Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Snow day!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I walked to work today, in the SNOW! Craziness! I looked like a Clementine on stilts wearing Danny's orange rain-jacket (which incidentally only just did up over my belly!) and black leggings, with clashing pink wellies/rubber boots. How inconsiderate of Danny to have a rain-jacket that doesn't match my wellies!

We had a lovely, yet chilly evening last night, watching the Oxford Christmas parade; a first for myself, Henry and our British visitors. Everyone had a fantastic time, though it was past Henry's bedtime when we started to head home and he cried intensely until we started our ABCs and Old Macdonald.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Not my favourite Thursday ever

Yesterday, Henry decided he wasnt going to take a nap. ALL DAY! It might not have been a problem but 1) I am super duper pregnant (and huge, yes thank you EVERYONE for telling me) and 2) I am not sleeping because I am super duper pregnant! So a super duper tired mummy left Henry in his bed for 2 hours total yesterday afternoon (went in half way through to check he didnt have a dirty diaper and read a couple of books). I laid down for 30 minutes, but with him singing to himself in the room next door, not much of a nap was had. But it turned out to be a fun afternoon regardless. We walked the dogs to the square, played in front of the courthouse and popped into the bookstore to get a christmas present. I was pretty tired by the time we walked home again a few hours later, but we had a fun time.

This week, dinner time was a totally different ball game. This week, as long as Henry could feed it to himself with a fork, he ate it. Sausages, chicken, baked beans, butternut squash (well, he tried it, he didnt actually eat it, but hey, at least he tried it!), bread and butter, strawberries, raspberries, everything that can be stabbed with a fork! Made my life easier, thats for sure.

We went from being just the two of us, well, plus the dogs and the Bump, of course, to the house now including Papa and my dad, and tomorrow, one of his workers. Not only is it all of us, but we are all cramped into a tiny living space because the kitchen, dining room and play room have been taken over until further notice! Kitchen is starting to look totally different, there is a new window, new walls, new door holes, new floor, new light holes. Tomorrow the shipment with the kitchen arrives, its going to get interesting up in here!

I was worried it was the way of things to come, but H was happy to take a nap today and I drove to Black Zion to pick up our quarter of a cow. Such an interesting life I lead! Other tasks today, Farmers market for special thick noodles to make Thai curry when our stove gets plugged in tomorrow, vet for Mojos check up and allergy shot (which may have to become a regular event), kroger for MORE food (as it seems my dad is an eating machine!) and of course, general play time with H. On 3 or 4 hours sleep, Im exhausted. I just seem to lie then, in bed, waiting for sleep to drift back over me. Tonight Im going to eat when I wake up, just incase thats the reason Im not falling back to sleep til 6am (and then of course I hear MAMA around 630am).

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Henry 16 month check up

Henry's doctors visit went as well as can be expected yesterday! The doctor said he is very healthy and growing well, so that is good! He has, however, developed an incredible fear of medical personnel. I should have guessed really, since he cried bloody murder when I had my blood pressure taken or we listened to the baby's heart beat with the dopler, but it sort of slipped my mind.

The crying/screaming began when we tried to get his weight. All this involves is laying him on the scales, but it had to be a speedy affair because he was tremendously distraught. At least to get his height I could hug him while he cried. He was fine in the room, running around in socks and a diaper. But when Dr. Dennis tried to listen to his lungs with the stethoscope, he started crying again. He cried as the doctor looked into his ears and his mouth, and screamed when he got the MMR vaccination, but I managed to end this pretty quickly by singing him his abc's.

Height 82 cm: 66%
Weight 22 lbs 10 oz: 17%
Head circumference 49.5 cm: 93% (just like his father!)

We ate out again last night, and despite the kind offers, I decided to 'cook' at home tonight, this time without an oven or stove! Eating out is fine, but tiring when I am on my own, neither of us particularly like being out the house almost 12 hours, its almost impossible for me to get H to bed anywhere close to 7pm and even then he gets mad at me for putting him to bed when we have only been in the house 15 minutes and managed to brush our teeth and read a book or two (rather than the usual 20 minutes or there abouts of story time). But I managed to make a delicious and nutritional meal with a toaster oven and a microwave! Im going to look at those Steamables bags tomorrow because maybe they will work for making nutritional meals in the microwave. I had a chicken breast roasted in orange juice with cranberries and butternut squash, with two huge servings of peas and corn. H pretty much just ate his chicken and apple sausage, but to his credit he did taste the butternut squash, he just didn't like it. He even fed himself his sausage with a fork, stabbing each individual piece without help from me! I got a video of it, but I dont know how to upload it, so Ill have to see if Danny can do it when he has time.

Our kitchen is now starting to look like it will in a few weeks. The doors are now in the right places, holes for lights are cut and wiring carried out, insulation in and drywall on walls. My dad gets here tomorrow and the shipment on Friday, so let the fun begin! I am so ready to have my house back! H was covered in dry wall dust within 1 minute of being in the house tonight. Nasty. What once was his toy room is under plastic sheeting and he doesnt quite know what to do about it, but the sneaky little man found a way to access the lego bucket from underneath the computer desk and was able to extract legos one by one to take over to the dog beds (his favourite place to lie) and play with them there. So cute!

