Getting dressed

This morning Sam got himself dressed. His outfit consisted of a red and green Polar Express Christmas Shirt, THREE pairs of underwear pulled on OVER his diaper and his onesie, a pair of black sweatpants and a pair of bright orange pumpkin socks. He won't win any fashion awards but, but I am so proud of him because he did it himself.

Bedtime

Pedro does such a great job getting Levi to sleep.

Fun with Sam!

Sam is so much fun and becoming such a good big brother!

I'm back!

We are all happily adjusting to life with another little boy. This week I have even managed to clean the house several times, make dinner twice, and snuggle with all three of my boys...separately. Last week was my first week taking care of Sam and Levi all by myself. I was a little nervous, (mainly about lifting Sam) but everything went as smoothly as possible. Sam had quite a few time outs and tantrums at first. He is doing much better now and seems to be loving his brother. Yesterday, I caught him standing at the swing rubbing Levi's arms. Sam loves to let me know that Levi is crying and needs me. He drops everything he is doing and screams "UH OH! BABY!"

We're ready whenever you are.....

Diapers- check
Clothing unpacked and washed and hanging in closet- check
Swing, bassinette, bouncy seat, pack-n-play, infant carseat- check
Blankets, burp clothes, bibs- check
Hospital bag packed- check
Well-rested family- check
3 weeks of false labor- check

Hmmmm.......I think we are just waiting on you, Levi.

Poor Fishy

I am pretty sure that Sam's little beta fish is on his last legs. He isn't swimming around much and I don't think he has eaten in a while. We moved him into the dining room thinking maybe the change would perk him up a little and some extra light would be good for him. His bowl has been in the middle of our dining room table where I thought Sam wouldn't be able to get to it. Haha. Yesterday, I was slicing some apples and all of the sudden it got very quiet. I turned around and there was Sam, on his knees in the middle of the dining room table with his hand as far in the fish bowl as he could get it. Fifi the fish has now been moved to a shelf on the baker's rack. I think he is safe there.
A few hours later, I left Sam sitting in the recliner with a blanket so I could get a snack for myself. I heard a huge thud and then crying and ran back into the living room to see that he had tried to climb from the recliner into the pack-n-play and knocked everything over including himself. Some days I feel like I can't leave him alone for even a minute! And of course, yesterday turned out to be a nap-free day as well.

A case of the Mondays

Dear Sam,

Didn't you get the memo? It's naptime. Please go to sleep. Thank you!

Love,
Mommy

Oh, it is SO one of those days! Sam never transitions well from the weekends. There is almost never a nap on Monday. And he asks for daddy ALL DAY LONG! This morning there were two mini-meltdowns. Then I spent some extra time snuggling him and playing with him and following him all around the house and he has been fine ever since. He spent about 10 minutes laying with his head on my belly talking to the baby and listening to him move. Then we had a "conversation" about how Levi would be coming to stay with us very soon.

We finally broke down and bought a new camera. It was 30% off at Meijer, plus we got an extra 10% off because it was the display so I feel pretty good about the purchase and it is a pretty nice camera BUT it doesn't do well with moving shots. Even with the image stabilization mode on. I am kind of stumped by that. Our old camera could capture Sam mid-walk or dance with absolutely no blur. Not this one. Otherwise, the pictures are crystal clear so I'm not sure we want to return it.

Random Friday Thoughts

What a beautiful week this has been. I have gotten outside to walk 3 or 4 days. This morning, Sam played in the backyard again while I raked out my flower bed.
This afternoon Pedro and I decided to join www.savingsangel.com. We figured it was worth a shot to save even more money on groceries. I usually make a monthly trip to Aldi's to stock up on staples and then I use coupons and check the sale ads for our local stores, but this service does all of that for you and even creates a shopping list. I think it will save me a lot of time once Levi is here so it should be worth the monthly membership fee.
I have discovered my new favorite snack/dessert: 1 cup frozen blueberries topped with 1/2 cup plain yogurt mixed with 1 tbsp orange marmalade. The coldness gives Levi hiccups.
I'm trying to make a mental list of some last minute baby preparations. I think I still need to bring up my pump and clean and sterilize everything. We also need to bring up the swing, activity mat, and bouncy seat and let it air out. We need to put a carseat base in both cars for the infant carrier. I should also pack an overnight bag for Sam. (I have only ever spent one night away from him.) I should unpack and wash some summer clothing for Sam. He has some 2T things from last summer that will still fit. AND, I think this weekend we'll be giving the house a thorough scrub down. Actually, I should say Pedro will be cleaning the house. Lately, I can barely make it through cleaning the kitchen and vacuuming before I am wiped out. I am so thankful that my husband doesn't mind cleaning bathrooms and dusting. I love watching Sam follow him around with his own little dustcloth. It cracks me up that we keep his toy vacuum in the closet next to our vacuum and steam cleaner. He loves to vacuum and sweep the floor.

