New month, new post

So, we are in November now. Things I can tell you about my life:

I have approximately 11 weeks left of being pregnant.
I have no time to make all the Christmas presents I want to make, just like every year.
We still have ants in the yard.
Our winter grass is sprouting beautifully, despite the pigeons' attempts to eat it all.
I made Aiden an incredibly adorable Link costume for Halloween, complete with Master Sword and Hylian shield.
He quite liked wearing the hat.
He seems to be loving nursery, though he is still very happy to see us every week when we pick him up at the end of church.
There is little that is cuter than your toddler lighting up with huge smiles and running to you, calling out "Mama, mama, mama!" at the end of church.
A freshly bathed, dried, and pajamad toddler who is feeling cuddly may count as cuter.
The new baby is probably going to be named Caleb.
Aiden has been teething for the past month. All 4 canines decided to try to come out at once. That leaves just his 2-year molars.
Our trash can has been practically overflowing by trash day each week due to slowly getting rid of the bags of yard trash from making things look nice outside.
We went to a pumpkin patch for Halloween, and discovered our toddler adores pumpkins, especially ones small enough for him to pick up and throw. The hay bale maze was not as popular. The tractor was a hit. But mostly he just wanted to run around and throw things. And pick up everybody else's litter. He is an un-litterer. All trash must be properly thrown away.
It is entirely possible for it to be 88 degrees on Halloween here.
My glucose levels are fine, which is shocking considering the numbers of cupcakes I have consumed this month. However, I am slightly anemic. This makes me want to eat steak. The doctor recommended taking an iron supplement instead though. Bah.
I am getting the seasonal flu shot today. The H1N1 vaccine is still not available here anywhere.
My child's new favorite word is "pots".
Next time I'm pregnant, I'm going to invest in some expensive nice long enough won't-fall-off-all-the-time maternity jeans.
I beat World of Goo. Fun little game.

If you want to know more about daily boring details of my life, or see my photos from my "photo a day for a year" project, check FaceBook. I update it a lot more frequently than my blog.

Oh wow

I haven't posted in FOREVER. Sorry.

My life is fairly boring. I am trying to grow a new baby, keep my toddler growing, and see if my lemon tree will grow at all. I had to rip out my garden plants that survived all summer and were starting to grow a nice fall harvest for me, because we got our lawn sprayed to kill the biting ants and he wouldn't spray if we were going to eat any of the stuff in the garden. Of course, the spray did NOT end up killing the ants (possibly because it rained, possibly we overwatered the lawn, who knows...), so he had to come back this morning to try some different stuff. And now I cannot do yardwork where he sprayed for a couple days to allow the stuff to get down in and do its work or whatever. And of course, it is finally cool enough outside that I was, in fact, planning on making my whole yard beautiful this weekend (because it looks TERRIBLE right now because we have not been keeping up on picking up the detritus from our trees), and now I can't. And I am not going to be able to plant a winter garden due to the amount of time you have to wait after the pesticide before you plant anything you're going to be eating.

ANYWAY...enough about ants and growing things. Obviously, it is a small sore spot with me right now.

Speaking of sore spots, this pregnancy has been overall much more uncomfortable than the last one. Crazy round ligament pain / hip pain / etc. every morning when I wake up, or anytime I lie down on the floor, or after sitting for very long, or if I twist weird. Whatever. Need to exercise after this baby to get all my tummy muscles back in shape so that hopefully this extra painfulness from carrying around my belly baby never happens again. Or something. Additional achiness in my right leg every morning that I find fairly inexplicable and have not been able to solve with sleeping position or pillow placement. It was really bad this morning, to the point where I ended up crying while trying to walk to the bathroom. It has subsided now though, which is good. I really ought to ask the doctor about it at my next appointment.

And all my appointments are made for the rest of the pregnancy! Whoo! Next one is the nasty glucose one. So fun. Fast for three hours, chug the gross sugar drink within ten minutes time EXACTLY half an hour before your appointment, which you have to show up 5 minutes early for, so they can be sure to draw your blood EXACTLY one hour after you finish. Also, cervix check to make sure there's no signs of premature labor. Really looking forward to all that. It shall be the highlight of my right-before-Halloween visit.