I have to say, I was super impressed that he could feed himself his dinner tonight with no help from me, and that he ate his dinner with no argument! Of course, he got 1.5 mini Oreos tonight!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Mondays are all the same - exhausting

So, its Monday again. I may only work three days a week, but I get super tired, especially on Mondays. Living without a kitchen means we are leaning on friends to make us dinner, which is grately appreciated. At least I dont have to make H behave in a restaurant every night of the week. However getting him home, sticking his Pjs straight on him, reading a book or two then sticking him in his bed, doesnt go down well with him. And then me, yes well, I had to make up several hours of work after he went to bed because he has a doctors wellness check up tomorrow that could not be changed (next available appointment is in 3 months!), so I am even more glad not to have any post-dinner cleaning up to do, but find myself ridiculously exhausted and have done nothing but work today and attempt to feed my child and keep him on the straight and narrow for the very short two hours that I actually spent with him. Oh and recite my new mantra over and over again for the two short car journeys we spent together this evening to keep the peace. You know the one, "A, B, C, D, E, F, G", I wont go on, but I am ever so glad it works. I wouldnt be surprised if I didnt sing it in my sleep tonight - and I have a terrible 'singing' voice. And that is assuming I get to sleep tonight. Last night H woke up crying at 330am.. He didnt cry long, maybe 15 seconds, and then again about 20 minutes later and then about 430am. Not enough to warrant going in there, but enough to keep me awake long enough for the new baby to wake up and do its Kung Fu Panda work out until it was almost time to get up. I dont know what was wrong with him, though I suspect its those pesky canines again. Why cant they just push through!

For a short minute this evening I thought how nice it will be to have a leisurely breakfast and some play time with H in the morning, but then I realised the builders will be here at 8am anyways. But its supposed to snow tonight and be freezing again tomorrow, so there isnt much else for us to do. I need to go check out the day cares around town and put our names down on one for next fall, so maybe we will do that in the morning to save time Thursday. I figure its about time H got to socialise with other kids, that and I give my part time babysitter more money than I would a full time daycare, even if he only attended it part time. Also need to enroll in the mothers day out programs, maybe that will work out instead and be much cheaper.

But for right now, on this cold, wet, Monday night, I am exhausted.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Back to (our new) normal

Just in case you were worried about me after last night, which was in fact awful, I thought Id let you know that things were back to our new normal again tonight. I also got a little brave and instead of holding him while I cooked, I tried distracting him with something else. When he started repeating his mantra, "mummy, mummy, mummy", in that whiney tone, I took him by the hand and walked him over to the toy room (thankfully my dinner was rather hands off at this point) and got out a puzzle for him to play with and it worked, for a little while. I then gave him something new that he hadnt had the pleasure of playing with before - the two smaller bowls that sit in the food processer. These were a real hit and he carried them round with him everywhere.

He didnt eat any of our delicious dinner (spinach and pea pasta with Salmon - ridiculously health but oh so delicious!) but he didnt scream at all while I ate. After I had finished eating and he was given his milk, he threw it on the floor. I picked it up once and after the second time he threw it on the floor I told him that it was gone now. He did have a little cry, but I informed him that mummy didnt pick up the things we threw on the floor, particularly not so heavily pregnant, so in the future, he had best not throw it on the floor. He seemed reasonably satisified, at least he didnt cry for the milk. I then did the dishes while he occupied himself quietly.

He had a nice bath where I didnt have to perform a small play with the piggies, which gets a little old when you cant think of anything to talk about with two rubber piggies. I actually looked at his back most of the time as he was turned around shoveling water into the cup.

He happily brushed his teeth and then we had a huge development! Henry peed in the toilet!!! Every night he gets three chances to climb up his stool and I tell him to go pee. Tonight he got four chances and on the last one, he actually went! He found it so funny that he was peeing in the toilet, so maybe he will be excited to do it tomorrow night too!

We read some books together, curled up on our bed and he peacefully went to bed. I even asked him for a kiss on the way to his bedroom, at which he usually shakes his head, well tonight he leaned in and gave me several kisses with a smile!

Now this is what I was looking for last night!!! Im still going to treat myself to a decaf vanilla chai latte with 5 marshmallows, because, lets face it, I deserve it!

Then I will begin laundry, clean the bathroom and mop the floors. All in anticipation of our much awaited arrival tomorrow night... our Papa comes home after almost two weeks camping out in the Bush in Australia! I have yet to ask him if he saw a kangaroo! Its actually the longest time period that we havent spoken to each other in our 8+ years together. I am so ready for a manly hug!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Much better!

Two cups of vanilla chai latte, each containing 5 marshmallows, 3 extra marshmallows and one and a half hours of sewing and I almost feel human again! Relaxed enough to go to bed at least!

Let's all hope tomorrow brings a little man in a better mood!

What a freakin' evening


Oh my goodness. I just had the evening from hell. I don't know why we have expectations in life, we are only ever let down. Wow. I have got to sit here a minute and recover.

My expectation for the evening was that Henry and I would have a lovely evening together. I chose not to go out to get burgers like we often do on a Tuesday, because I wanted to spend some time with my son. I thought we could play a little, have a nice dinner, take a fun bath, read some stories and go to bed. That's what I thought. huh.

Everything seemed ok when we first got home. He walked up the path, climbed the steps and came in the house just fine. Then it began. The whining. So I took him to the play room, set him down and we started playing. It went well for a few minutes. I decided to check on his dinner and the Mummy, Mummy, Mummys began. Incessantly. So I held him while I fixed his dinner. One of his favourite dinners; sausage, chips/fries and peas. I set him in the highchair and the screaming began. Oh my goodness. Who stole my baby and replaced him with this monster. So I took him out of the highchair and carried on eating my dinner while he stood there and screamed. Then he asked for the fork with the piece of sausage on, and he fed himself. When he realised what it was he had for dinner, he reached for the plate, but I told him to eat his dinner he had to sit in the high chair. So I put him in the high chair, where he screamed. I carried on eating my dinner. When he got done screaming, he started eating his dinner. Then something made him start screaming again. After I had finished my dinner and could no longer bear the screaming, I took him back out of the high chair and he sat on the dog bed and carried on screaming. In fact he only stopped screaming when I started video recording his tantrum with my camera, then he just laid there in the dog bed looking at the camera.

