kind of funny as we walked through the parking lot because half of the license plates were from Washington, Oregon and California. Obviously a lot of people who had flocked here for a week or so of Spring fun. Rand kept saying, "Go home Snowbirds. Go home Snowbirds, " because that's what people who live here say. I wonder if anyone noticed our car had a Pennsylvania license plate on it? Talk about Snowbirds!
So yes. Lots of fun. Beautiful weather. Good company. Etc... I would have had more fun not being insanely-huge, read-to-burst pregnant, but I still had fun! By the end of the game I'd puffed up like a balloon and asked Rand to roll me into the house when we got home. He actually tried. Turns out I'm about as easy to roll as I am to carry. So I lugged myself in. Thought maybe it would have triggered labor being in the sun all day like that, but here I sit (It's about 2:30am I've been asleep, awake, and back to sleep twice. No action).




There it is again....The belly that never leaves me.
Kids got to run the bases after the game. They took it very seriously and ran as fast as they could.

Walking in the Desert

Yesterday we went for a fun walk in the desert. There are lots of interesting things to find and see out in the desert of Arizona. This is the perfect time of year for it, too. Perfect temperature and lots of green. It is so different from anything I grew up seeing in "nature" where I grew up. The place my parents have their RV parked is kind of out on the outskirts and there are fun places for the kids to explore (carefully, mind you).
If I had to sum up the desert in one word I wouldn't use the word "dry" as you might suspect. I would use the word, "sharp". Thorns and pokes on almost everything.

___________________________________Brave Brendan risking little tiny thorns...



Not something you would want to step on with bare feet!


This tree was an awesome find! Totally smooth like driftwood.


See? Green!


My parent's pups.

Angles on the Belly

I've never been one to take a bunch of pictures of myself pregnant. It's just not my favorite way to see myself...I mean, I just get big. I'm fully aware of the sentiment of being pregnant and the miracle of what my body is doing, but the reality is, it's not that cute...and it's not that comfortable..and it gets to be kind of strange. I'm on my way to 38 weeks and we have officially gotten to the ridiculous point. I caught my shadow the other day and could hardly believe it. I mean, the only angle I usually get is the looking straight down at the thing...and it actually doesn't look that bad. I can't really see the perspective, like how it's all connected. So at the risk of utter embarrassment I took some pictures of myself, and I honestly started laughing. No kidding this kid is still ridin' nice and high. Experience tells me, however, that this is temporary and he will indeed be coming out soon. Thank goodness!!!
Enjoy all you belly stalkers!


"And this too shall pass....."

Becoming Little Men

I grew up watching my Dad shave. Shave and put in his little green contact lenses with Johnson's baby shampoo. Oh, and foo-foo, but that's another story. Just the things I remember about my dad getting ready for work....every. single. day.
Rand has almost always shaved in the shower so our kids have never really seen him do it. That is until recently when we didn't bring with us the yucky, not-so-good shower mirror and have yet to replace it. So he shaves at the sink.....and our bathroom is more than accessible. (Think no door.) Well, the boys think Rand shaving is just weird and interesting and they scream and laugh and run around when his face is covered with white foam. "How do you do that? Why don't you bleed? What if you used your razor sideways?" Questions, questions.
The funny thing is that they got a play shaving kit for the bathtub a couple Christmas' ago. They sort of used them, but never having seen it modeled by Dad, I don't think they really knew what it was all about. So today they got a lesson in shaving. They feel so grown up now!

Onesie Art

I just remembered a fun project I did a while back with freezer paper and fabric paint. A fresh pack of totally blank onesies jogged my memory and today I added some flair to them. These onesies are a tad small (like up to 8lbs) and I'm not even sure they will fit this little (I mean, not so little) guy when he's born. Maybe he can wear them once. We shall see.
This is seriously easy and fun.
Print a silhouette picture of what you want to use.
Trace it onto a piece of freezer paper.
Cut it out with an X-acto knife
Iron it onto your onesie (the wax on the backside will stick nicely to the shirt)
Dab homemade stencil with fabric paint (be sure to put another piece of paper or cardboard inbetween so the paint doesn't go through to the backside).
Let dry and peel off paper.
Voila!

(click pics. to enlarge)

Rainy Days

Rainy days in the desert are just more fun. It could be because it's warmer or more likely because it is rare (although we've had a decent amount of rain since we've gotten here). Sunday was a rainy, rainy day and the boys could think of nothing better to do than to go stand in it. (Take advantage kids....the heat is right around the corner). There is something awesome about a rainy day when you know for certain tomorrow will be sunny and 70. We love rainy days in Phoenix!