Hello Spring

I LOVE spring. I love the freshness in the air and I love watching all of my tulips and other flowers begin to poke up from the ground. I also love seeing Sam's chubby baby arms in a t-shirt.
Sam and I spent yesterday morning on an hour long walk. We had to say "Hi" and "Bye" to every squirrel, bird and tree that he saw. When we got home we played in the backyard for another hour. He used our big utility broom from the garage and went around brushing leaves and pine needles off of things while I swept the patio. Every time a leaf got on his shoe he would say "EEEEEEEWWWW, EEEEEEWWW." Pretty funny. I had to drag him inside for lunch and he let me know how upset he was to have to come inside by hitting me on the head 3 times. Nice. He took a two and a half hour nap so I'm pretty sure he was wiped out.
He got to play with his friends this morning while I was at a doctors appointment so we will play outside this afternoon after naptime.

Baby Levi is doing well. I am fingertip dilated (TMI?) My doctor is pretty good at estimating weight and doesn't think this baby will be much more than a few ounces bigger than Sam. We are all getting excited. (Although when I tried to bring the infant car seat up from the basement this week Sam started screaming "NOOOO, NO Baby, NO Baby!) He is due a month from today!

HEAVEN in a cookie

You have to make these. Right now. Or in 5 minutes. I have discovered cookie heaven. These are unbelievable. If I did not have GDM Pedro would be coming home to crumbs. And the best part is the dough can also be eaten raw because they are egg free!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients

3	bananas
1	cup rolled oats
1	cup whole wheat flour
1/3	cup peanut butter
1/4	cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3	cup applesauce
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3	cup chocolate chips
2/3	cup sugar
1	teaspoon baking powder
1	tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
   
   
2. In a mixing bowl, mash bananas
   
   
3. Beat in sugar, butter and peanut butter until creamy
   
   
4. Mix in baking powder, vanilla, cocoa powder and applesauce until everything is combined
   
   
5. Slowly add the flour, while mixing at a low speed until evenly combined
   
   
6. Stir in oats and chocolate chips last
   
   
7. Drop cookies by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes
   
   
8. Cool on a wire rack

Nutrition Information Per Cookie:
Calories 87
Fat 2.7 g
Sodium 19g
Carb 14.5g

I need a crane.

Getting out of bed is becoming difficult. So is rolling over from side to side. Pedro said I fell asleep on my back for a couple minutes the other night in the process of rolling over. Sometimes in the morning I feel like I need a good shove to get enough momentum to get up. Other than that, I feel great. I don't feel uncomfortable during the day. I can still reach down and pick things up and tie my shoes with no problems. However, I wouldn't mind if Levi wanted to come out and play sometime between the 37 and 40 week marks. We are all getting anxious to meet him.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

This morning I booked a plane ticket to Peru for Pedro!!! I am so excited for him. He hasn't seen his family in over 8 years. We were able to find a ticket at an unbelievable price (A quarter of the usual cost.) God is SO good.
He'll be going in August so I will be taking both of our little boys and staying with my family while he is gone. I am equally excited about that. I know Sam is going to be spending almost every day playing in the pool with Grandpa at G.G. and Papa's house. I am excited that he will also get to spend lots of time with his Grandma and hopefully see some Aunties as well. It will be nice for him to have extra attention while I'm busy with 4 month old baby Levi. I also look forward to leaving Levi with my family so I can spend some time with Sam only.
I am a little sad that I can't go and meet Pedro's family, but we can't take a 4 month old baby with us and there is no way I want to pump that much milk or wean him that soon. I also don't think Sam would be ready for the trip. It won't be too long before we can all go, but for now I am SO happy to stay home with our boys so Pedro can go. He is a wonderful husband and a wonderful father and does so much for all of us. He more than deserves an opportunity to get away.

Getting ready for Mr. L

This weekend Pedro and I brought up the bassinet, dug out all the bins of newborn clothing, washed everything so it would be fresh, and reorganized the closet in the boys room. I think we need a dresser for all the clothing we have for these two boys. A closet is NOT going to cut it anymore. Time to check out Craigslist.
We still need to rearrange the furniture in our bedroom so that the bassinet can go next to our bed and I suppose I should pack my hospital bag and load it in the car. It might be a little early for that, but I was completely caught off guard with Sam and had nothing to bring him home from the hospital in because daddy couldn't find the bag. Oops. We laugh about it now.

Highlights

Some of the highlights of my week so far have been:

1. Taking Sam to story time at the library.

2. Taking a nice long nap on Monday afternoon with Sam snuggled in my arms. That usually never happens anymore. He'd rather be in his own bed.