Then he started screaming for his milk. I did get him some milk, and that provided me with a few minutes of peace and quiet, but he refused to be put down.

After he finished his milk I ran the bath. He climbed his stool and called for the tooth brush. After I told him we would brush our teeth after the bath, he started screaming and stood their screaming. When the bath was ready I took off his clothes, whilst he carried on screaming. When I put him in the bath he carried on screaming. When I sat on the toilet with the nail clippers and cut my toe nails he went deadly silent and watched. He then asked me to cut his nails, so I cut a few of his finger nails and then he wanted the nail clippers, which I would not let him have, so he started screaming again. We picked up all the toys and he happily took out the plug and handed to me. After drying off he was ecstatic to finally get to brush his teeth. Phew, no screaming. We went to his bedroom, he walked willingly, but when I put him on the changing pad to put a diaper on him, he started screaming again. Thankfully, story time was its usual fun, as long as I read the correct books. I tried to read the Belly Button book and he threatened to scream again. He started crying when I told him it was time for bed, but said goodnight to the doggies any ways. He calmed down a little bit on the way to his bedroom, but started screaming hysterically again when I put him in his bed.

I have no stinkin' idea what the heck is wrong with him, but I sure am glad he is quietly in bed. I almost wish I could drink so that I could have a big glass of wine, but a decaf chai tea and the couch will have to suffice Im afraid. What a crappy evening. Wow. Im still in shock. I suspect he was just really tired because he didnt sleep well last night at all (which I suspect may be a result of those pesky canines coming in) and apparently was prematurely woken up from his nap this afternoon. Lets all hope for a better nights sleep for all of us.

As an aside, the new baby has changed position. Somehow last night its butt got over to the right side of my ribs, which is probably another reason I didnt sleep well and had a sore back this morning.

I have saved Henry's sausage and peas and he will be given them tomorrow night for dinner. Little stinker.


The most rest Ive had in a while!

I am at work.

I am listening to the dulcent tones of Bethany Yarrow and her instrumental team.

I am doing data analysis in my comfy (probaby faux leather) chair.

I havent felt this relaxed in a long time! Bliss.

I could almost nod off!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Whirlwind visit

H and I had a fun few days with the Vinsons, but he seemed very glad to be home tonight. His personality has TOTALLY changed over the past week or two. He is most definitely a little boy now. All you people that said I needed to wean him of the need for his mummy were wrong! He has done it himself! To some extent, at least. He still panics if I go to the bathroom and screams my name, banging on the door until I come out, but he plays around the house while I make dinner or clean up after dinner now. But we have also hit the terrible twos I think, either that or he just has more energy than he knows what to do with. Unfortunately I think he has discovered how to scream NO, when another child has a toy he wants or something isnt going according to his plan, so we are going to have to deal with that kind of behaviour somehow.

Our trip went well. We had gymnastics and tea Thursday morning as usual, then we left town around 1130am. H fell asleep almost immediately, which wasnt part of the plan. When he woke up in Jackson, TN an hour and a half later, we stopped for lunch, though he barely ate. We must have looked funny because all of the people (all men) in the Subway where we ate couldnt help but stare at this hugely pregnant woman chatting along merrily with a little blonde headed toddler. He didnt sleep again but we sang children's songs and re-capped our body parts and animal sounds, so he was happy. To my surprise, he was happy playing at this foreign house. I expected him to sit on my lap and not move. He was a little naughty with Jay as he seemed to realise pretty darn quickly that, unlike his other friends, Jay wasnt going to snatch a toy back if he took it from him, so of course, he kept taking Jay's toys. Jays response was to start crying, not what H is used to and it didnt phase him at all. Knox tends to take whatever it is Henry has and then it all seems fair to the both of them. Basically he was a little bully for the weekend and we actually started Time Outs.

Jay was so much more developed than I expected. Almost running round their house, as long as he had something to hold on to. Ive never seen cruisin' like it!

Again, to my incredible surprise H slept well in this foreign pack and play in this foreign house. Id always wondered what time he actually woke up versus what time he started calling for me and having shared a room with him, thank goodness he doesnt call for me as soon as he wakes up, coz its early! We played outside once it warmed up and he napped well during the afternoon. I laid down but didnt fall asleep unfortunately. This morning Summer, H and I popped to Target and Michaels, but I will never set foot in another craft store with my toddler again. Everything in that place was at his level and breakable. He was manic, running from one display to the next trying to rip things off the shelves. It completely wore me out.

After lunch we set off home. H was asleep within 7 minutes of leaving! He only slept 1.5 hours but we managed not to stop! I was slowly sipping my water so as not to fill up and need to pee. I didnt give him his cup until 30 minutes from the house so that he wouldnt need a clean diaper. We sang Old MacDonald a lot, though it was more of a Safari than a Farm, so that we could do lion noises, and monkeys and what not. He played peek-abo with me in the mirror and we made it to Oxford in 4 hours. We had to stop at Kroger as I knew we had no milk and we got some fantastic deals on Organic grapes and apples, some yummy looking oranges and both strawberries and raspberries were 2 for $4, so I couldnt resist, despite it being totally the wrong time of year. He then ate more food than I thought physically possible. Actually, Id like to get opinions on something, if you dont mind. Our dinner tonight was one of his favourite meals, though we dont eat it often because I worry that it is unhealthy, but I really dont think so. We had lots of fresh chopped spinach in scrambled eggs with spaghettios on toast. What do you think, unhealthy or not? After a huge portion of this, 4 eggs, 4 servings of spinach and a can of spaghettios between us, we then demolished a whole carton of raspberries. H ate a mini Oreo and polished off a cup of milk! Where does that tiny child put it all!? After that much spinach though, tomorrow is going to be full of icky diapers for me!

He was soo sooooo happy to be home. A little annoyed at me that we didnt take a bath. In fact, he threw all of his bath toys in the bath and tried to climb over the side! But I am really trying to keep his bed time close to 7pm for my sanity and we just didnt have time. Instead of crawling around the bed at story time, he laid propped up on pillows next to me holding his foot while we read his favourites.

Guess I have to tidy up the debris from the trip then catch up on some work that I missed Wednesday. My jobs never end! Not to mention that my other baby likes to lie with its legs straight out, which is less than comfortable! It was a fun trip, nice to get out the house and do something different, but I am absolutely exhausted now and have all the things I usually do in 4 days, to squeeze into one.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

27 weeks

Drove all the way to Memphis today for our mid-wife apt. Thankfully, Lana and Knox accompanied us, so it was more fun. We had minor dramas that made us leave 30 minutes late; Knox jumped in a deep puddle and needed a new outfit and H had a poopy diaper, but we still made it on time.

I have gained a few more pounds, getting near to the 35 lbs I gained with H. Blood pressure was good at 120/78. Baby's heart beat was 148, Lana listened with the old fashioned thingy, I couldnt hear it though. Head is down, as I suspected after Saturdays gymnastics, butt off under the left rib and legs out to the right. Despite being 27 weeks, the fundal height measured in at 29 weeks. Yes, well. Mid-wife thinks its a girl! No basis for this, she just kept calling it 'her'. I got told to eat more, as I full well know, thats why Im feeling so sick all of the time and getting terrible headaches. I just dont ever feel like eating and there is nothing I ever want. Might buy some granola type bar things, Lara or Luna or something LLL, keep on hand. Doctors visit Next the week of Thanksgiving, then Mid-wives Dec 14th. We discussed the Rhogam shot and she sees nothing wrong with getting it and not getting it. We discussed the FLU shot and she is against it, pregnant or not.

After our visit, we went along to the Carriage Crossing Mall in Collierville. I know its silly as I only have three months left, but I bought myself two sweaters. Lana hopefully has some maternity jeans for me with full panels as Im pretty much out of clothes for the bottom half of my body. Would have bought some jeans today but 1) the women in the shop were sooooo rude and 2) they only had 'regular' length, and for $70 I dont want to have to hem!

Off to visit Summer and Jay in Symrna, TN tomorrow, for a few days. Its my rogue road trip!

As for the house, the mudroom has officially been demolished! My house is trashed because the builders keep walking through it to use the bathroom.

Im exhausted.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Time change

I am as free as a bird, with no where to fly.

For about the past month we have been putting Henry to bed at 8pm. It was sort of my fault, it was in anticipation of the time change, its just that the time change was much later than I realised. But last night the clocks went back here in the U.S. Henry didnt wake up until 730am (830am summer time) so that was nice, we all got to lie in! I slept pretty well last night, but being pregnant, pretty well isnt exactly great, so I knew that Danny didnt sleep well at all, thus the lie in this morning was blissful! We had a few hours to play with our Papa, he and Henry cleaned out the car and I got to use the bathroom in peace and quiet, without a certain little person sitting on my lap! That may be more information than you needed, but it really is cause for celebration if I get to use the bathroom on my own! I realised that I hadnt left the house since Friday morning and felt a little confined, so we loaded up the troops and walked to the square. The dogs lay in the sun whilst Henry and I rolled trucks down the courthouse ramp. Lost track of time and didnt make it home until 1230, so we had a quick lunch and H went to sleep. I planted my recent purchases from the Barn and took myself off to bed too! We all slept until almost 5pm again! After some rolling of the trucks down the slide, I cooked us a quick Cous Cous dinner, Henry played while I did the dishes, bath time, story time and bed was at 710pm! That might not seem like a big deal to you, but it means that I am going to have all of my 'jobs' done by 8pm, instead of 9pm. Which means I get to do something I want to do before bed, rather than just having to get my stuff ready for tomorrow and take myself off to bed. I dont feel like working on the curtains tonight, so maybe some yoga is on the cards. I really hope to keep up this 7ish bedtime, though I doubt its possible. It was a bit of a fluster getting all of that done by 7pm. We often dont eat dinner til 6pm on work nights and especially not when Papa is here, because he often doesnt come home from work til 6pm, so fitting it all in will be tough, but it sure is nice having some free time.

If you have trouble convincing your child they should eat vegetables and have to 'hide' them like me, or if you are rushed after work and need a quick fix dinner, try this, there are lots of variations you could do, this is just what I had in the house.

1 zucchini, chopped up really really small (remember your goal here, disguising vegetables!)
1 carrot, chopped up really really small
1 red bell pepper, you guessed it, chopped up really really small
sliced olives
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 cup cous cous (I used Israeli cous cous, easier to disguise the vegetables because it is bigger)
1 cup water
some tasty herbs, salt and pepper
splash of balsamic and lemon juice

Stick everything in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Leave sitting a couple more minutes off the heat. Stir in grated parmesan.

I chopped everything up in the morning and doused with lemon juice so I could just throw it all in when the time came.

You could use anything you want, spinach, capers, green onions, peas, squash, feta cheese, no cheese, chicken, sausage bla bla bla. If you use meat, make sure it is pre-cooked before you stir it in.

This was enough food for H and I (I had seconds, of course) with a little left over, so Id double it for another adult and then you will have a whole portion of left overs.