3. This conversation with one of my 6 year old piano students:
(We were right in the middle of learning a new song and he stopped and turned to me and said.....)
Student: WAIT! I have a question.
Me: Okay?
Student: How do the doctors get the babies out?
Me: Ummmmm.....Isn't your mom a doctor?
Student: Yes
Me: Maybe ask her. I'm sure she knows WAY more about those things than I do.
That seemed to satisfy him and we went on with the lesson.

4. Having a happy, healthy child again.

5. Teaching half of the lessons I was teaching so I am now free to spend some time in the evenings with Sam AND Pedro at the same time!

Pack-n-plays and our Naptime Routine

We have had a busy couple of days. I have been in hot pursuit of a new pack-n-play since we found out we were expecting baby number two.
We were blessed by our family and friends with every baby item imaginable when we were expecting Samson. However, the one thing we didn't get was a pack-n-play. We weren't really sure that it was even going to be something we would need or use. My grandparents had loaned us the bassinet that has now been in the family for three generations. We had just bought a ranch-style house and we figured between the bassinet and the crib, we wouldn't have much use for a pack-n-play. Well, we were wrong.
So long story short, the Graco pack-n-play that we bought has not held up well. The mattress was thin and lumpy and always bending and bunching. Also, there was no bassinet setting which made it tricky to lift him in and out of in the beginning. Especially because he always started the night sleeping in either the bassinet or pack-n-play next to our bed and then would move to ours in the middle of the night. With the bassinet, I could reach him while still laying in bed, with the pack-n-play I'd have to climb completely out of bed to pick him up.
I told Pedro as soon as I found out I was pregnant that we were saving up our money and buying a top quality pack-n-play with a bassinet and a good changing station. I have been researching and reading reviews for several months. I've also searched craigslist and garage sales for a good one, but without much luck. I finally settled on THE pack-n-play several weeks ago and I have been in hot pursuit of it ever since. Its only available at Target and I guess everyone else wants it too. Its out of stock on the internet and amazon with a 2-4 week wait. I happened to call yesterday morning to find out if they had any in stock at our Target. They had ONE! Wooohooo! The lady put it on hold and Sam and I raced over in our pajamas to pick it up. It is exactly what I wished we had had with Sam. It's already set up in our living room and I can't wait to use it. We put Sam's little newborn baby in it and he loves to peek in at him and say "baby night-night."
It's hard to believe that we are only a month and a half away from having another little boy in our house. I guess I should probably bring the bassinet and bedding up from the basement and air it out. I also need to start unpacking the newborn clothing, blankets and diapers. I keep thinking we have so much time.

This morning I took Sam to the library for story hour and crafts for the first time ever. He didn't pay too much attention to the story, but I think he really enjoyed it. We got there at 9:15 and I had to drag him out kicking and screaming at 11:15. The highlight for him was playing with the trains set up on a low table with plenty of tracks and bridges. I was even able to look through the adult section and pick up several books for myself while he played happily and walked through the stacks of books with me. Pedro has mentioned before that he wants to try to build Sam a low table that he can run some trains on. I think it might be time to do that. It would be perfect in the basement playroom.

One of my favorite times of the day with Sam is our naptime routine. I always hold him and snuggle him for a couple minutes before I lay him down. Lately he has been falling asleep in my arms before I can even put him down. Most days, he names all the parts of my face and head. Then we exchange kisses. This includes the eskimo and butterfly kind. Butterfly kisses are his favorite. Then he lays his head down on my shoulder and falls asleep or snuggles until I put him in bed, cover him up and rub his back for a minute or two before leaving. In fact, its about that time now. Have a wonderful, sunny afternoon everyone.

Love you, Noelle.

I am pretty sure that I gave birth to my sister Noelle in male form. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think Noelle is one of the most intelligent people I know. She is about two months away from graduating from MSU School of Law and has an undergrad degree from U 0f M. She is also one of the most thoughtful and generous people I know. However, there were some moments from her childhood that I am seeing repeated in my own child. For example, Noelle was always very particular about her clothing. Her socks had to be rolled down instead of cuffed and she went through a phase where she would only wear one dress. My mom finally took it apart and made several of them so that she wouldn't wear the same one every single day.
Here are some Noelle-ish things that my son does:
1. His sleeves and pants must be pulled down at ALL times. If they start to ride up, he gets mad. He will not even let me push up his sleeves at meal times.
2. He cannot stand to have dirty hands and insists that every crumb be wiped off immediately.
3. This morning he got upset with me because he didn't like the outfit I picked out for him. He fought me the whole time I put it on him while yelling "NO." And then he spent a good 20 minutes in his rooming crying about "Bad mommy." And let me say, I kept my cool through the whole incident, set him on the floor as soon as he was dressed, left the room and went about my day. I got a load of laundry done, loaded the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and was able to sit and read for a little while before he was ready to join me. I am getting better about ignoring Sam's behavior and not letting it get to me, but there are still days when I think it was easier teaching high school choir then raising a 21 month old.
Levi is "due" in less than 7 weeks now! What an adventure this is going to be!