On a totally different note, our new baby did some major gymnastics this week and I think it may have turned head down. I had been in rather a lot of pain for a few weeks now and you could see its head sticking out the side of my stomach. But the pain has gone and the kicks and punches seem to be further up than they used to be. I felt like my uterus was ripping away from its ligaments and you could see this giant bulge in my side. Hopefully its head down, and hopefully it stays that way!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Its the small things in life

Our little bonfire party last night was a bit of a whirlwind, but lots of fun. The number of children at our bonfire parties has slowly increased over the years, but last night hit an all time high! There were just 2 of the 5 Crowe kids, 2 of the 3 Finley's, Knox, Leila, 2 Dawson kids and of course, my little man. I think there were still more adults than kids though!

In an untraditional manner, someone brought an effigy to burn. Danny and I were sort of expecting a Guy, as usual, but Walter brought an effigy of a car to symbolise all of the people and pets that we have recently lost to cars. We burned that sucker!

Unfortunately Henry has that nagging cough back and didnt sleep well at all. He was calling my name around 4am, but I must have drifted back off because I woke to my name again around 545am. Then everyone went back to sleep until Tux, wretched dog, barked at 745am. Then a split second later you hear, "Mama!" ugh. But it was good as Henry seemed to have peed through his diaper, pjs and into all of his sheets somehow. Because of this general lack of sleep in the household, tensions were high this morning. Or rather, Mummy was grumpy! As was Henry. Around 1015am we put Henry in his bed to see what happened, and I laid down. I couldnt sleep because Henry was reading allowed to himself (or just sort of chanting his new favourite word "duck") and the new baby was practising its soccer skills. But we all got up in a much better mood after our 20 minutes of quiet time alone.

My 'small thing in life' to celebrate for today is that I discovered how to (sort of) replicate the most delicious Chai tea they serve at the coffee shop in town. Its my naughty indulgence. The one at the coffee shop is caffeinated and is probably a thousand calories, not to mention it costs around $5. I get one every Thursday morning! But if you buy Stash brand, decaf vanilla chai tea and stir in 5 marshmallows and some milk, it tastes pretty similar! And provides me with my sugary fix which I seem to need every few minutes whilst pregnant! Ive already had two cups today!

Big news on the house front: Mud room de- and re-construction starts this week and the kitchen gets ripped out! So if anyone was thinking about coming over for dinner, you'd better hurry up and make it early week because Ill be looking for handouts for the next 6 weeks after that!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Complaint

I dont often use this media to complain about work, but I have found the past hour rather amusing and I feel the need to share!

I am currently working up data carried out by some students at a University elsewhere in the United States. In the interest of anomynity, I shall keep the details to myself. But in the space of just two field sheets I have the following units, not marked, just numbers on a piece of paper: millimeters, centimeters, feet and inches. They are all in totally different places, totally unlabelled, and in fact, the millimeters are in a column labelled feet, though I know this to be a physical impossibility. So Im sitting here bitching, cursing these random people, whom I shall never meet. 1) who uses totally different units on the same piece of paper, let alone in the same day! 2) Who doesnt label the units whenever they are filling out a field form?

Ridiculous the incompetence of some people.

The moral of my story is, if you are ever writing something down, please include the units.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Happy Halloween




I know its a little late for this post, but we took our little man trick or treating yesterday and we all actually had a good time. We probably stayed out a little late, and Henry probably ate too many sweets, but it was fun.

The first house we went to, Henry was the last child to get a piece of candy and it was a tiny mini snickers, which he proceeded to devour. We moved on to the fire station where we went through a particularly scary haunted house and he cried a little. There were lots of lines on North Lamar and that wasnt our idea of fun, and lets face it, we didnt want him filling his basket up with candy anyways! Next he ate a packet of fruit jellies and two tootsie rolls. By now, he was a sugar rampant menace. We walked through the square and on to Holli's Sweet Tooth, an old fashion sweet shop where they have the candy in jars that Henry can reach. We got ice creams and about the time that he started trying to dip his hands into the candy bins, we left. We walked back through the square and down the other side of North Lamar when he started to whine rather a lot, so we headed home. It did end with some crying but I think he was coming off his sugar high and getting tired. It was a fun evening though! I tried to tell Danny next year he can take both kids and I could rest at home, but he said that sounded like hard work!


Yes, I know Im cute and I exploit my mother...



A little shell shocked after the scary masked clown, smoke and strobe lights of the fire house haunted house...oh, and I forgot to mention, I got 8 inches cut off my hair Friday afternoon!
Yes, I can fit an entire mini snickers in my mouth at once...




No, its not twins. Thanks. Ive already been asked several times. How to make a woman feel even better about her self, ask her if she is having twins, or even better, simply state that she is huge. Thanks again.




Saturday, October 22, 2011

Henry and Papa GQ magazine



We have had a lovely morning. We got up late, ate a nice breakfast (Crunchy Nut Cornflakes), walked the dogs to the Farmers Market where we socialised with the folks and Henry got a free cookie, for "being cute". Pen-ultimate Farmers Market of 2011, so sad. What will I do on Saturday mornings from now on?! We then walked to the park and met up with some mums and kids we know. We played until we had run out of diapers and we came home!

The GQ pose.

Then just some goofy ones...







Friday, October 21, 2011

Henry and Papa



How handsome are my boys!!!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

A fun afternoon


The dogs have been really getting on my nerves lately. They are so needy. After a nice long phone call with my mummy this afternoon, I tried to take a nap. After lying comfortably in bed with my eyes closed for a few minutes, Tux decided to come looking for me, but went straight to Henry's room, bashed his way through the door, which loudly hit the wall. This, of course, woke Henry up, just 1.5 hours after he had gone to bed. ugh. No nap for me then. But we had a lovely afternoon, so it made up for no nap, I guess!

We saddled up the circus and walked the dogs to the square. Henry played on the steps of the court house for about an hour. He loves to climb up the steps then run down the ramp. We ate our afternoon snacks, I chased him around, he screamed running around with his hands in the air. Good times! It must have been fun because after we had walked home, he wandered into the play room and played while I prepared dinner, an unheard of anomaly (I usually cook holding him). Annoyingly, I had already made dinner but it enabled me to clean up some dishes to make post-dinner clean up easier. He came back into the kitchen and played with pots and pants while I did other things. Who stole my baby and replaced him with a self-sufficient little man! Thank you! Just kidding, but it was nice to be able to do things without either someone tugging at your shirt or jeans crying, or holding said someone to prevent aforementioned activities. Henry's Uncle J-J came over for dinner with a friend and Henry was a little angel, eating lots of dinner, then some banana, then his cookie and some milk. After a long bath and a demonstration of his roly poly (somersault) capabilities, we retired to bed to read our three new Boynton books.


Henry at a recent gathering in Lana's neighbourhood...




Tuesday, October 18, 2011

An H update in pictures




Henry and I do lots of goofy things, that's just the kind of people we are. Tonight we 'eskimo kissed', or rubbed noses. He found it hilarious and we spent about 5 minutes rubbing noses and laughing before bed tonight, until he progressed to biting my nose and laughing!

These havent been 'touched up' as my pictures usually have, by my in house photographer, but I thought Id post them anyway.

Chasing H around the car Thursday night before dinner out with the folks...


Check out that running style!


Ive found the stash of photos now, so more (un-touched up) photos tomorrow...

Feeling better emotionally

Henry and I had a lovely weekend with our Papa. We cruised on up to the square on our bicycles and I ate a cake from the Bottletree infront of the Courthouse, where Henry just loves to run up and down the ramp. He did get his first nose bleed, though Im surprised we made it this far without one, to be honest. He tripped just the right distance before a step, so that the bridge of his nose caught the step. He was pretty upset for a good few minutes. And since he had a cold the blood was mixing with his snot. Pretty icky. We bought him some new shoes, and this time Danny didnt comment on the price. We played in the front yard of the neighbours house with their 4 little girls (at which time Danny commented to their parents about the price of the shoes!).

Unfortunately, I was not able to make it to the Memorial Ride for Kevser Sunday. Henry had been so sick we decided it wasnt a good idea to wake him up at 215pm for me to go. In the eventuality, it was probably a good thing I didnt wake him up because he didnt start chirping Mama until 4pm, so he obviously needed to sleep.

The Braxton Hicks contractions havent come back since the Memorial Service Thursday, so I must have just been sub-consciously worked up about it. Feeling super nauseas now though and have this icky vomit-like taste in my mouth most of the time. ugh, gross.

Went to the ladies luncheon at the Sed lab today with Tasha and it was lovely to see everyone. They were all asking us about our babies and the new house and what not so we had lots to talk about. It was a nice respite in an otherwise grim, grey day of showers and boring mundane tasks at work.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Surprise visit

Last night, lying in bed, I wondered what the date was as I knew that my sister's birthday was coming up. Having checked the phone, I reaslied her birthday was today, thank goodness I thought of it last night. Dont worry, I sent presents and a card weeks ago. But it occurred to me that I had a doctors visit on her birthday. Whooa, that came out of no where. Time is seriously flying at the moment. So this morning I didnt get to eat or drink anything and had to take the silly glucose test, which this time I passed, thankfully; didnt want to do the 3 hour one. But that threw our Friday for a loop. Henry gets very very upset when anyone does anything medical to me. When he saw the blood pressure cuff he started screaming and didnt stop until the nurse took it off my arm. He cried when she pricked my finger and sat on my lap sobbing when the doctor listened to the baby's heart beat. I didnt gain any weight this past 2 weeks, blood pressure was 124/70 and the babys heart beat around 140. Told him about my nightly cramps and he didnt seem too bothered, so all is well with the bump. Next visit is with the midwives Nov 9th.

Anyone have any strong views on the Rhogam shot? I had it at 28 weeks with Henry but had decided I wasnt going to have it this time until after the baby was born if in fact, the baby had rhesus positive blood. But I think Dr. Henderson talked me into getting it so I wondered if anyone had any strong feelings on it. The only (major) negative argument seems to be that the shot is comprised of pooled blood serum and there are things in blood serum which cannot yet be screened for such as BSE (mad cow) so I risk infecting myself with these un-screenable diseases. If you dont have the shot and your baby is, in my case, rhesus positive, and blood is transfered between you, future pregnancies will result in mis-carriage as you will have developed an immune system to the foetal cells. I would like another child I think. So anyways, I think I talked myself back into getting the 28 week shot as well as the post-birth shot, unless anyone has any strong views on the subject to sway me otherwise?

I didnt want to, but we went to the grocery store after that. I wasnt desperate for food but didnt want to go over the weekend and then have work Monday. Got an exciting menu for next week though, so thats good. Vegetable lasagne, baked potato, Jambalaya, stuffed peppers, broccoli cheese soup! Been off of food in general lately so its good to actually want to cook, because then I will eat!

To cheer myself up we went to The Barn, a new garden nursery in town. People didnt really seem to want to help me chose plants at first, but they became more helpful. Henry had a blast playing with the gravel and crawling through little gaps in the bushes to find me. Might go back this weekend and buy some stuff. Perennials were on sale and I do love tall phlox. Maybe some Jasmine for our beautiful new arbor.