P.S. Sam really LOVES his Aunt Noelle or Ah Weh as he calls her. When he was a newborn she was the only person besides me who could hold him and calm him down.

Little man is breathing a lot better today. He did his morning breathing treatment like a champ. I let him watch a video during it. He chose STOMP of course. He sat through the entire treatment and didn't fuss or cry at all. Pedro and I were so surprised. We made sure to give him plenty of high fives, hugs and kisses afterward. His wasn't breathing so well this morning. I think he has started to realize that the nebulizer makes him feel better.
The afternoon treatment was another story. It was a battle through most of it, but I gave him plenty of praise and high fives and rewarded him with a popsicle when it was all done. Usually, if we were going to buy popsicles I would go with the Edy's Pure Fruit bars or make my own, but I decided he deserved a little spoiling so he got to pick his own this time around and selected these Scribblers. Hey, breathing treatments with a 21 month old are NOT high on my list of enjoyable things to do. I am not above a little bribery now and then.
Alright, popsicle time is over. Its back to snuggling on the couch. Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Today I was 'that' mom

You know, the one with the cranky, sick kid in a grocery store who lets her kid eat right out of the package BEFORE paying for it. Oh boy. Let me tell you about my morning.
Actually, lets back up to Sunday Night/Monday. Sam started getting a runny nose and watery eyes. He coughed almost the entire night and didn't get much sleep. Neither did we. I figured it was probably just teething or a cold.
We left him with Heather, Tyler, Paige and Wyatt on Tuesday night because we didn't want to drag him out in the cold to test drive the minivan. When we got back, Heather suggested rubbing Vicks on his feet at bedtime to help his nighttime cough. It was amazing. It worked! He only woke up once during the night. She also said she thought he felt hot so we took his temp when we got home and sure enough it was 101.
Wednesday symptoms continued to get worse. I won't gross anyone out with a description of his mucus. We went to get our van last night at 6:00pm and decided to head straight over to the DMV to get the registration, title, and plates taken care of. I am so thankful that we did that. It made today SO much easier.
This morning I could tell Sam's fever had gone down, but he refused to eat breakfast. Very unusual. This kid usually asks for bread as soon as I go get him. He asked for some goldfish and I gave them to him because I just wanted him to eat. He ate three of them. Wow.
Since his fever had gone down, I debated on whether I should take him to the doctor. I am so glad I did.
We saw the doctor around 8:30 this morning. He commented right away on his rapid, labored breathing. His nose and ears looked ok, but when he listened to his lungs, he said he was wheezing and he wanted to do a breathing treatment on him and then come back and listen again. Let me tell you about the joys of using a nebulizer with a 2o month old. He was interested in the machine and actually did a good job keeping it in his mouth, but he did not like the mist coming out and cried, screamed, and flailed through the entire 15 minute process. I felt like a cowboy wrangling a bucking bronco.
The doctor came back and said that his breathing sounded better and his airways were clearer. He then diagnosed him with an upper respiratory infection with bronchospasms and told me he would write me a prescription for a nebulizer and medication and he needed to see us again on Monday. He also said that if his fever went up again he needed to come back to the Dr. right away or go to the ER because that would indicate pneumonia.

Sam was practically shoving my coat on me and begging to put his on at this point. So we left the doctors office and cruised right on over to Airway Oxygen. (Sam loves riding in the van. He gets excited when he sees it and mad when he has to get out. I think he likes that he can see me from his little captains chair in the back.) I cannot say enough nice things about the people at Airway Oxygen. They could see I had a mad, sick kid and made it so quick and easy for me to get everything for Sam. They even gave him a coloring book and crayons that show a little turtle taking breathing treatments. His machine and mouthpieces have little turtles also. They went over exactly how to put everything together, use it and clean it. Then they carried everything out to the car for me.

Now for the BEST part of the trip, Meijer!! I dropped off Sam's prescription at the pharmacy and headed to the grocery area. At this point it was 10:00, but I was hoping and praying that the deli was open so I could get Sam some chicken and potato wedges because he was hungry and throwing a fit. I had the joy of getting dirty looks from everyone I passed by and loved it when I overhead someone make a comment under their breath about how "people shouldn't bring sick kids to the store." I had to bite my tongue and keep walking. I am so thankful for the wonderful woman at the deli who gave Sam a boneless chicken wing and potato wedge FOR FREE even after I had pulled out my wallet. Of course he wouldn't eat them because they were too hot. We quickly picked up a few other things and when we got to the bread aisle he started asking for bread. I opened the package and gave him two pieces. More dirty looks. Really? Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to pay for it and at least my kid is no longer screaming.
We could not pick up our prescription, pay for our items and get out of that store fast enough. Yikes! I was so happy to finally be home at 11:15.
Sam had some chicken nuggets and a popsicle. We snuggled on the couch and watched a little 101 Dalmations and then he fell asleep in my arms and I rocked him and cried out of sheer exhaustion for a couple minutes before I put him to bed. Mom, I am SO glad you are coming to visit this weekend.

My New Wheels!

Yeehaw minivan! I never thought I would own one of these suckers BEFORE I owned a Mustang, but I couldn't be more excited about it. I remember that when I graduated from college my dream was to own a 2004 Mustang Convertible. I sold out and went for the Mitsubishi Galant. Sorry Grandpa Croci. I know how you LOOOOOOOVE those foreign cars. Now you can be happy knowing that we are in possession of a Plymouth Grand Voyager. 7 seats and plenty of trunk space. Now Samson (and eventually Levi) can make the trip to Grandma's in comfort and not be crammed into the backseat like little sardines with bags piled around them. Even more exciting, I can now do my grocery shopping during the day, and Pedro won't have to use his flex time at work everytime I have a doctors appointment. This is key since starting in March I have to go twice a week for non-stress testing. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have loaned us cars and given us rides over the last year while we lived with one car. We couldn't have done it without your help! We love you!

Monday, Monday

Samson loves to eat whole wheat crackers. He thinks they are cookies. (I know. I'm a cruel mom.) After he eats crackers there are usually crumbs ALL over the floor and I usually vacuum them up right away. Today I decided I would wait until later, but Sam went right to the closet and insisted I get out the vacuum and clean up. Then, while I vacuumed the dining room, living room, kitchen and his high chair, he swept with the broom. We put everything away in the closet, but he insisted on getting out the swiffer. After a couple of minutes swiffering, I heard him go to the closet again. I then watched him come back to the living room with the container of wet wipes for the swiffer. He got one out and started putting it on. I had to help him, of course. And then..........HE SWIFFERED every inch of tile and wood laminate in our house!! My mouth hung open. What 20 month old can operate a swiffer? Or wants to? I guess my compulsive cleaning habits are rubbing off on him. Oh dear. I wish I would have gotten it on video tape, but I am pretty sure he will do it again.
We had such a fun morning together. Then, this afternoon, Sam screamed the entire time our sweet babysitter Bethani was here. I'm going to blame it on a combination of teething and not taking a long enough afternoon nap. He is still working on one pesky 2 year molar that hasn't broken through yet. Ugh, teething!
It's snowy here today, but not too cold so Pedro is outside shoveling and grilling some chicken terriyaki. Yum! I'm starving.
I found this cute t-shirt and onesie at Meijer last week and I couldn't resist buying them. They will be perfect for the first time Sam meets Levi.

What. A. Day.

Pedro had President's Day off this year. It was odd. He has never had it off before, but we were thankful to spend an entire day together as a family which is something we never get to do. I had to have a follow up ultrasound for "irregular fetal heartbeat" so I scheduled it for this morning so that Pedro could go. My doctor told us that it was probably nothing and rolled his eyes when he saw that on the report from the 20 week ultrasound. We were happy to see a healthy little baby kicking around in there. The ultrasound tech told us she could see hair on his head already and that everything looked healthy. He weighs 4lbs. 3 oz. already and his feet and nose look exactly like Sam's.
Speaking of Sam, we had a fun afternoon with him. He was sitting watching Veggie Tales with Daddy at about 4:00 when he threw himself forward and slammed his face into one of his drums. He bit right through the space between his bottom lip and his chin.
I called our family doctor and he suggested we take him to the ER in case he needed stitches or a plastic surgeon. No way! It was a clean little cut and I was pretty sure it didn't even need a stitch. We got it to stop bleeding and decided that we would take him to the Medicenter by our house to be on the safe side. No stitches and we were able to get a nurse to look at it while we were still in the lobby. We were out of there in five minutes. Praise God.
Then we took him out for some popsicles and bought him a new Veggie Tale DVD.

Oh Migraine

Migraines must be the payback I get for never having experienced morning sickness. With both pregnancies I have gotten one migraine during each trimester. I started getting one yesterday afternoon. Usually I can sleep them off, but this morning I awoke with what I like to call a migraine hangover. Yuck! I may have to hide Mr. Sam's drums. No complaints from him though since he will be getting to watch a little extra tv so I can rest. I try so hard to limit his viewing time to only 30 minutes a day. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

Starting something new........

Dear Blogland,

Sorry for neglecting you. I have been a little busy. District Solo and Ensemble is coming up and I have 8 students going so the past couple of weeks have been a little hectic and crammed full of evening lessons. I have 18 students this year and I think that has been a little too many. I am planning to pare that down to piano students and students going on to State S&E ONLY starting next week. With 10 weeks left of this pregnancy and a busy little toddler, I am exhausted.