Following lunch, H took a 3 hour nap, such a contrast to yesterday! So I pulled ivy for an hour and half then napped an hour and a half! After some brief acorn organisation, which we must spend at least some time on each day (though I may need to find Henry a new acorn collection bucket as the raisin tub seems almost full), we walked to Lila's birthday party. A little late for a 1 year olds birthday party in my opinion (6-8pm), but I guess they schedule themselves differently! Most of the kids were tired and every little bump or stolen cracker brought a few seconds of wailing, but it was fun to get out. We read books on Mummy and Daddy's bed after we walked home, as we do every night. Henry had a great time sticking his fingers in the little holes that the Very Hungry Caterpillar had chomped through, and we read Pooh's Bees one and a half times. Now that he is sleeping Im going to do some tidying up and take myself off to bed as soon as is physically possible. Pretty tired.

No cramps today, so I must have just been worked up yesterday. It always stresses me out no end when H doesnt nap, because I know how much he needs to.

I must have sounded pretty bad yesterday as you all sent me such lovely emails. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. Im ok. I think honestly, Im a little lonely. And I think of Yavuz and wonder how on earth he can go on after this, how lonely he must feel. A huge portion of the people I love live so far away, be it Nashville, Florida, Maine, Arkansas or England and Danny is always so busy trying to look after us so well, that we dont see him as much as we would like. Im sure, more than anything, Im just pregnant and hormonal, and its been a hard week. I also need a reality check. For some reason it still doesnt seem to register with me that Im pregnant. I have a big fat belly that wiggles and flips all of the time, but still I think I can do whatever I want and am invincible. It occurred to me today that I will be in the third trimester in November. Thats really pregnant. I need to buck my ideas up I think, and learn how to take it easy. How do you learn something so unnatural to yourself!?

We should get to spend lots of time with our Papa tomorrow. Maybe we can take some fun pictures of H for me to post next week, I know you miss seeing him! He is so adorable too. Tonight he wore brown corduroys and a check blue shirt to the party and looked like a cute little man! Oh and the most adorable thing ever is that he is getting a swath of thick black hair on his legs, not a baby anymore! What the heck am I going to be like when he starts potty training or even worse, shaving?!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Started out well

Our Thursday started out well, as they usually do, but unlike usual, it went quickly down hill after lunch.

It was raining when I woke up this morning so instead of walking the dogs as planned, I laid in bed, which was nice and probably good for me. We had breakfast with our Papa and drove to baby gymnastics as the roads still seemed wet, but again, it was probably good because I have been pretty exhausted lately and am wondering if cycling is on its way out the door for me. Baby gymnastics was fun, as usual, and the Chai Tea that followed with Jill, Lana and their respective kids was incredibly fun and relaxing, as usual. I just feel like everything flows out of me. We dont talk about much, sometimes we just have to fuss over our children, but it takes me to a relaxing place that nothing else seems to. We then walked over to the Pumpkin Patch at St. Peters church with Jill and Collier and played in the pumpkins for a while.

After lunch, I tried to get Henry to nap a little earlier than usual because we had to be at the Chapel for 4pm. You guessed it, he wouldnt nap. I gave him some Tylenol as it seems that unlike all of his other teeth, which caused him no problems at all, the canines are proving problematic. He still didnt sleep. I left him talking to himself for 1.5 hours before giving up. I plopped him in the stroller and off we walked. Now consider that I have been having a pretty rough time with my tummy lately, I think its Braxton Hicks. So walking with Henry trying to get him to sleep was making the stomach cramps worse until I had worked myself up into a worried frenzy and still H was not asleep. So we stopped at Holli's for a scoop of butter pecan ice cream and some chocolate covered animal crackers and we walked on. Eventually at around 340 he fell asleep and my cramps continued. Jonathan was kind enough to walk him around asleep while I went to the Memorial Service for Kevser. Sitting down and drinking water made the cramps go away and the baby woke up and started kicking, so all is well with the bump again.

The Memorial Service was bearable, right until Yavuz thanked everyone for being there and said that she had taken a part of him away, but that it was ok, because she had left a part of herself with him. At this my tears flowed.

Im tired. H isnt feeling good and Im sure will wake up screaming in pain again like he did last night and we will have to hold him for an hour or so until he feels well enough to go back to sleep. And exhausted, I shall wake up tomorrow and do it all again.

Does anyone have any good news for me? Its not like me to feel like this, so Im not quite sure how to get these blues to go away, but they need to because being sad is tiring and its just not me.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Such a Dangerous Hobby



A dear dear friend of ours was killed Friday riding her bicycle back from the lake. Her husband is like a brother to us, particularly to Danny.

There is little information about the driver or the circumstances under which she was hit, which no one can seem to understand as it is a straight, open road on which you can see for miles. We presume the driver was negligent, however the police have yet to provide a report.

There is a Memorial Service at the Chapel on Campus for those that wish to pay their respects. Thursday, 4pm.

Via some influential people making some influential calls, they have been able to get the paperwork expedited and are able to leave to take her home to Turkey before the weekend.

If you cant make the Memorial Service and would still like to honor Kevser, there is a community ride Sunday from the Square to the location of the accident, leaving at 4pm. Henry and I will be participating so please join us. There is also a fund to help re-patriate her if you wish to help in some small way. Please contact me personally for details.

I have been asked if I am now scared to ride my bike and I am not. However I am scared to drive my car. I am frequently tired driving, especially after work (we arent talking late here - I leave work at 430pm) and worry about it every day now - what if I dont see someone on the road. All I can do is pay close attention I suppose and make sure I dont use my telephone or get distracted by Henry in the back or anything like that. The guy driving that truck had to have been looking away from the road for a good 2-3 miles to not see her cycling, and on a 55mph road - though I doubt that's all he was doing - that's a good length of time to not be looking at the road.

You will be very much missed, Kevser, for your vibrant and happy demeanor and the way that you would light up a room with your smile.

Kevser and Henry the day after he was born.


Kevser, Yavuz and Lara at the airshow

Sunday, September 25, 2011

My idea of relaxation!



Its 1030pm, Sunday night and I just finished cleaning up after over two hours of cooking! It seemed to work out well because Danny watched football the entire time, so this might be my new Sunday night! I cooked myself a spicy lentil stew (full of wonderful folates, great for growing babies!) and I put together almost 20 Cornish Pasties, the pastry for which I had made earlier in the week. Kept 4 out for tomorrow nights dinner and have an undocumented number in the freezer! So exciting! I love having homemade stuff in the freezer because it seems like you can put together an effortless homemade meal in the future! I feel refreshed having done something fun, yet productive, whilst dancing to Beatles Radio on Pandora.com. Only downside is, my feet are particularly sore.

These photos are several weeks old because Henry no longer walks with this toy, but they are no less cute, so enjoy!

Out for a stroll...






Friday, September 23, 2011

Plush



We are always unpacking new stuff in this house full of boxes. The other day I was doing the dishes after dinner whilst Danny gave Henry a bath. Then I hear Danny say, "go show Momma" and as I look up Henry proudly saunters into the room with his very plush John Lewis bath robe on. He was so proud of himself! He loves to wear it every night after his bath, but at the rate he pees, thats more laundry for Mummy, we need seven robes, one for each night of the week!





Thursday, September 22, 2011

What an evening

I realise its probably bad form to make two posts in one day, but I have to tell you about my evening...

We went and ate pizza at Soul Shine pizza with Lana, Steve (Lana's husband), Knox and Lana's friend and her baby girl, Lila. Henry was an angel, he not only behaved really well, but he ate all of the snacks I took for him (a cooked carrot, a cream cheese sandwich, raisins and fresh pineapple) and then he ate a ton of vegetable pizza (so he ate artichoke hearts, broccoli and black olives also). We then went over to Holli's Sweet Tooth where they sell mini children's ice cream portions on a mini wafer cone - adorable. Henry had vanilla and I had triple caramel, delicious, though I fed most of Henrys ice cream to Knox. I also got pick and mix chocolate covered stuff (the chocolate covered animal crackers were the best). The reason this is odd is that I dont care for chocolate and I dont really eat candy (which, if you believe in cravings, suggests that our new baby is a girl, but whatever). What makes the evening so interesting is that I cycled to the square and it was now dark. erm. Yes, dark. So Henry and Knox are up way past their latest ever bedtimes and I am on the square with a trailer. I did have one flashy rear light, but dont worry, we didnt cycle home. Lana offered to follows us home, but dont worry, that didnt seem safe enough either. So we called our husbands who were off drinking beer and threw the bike and trailer in the back of Steve's truck. Fingers crossed it doesnt get stolen. It is a Thursday night. Anyway, the evening gets better, I couldnt find my house keys. So we drove over to the bar where we knew they had met and I ran in with Henry (I heard, "hey theres a baby in the house" - oh dear). Its still only 8pm mind you, not super late, but super late for our kiddos who are usually sound asleep by 730pm. Anyways, Danny was not there. erm. So I call to find out where they are and they are at a different bar across town, so with H under the seatbelt with me, squishing my other baby we go to the other bar, but there were lots of police out - remember, its a Thursday night. So I had to stand him on the floor boards, but he was super happy because he found one of Knox' snack cups and played with the radio buttons. We eventually got the keys from Danny and made it away from the square without getting stopped by the police even though a line of four policemen on horse back walked past my side of the car while we were at a traffic light! Never a dull moment!

When we got home Henry had wet through his diaper and was more tired than I may ever have seen him. We were on our sixth poo poo of the day also. So I quickly bundled him into his clean disposable diaper, buttoned up his clean white pyjamas and tried to comfort him, but all that boy wanted was his bed. So I laid him in his bed, but you have to understand I can no longer lean over enough to lay him down so I have to sort of set him sitting up right and let him lay down. I rubbed his tummy and told him how much I loved him and what a good boy he was and he rubbed his eyes, closed them and I dashed out of the room. He may have even been asleep before I had shut the door.

What amazes me is if he was that ridiculously tired, why was he such a well behaved little boy. Though dont get me wrong, Im not complaining. I had a wonderful, wonderful evening out and I am pretty sure H did too. He ate well and I didnt have to cook or clean! And I picked up some chocolate, which unfortunately is in my trailer in the back of Steve's truck still but I have high hopes that it will make it here, fingers crossed!

Oh, and Danny got dropped off at the square but had his sun glasses on so is now out on the town without any glasses (we wear prescription sunglasses)!

We are a right pair, eh! I attribute my very unusual recent brain farts to pregnancy, but whats Danny's excuse!

Im going to make some banana nut muffins for our play dates tomorrow, of which we have a ton, and then Im going to lie in bed and read my book. What a lovely day.

I LOVE THURSDAYS!

The Memphis Airshow last Saturday



Future heart breaker...


I probably forgot to tell you, but H is officially walking now, and getting up on his own from a seated position. Even remaining standing when obnoxiously 'kissed' by Tux (our 110lb dog).




He really didnt like the sound of the jets and ran to me screaming every time they flew over. We couldnt get him to wear the headphones or ear plugs we had brought for him. But he liked watching the quiet planes and when they were far enough away that the noise didnt bother him.



Here you see that he did not want to put his sandwich box down! Cream cheese sandwiches sure are hard to come by, someone might steal it!




Yes, I realise he needs a haircut. Depending on what time he gets up, we might go this afternoon...