However, I have found time to start an additional blog somehow. I got frustrated with the lack of good blogs and online resources for gestational diabetic women so I created my own cooking blog. We'll see how this goes. The recipes I have made so far have all been delicious and Pedro doesn't feel the least bit deprived. Neither do I. You can check out the new blog www.theaccidentaldiabetic.blogspot.com.

Everything is going well so far. My blood sugar levels have been great and my doctor says I can now test once a week, twice a day. The baby is measuring exactly where he should be and is head down. V for VICTORY! We have an ultrasound coming up in about a week and a half. I am looking forward to seeing some 3-D pictures of this little guy. Samson looked exactly like his ultrasounds. And speaking of Samson, I better go see what he is up to. It's a little too quiet suddenly.

Healthy Food Blogs

There are so many wonderful food blogs out there on the internet, but doesn't anyone have a good low-carb/low-sugar blog? I do have one really good diabetic cookbook, but I don't want to have to buy another one. We have been eating some pretty tasty food in the last week and a half, including Fajitas, Sloppy Joes, and Chicken Marsala. I definitely don't feel deprived even though I haven't had any sugar in over a week and a half. I don't miss it. I feel GREAT! My blood sugar has been in the 70's all day today! Maybe I should start my own food blog...........

Morning Thoughts

Today was day #1 of me getting up with Pedro to make a healthy breakfast for both of us. We had oatmeal with flaxmeal, wheat germ, blueberries and bananas. Yum! I think it went well. (Even if I did get distracted and burn the oatmeal. I never burn things. What's up with that?) Neither one of us could remember the last time we did this, but we decided it must have been before Sam.
Sam has been sleeping in these days. (Yesterday, he slept until 8:00!!!!!) So it was hard to drag myself out of bed at 6AM when I knew I could sleep in a little more if I wanted to. However, it was also nice to sit at the dining room table and have a quiet breakfast with Pedro. And it will be even nicer to NOT have to rush through my own breakfast while trying to get Sam fed this morning.
Tomorrow morning, I think I will try to work-out also. I usually try to squeeze it in during Sam's afternoon nap, along with about 9 billion other things I have to get done.
It's 7:45. The house is quiet. What to do now? I think I'll lay on the couch and read. Have a beautiful day everyone!

I WON something!!

I entered a contest on facebook to correctly guess the name for the shade of red of a new style of cloth diaper that Bummis is launching. You can check the diaper out here. I guessed that they were naming the red diaper pomegranate and they are! SWEET! I never win stuff. I can't wait to get this diaper and try it out on Sam. We used Bummis diaper wraps and pre-folds when he was a newborn. He had outgrown the size we had by the time he was two months!

Jeremiah 29:11

My doctor called today to tell me I have gestational diabetes. I sat on the floor and cried after we got off the phone. Sam gave me lots of hugs and kisses and I still cried. Pedro called and I still kept crying. Pregnancy hormones, I will not miss you. Eventually the crying stopped and then I just sat there and felt MAD. I eat healthy, I take care of myself, and I do NOT want to poke myself multiple times a day. Yuck! Then I got over my little pity party and realized how blessed we are to be parents of (soon-to-be) two sweet little boys. I have been blessed to be able to get pregnant easily and feel great during it. I refuse to let this rob any of the joy I feel about our new little boy.
Jeremiah 29:11 came to mind "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." And also Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." It's amazing how quickly the word of God can bring peace.

It looks like the Accu-check compact plus and I will be good friends for the next 3-4 months. Maybe I will have to poke my finger and give up chocolate for a while, but its small price to pay for the happiness of adding another little life to our family.

A little more prepared this time!

We got a visit from our diaper fairy yesterday! I love it when the diaper fairy comes. So does Sam. She mailed us a 5-pack of toddler size AIO's, 3 super-cute toddler onesies that are extra roomie in the tush for cloth diapered babies, an 8-pack of infant size baby basics (I think these diapers with a couple of wraps will be perfect for holding in that runny infant poo.) and a 5-pack of newborn size AIO's. These newborn diapers are precious. They look SO tiny to me. I think I'll have to bring them to the hospital with me for pictures. We never did newborn pictures with Sam because we were completely unprepared when he was born.
Sam's birth completely took me by surprise. I was 11 days past my first due date and 3 days past the only other possible due date we could come up with. However, I was still set on going into labor naturally. Right. I should have known that would never hapen with the doctor I had. The week before she had tried to have me induced for preeclampysia. She was measuring my belly and checking the baby's position when she realized the nurse hadn't recorded my blood pressure so she brought in another nurse to take it while I was laying FLAT on my back and had been for about 5 minutes. Of course it was extremely high at that point. Whose wouldn't be after laying on their back with 20+ lbs. compressing a main artery. Then she said "Well, I just can't understand it. Your blood pressure has been great, no swelling, no protein, you've even lost a little weight since last week. I'm going to send you over to the hospital to be tested and if it comes back positive we'll induce. If not, I want to see you first thing Monday morning." I was fine. Good thing I was still teaching full-time and had amazing insurance that paid 100% of all the needless testing I underwent with that doctor.
I went in early in the morning the following Monday for a bio-physical profile to see how Sam was doing and it was determined that my amniotic fluid was low, and the baby wasn't doing well so my doctor insisted on inducing. I was tired and ready to get the show on the road so I didn't resist too much. For reasons I still can't understand to this day, my doctor insisted that I go straight to the hospital instead of running home to get my bag? In retrospect, not smart. I should have gone home to get my bag and drop off my car. Pedro couldn't find most of what I needed so I ended up being stuck with the hospital's brand of toothpaste/toothbrush and other toiletries. Not the end of the world, but sometimes you want the comfort of your own stuff. We had NOTHING for poor Sam to go home from the hospital in. Someone had brought us two 3-6 mo. size outfits so we ended up putting him in one of those. I remember it being ridiculously huge and the nurse looking at us like we were completely incompetent.
Now I laugh at all the things we didn't know, but we survived and so did Samson. I'm sure when baby Levi arrives we'll discover more new things.

Ah-Bye!

I have been working on teaching Sam to say the baby's name. So far he says "Ah-Bye." Cute. Pedro and I always have fun picking out names. Its one of the first things we do. We want to start calling the baby by his/her name as soon as we know the sex.
We got a lot of flack over Samson's name so this time around we considered not telling anyone until the birth, but we decided against it. It's our child and if people don't like the name, oh well.
Some of the names on our list this time around were:
Henry
Abner
Abram
Elijah
Ezra
Simon
Luke
Thomas
Ephraim
Maxwell
Caleb
But the name that we decided on was Levi James. We both liked it instantly and kept coming back to it. I think its a good follow up to Samson.

Oh American Idol!

I really look forward to the beginnning of the American Idol season because I LOVE to watch the auditions. Especially, the bad ones. (Simon Cowell is my favorite judge.) No one can EVER top the panther man (Check him out on youtube) but, last night did not disappoint. Once the auditions are over, I usually stop watching. One of my favorites was the very first person to audition. She said she had spent the last two years playing the American Idol video game and had finally mastered it so she was ready to audition. WHAT? She was shocked when everyone told her no and said that everyone who heard her told her how good she was! WHAT?? Why would you encourage someone who can hardly carry a tune in a bucket to go on national t.v. and embarass themselves?? Although, I guess Pedro and I aren't any better since we love to watch them and laugh.

I have made yogurt several times now and it turns out great every time. Monday I decided to experiment a little bit and see if I could make custard-style yogurt. It worked!! After my yogurt was done, I took a packet of raspberry flavored gelatin and mixed it with one cup of boiling water. Then, I mixed three cups of yogurt in with it. If I had had frozen rasberries I would have added those also. I put it in the fridge overnight and when I woke up the next morning it had firmed up just like the little cartons of Yoplait. Yum! A healthy dessert.

Ping Pong With Daddy

I have been trying forever to get videos to upload on my blog. Finally, SUCCESS! Here is a short clip of Samson playing ping-pong with daddy. And let me also add that even holding Sam, Pedro still smoked everyone he played against. Thanks Aunt Noelle for the videos!

Expresso!

I took a wonderful looooooong nap this afternoon. Apparently, too long because I misjudged where the bedroom door was when I got up and slammed it into my forehead. It definitely left a mark. Then my husband made me a decaf mocha expresso and Sam snuggled with me for a good twenty minutes while we watched Winnie the Pooh and all was right with the world again. The end!

Got Modesty?

I was pretty disgusted by the fact that a huge majority of women were posting a description of their undergarments on facebook yesterday. Ick! My husband is the only one who should ever be privileged to that information. Call me old fashioned. I don't care. If you really want to "keep him guessing" then why not post a positive word or phrase that you think describes your husband. Post your favorite food. Post your favorite vacation spot. Who cares. But, let's be classy ladies. Let's guard some of the things that make marriage sacred and special.

My better half

I love this man. I'm glad that he is all mine. He is a good dad, a great husband and an AWESOME man of God. I love seeing how much my husband has grown in his leadership as head of our family. I love that he is just as comfortable having a serious conversation as he is rolling around on the floor being silly with our son. I love that he brushes Sam's teeth at night before bed and always checks to make sure he is covered with a blanket before we go to bed at night. I love that he works hard all day long, but still has the energy to help me out around the house when he gets home from work. I love his attitude. I love his heart. I love him.

Ick!

I engaged Sam in a brutal tickle war. We had fun......and then 2 minutes later he puked on me. I guess I should have waited a little while for the snack he had just eaten to settle. Lesson learned. Two hours later my hand still smells like puke.

Cloth Diapering

** If you don't want to read about cloth diapers, skip this post.**
I know some people may think I am a little crazy, but I love using cloth diapers. These are two pictures of Samson at 7 months in a cloth diaper. It has taken a while to get my husband on board, but he is finally getting into the habit of grabbing a cloth diaper instead of a disposable. The system we use couldn't be any easier.
I thought I would write a little bit about it and why we do it.

When Sam was an infant we used a system called Bummis. It consists of a prefold and a velcro on cover. Its similar to what would have been used years ago before disposables except there is no need to fold the diapers, no pins and the covers velcro on instead of pulling on. I liked them a lot, but unfortunately Sam was a very heavy wetter so almost as soon as I had the diaper on him I had to change him again. (One of the downsides to a cloth diaper is that most of them don't wick away the moisture like disposables.) Recovering from a c-section and changing a diaper every 20 minutes was just too much work so we mainly used disposables during the first two months. When Sam was finally able to go longer between changes, he had outgrown his Bummis. (This kid weighed 21 lbs. at 4 months.) At that point we decided to change to the system we use now, Kushies. (Don't you love the silly names?) We switched from the prefold system to Kushies for two reasons:
1. A better weight range; the infant size is for 10-22 lbs and the toddler size fits 22-40 lbs. We liked that we only needed two sizes of diapers until he is potty-trained. Some of the other systems require 4-5 different sizes which ends up costing more in the long run.
2. Easier to use (READ more daddy friendly.) The Kushies are an all-in-one diaper. The inside is soft flannel sewn into the cover. It velcro's on and is just as easy to use as a disposable diaper. With a prefold, there is still some folding to be done before it can be put on. Then the cover has to be put on and you have to check that there is no cloth sticking out of the leg holes or at the waist. They are very absorbent, but its a little more work.

I do wash all of the diapers myself. I know for some people that can be intimidating and maybe off-putting. It really isn't a big deal. I used to wash quite a bit more because he wet more frequently, so maybe every other day. Right now I wash diapers twice a week. The poop isn't a big deal either. I have disposable liners that go into the diapers. When he poops, the liner holds it all. All I have to do is dump the liner in the toilet and flush. I keep my diapers in a dry pail and usually don't have an issue with smell until it starts to get full and even then its pretty subtle.

We don't cloth diaper during naptimes or at night. There are some really wonderful cloth diapers you can get that do wick away moisture and keep a baby feeling dry all night, but they are also expensive. (Anywhere from $20-50 a diaper, figure you need at least 4-6 to cover naps and bedtime for 2-3 days.) Some people put their children in regular cloth diapers all night, but that seems like a recipe for diaper rash to me. Plus, I don't think it would be comfortable to sleep in something wet all night.

We also don't cloth diaper when we leave the house or go visit family. It's a lot of extra stuff to lug around. 20 cloth diapers takes up quite a bit more room than a compact bag of 20 disposable diapers.

The only other con to cloth diapering that I can think of would be the fit. They are much bulkier than disposable diapers so Sam usually has quite the bubble butt going. I think its cute. However, I have noticed that it does make a difference in the way his pants fit. Sometimes I have to go up a size and then cuff them at the bottom so they will fit his tush.

Some of the benefits to cloth diapering are:
1. The savings!!!!
2. Less waste.
3. No emergency trips to the store for diapers.
4. At 19 months, Sam knows when he is wet or poopy and he lets me know. We're getting ready to start potty training.

Prayer and Parenting

We pray every morning as a family before Pedro leaves for work. We usually stand next to Sam's high chair and each put a hand on him. This morning for the first time ever, he put down his spoon and bowed his head and sat quietly during the whole prayer. YES!
Then I sat at the table reading my bible while he finished his breakfast and he pointed to my bible and said "Bi-blo" or something like that. After breakfast he sat and let me read him a story from his little bible. I get so excited about little things like that!

Samson's tantrums have gotten 100% better. In fact, I don't think he has had one in a week. I think he needed to get back into his routine. I'm also reading a pretty awesome book, "The Happiest Toddler on the Block." Some of it is common sense, but there are some great tips and tricks for ending tantrums. My other go-to parenting book has always been "Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood." This is the method I used while teaching. I was really excited to see that they had developed an early childhood book. I read it last year while Sam was still in the infant stage and constantly refer back to it. I am definitely not an expert on parenting. Sometimes I think it was easier to teach a choir of 60-80 kids than teach my one little whirlwind, but he is absolutely worth it. I am so thankful to be able to stay home with Sam. Sometimes we do miss having two paychecks and occasionally I miss spending time around other adults, but for the most part I would not give up this time with my little guy for anything. Someday when our kids are all in school there will be plenty of time for me to return to teaching, finish grad school and pursue my career.