I have stuff to try making Halloween costumes out of for Dusey and my Pickle Baby. Hopefully I get around to making them soon. I have been busy crocheting hundreds of tiny granny squares for a secret project of awesomeness that is taking forever. I am feeling an urgency to finish as many of my unfinished craft projects in the next three months as I can, as I know once the new baby is here they will all undoubtedly get put on hold again indefinitely. I have decided I don't like Red Heart Super Saver yarn very much, I am getting blisters on my finger from it running across it. The Caron Simply Soft is much better as far as an acrylic yarn goes. Someday perhaps I will have enough money to buy nice yarns made of natural fibers for my projects. Though, then again, acrylic is nice because of its washability.

Random factoid: I apparently have very good hemoglobin. Better than my doctor's. No need for iron supplements here! They'd probably be overdoing it! So, more snacks, and more water, and more sleep, are the only solutions to not feeling dizzy. Fall finally arriving has been helping immensely as well.

And by "fall" what I really mean is that we are currently having highs in the low 90's or high 80's every day, and it is no longer 105 outside all the time. It is beautiful weather. The child boy and I have been playing outside more this week, enjoying not overheating after 10 minutes. We are all out of bubble solution now though, so I need to make some more.

Aforementioned child boy has two new canines that popped through today, explaining his increased tantrums and snuggliness the past week with their emergence. He is also trying hard to imitate us and is learning loads of new words all the time and is quite talkative and very smart and has started using his imagination and pretend cooking things like blocks in his play-bowls in our (unplugged) toaster oven. He tells me they are hot when he takes them out and then pretends to drink them and says "Ahhhh" when done as if they were the most delicious refreshing thing ever. It is, perhaps, the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Some guy I grew up with messaged me on FaceBook today. During the course of our small talk, he revealed that back when he used to be afraid to talk to girls, he had a small crush on me. So, that was a little boost to my self esteem, knowing that years and years ago, when I used to think I wasn't cute and no boys liked me, that one at least did. Maybe more! Who knows! At any rate, it was a weird little conversation that never would have occurred were it not for FaceBook. The things people feel the need to confess to....weird.

I think that about wraps things up. I am currently finishing off the package of Fig Newtons I bought while thinking about Brian Regan's little bit about them and the listed serving size. "Two cookies? Who only eats two cookies? I eat Fig Newtons by the sleeve! Two sleeves is a serving size!"

It's a boy, it's a boy, it's a boy, boy, boy

Sorry for the title, been watching a lot of Baby Signing Time the past few days and the repetitive songs are all stuck in my head.

Anyway, we are following the pattern thus far of both my older sisters, and having a second boy. While it would have been fun to go crazy on all the girly stuff had it been a girl, this will be good, as we don't have to buy any new clothes (we have LOTS of baby boy clothes), they can easily share a room for years and years (no cleaning out the storage room yet!), and I suspect they will absolutely adore playing with each other. Anyway, I am excited. Now I can start looking at baby names again. El Hijito was not at all shy in showing off, he likes being all curled up (surprise surprise for a fetus, I know), with his hands by his face and his legs crossed. This ultrasound, being a level 2 ultrasound, was much more detailed than the first one last time, so it was neat to see everything as the tech explained absolutely everything and what it was, etc, etc. And, so far so good, he looks to be a perfectly healthy little 11oz. fetus. I suspect I will have to have another ultrasound closer to my due date to make sure everything is still going well at that point.

Tonight is the ward campout. I need to get ready for it. Warm stuff to gather up, sandwiches to make, I don't know what else. I want to make some brownies first though. And my child is taking an afternoon nap for the first time in DAYS which I am very excited about, so I think I will go ahead and make the brownies while I have a chance. Supposedly, it's the best ever brownie recipe ever. I will report later on how they turned out.

Almost There

Tomorrow is my other two fillings. Friday is my ultrasound (FINALLY), and then the ward campout.

I had weeeiiiirrrrrrd dreams last night, as has frequently been the case lately.

My child has been cranky and kind of sick. I am hoping it is a tooth coming through. He has not been napping well the past few days. This is highly unfortunate, as I have been incredibly sleepy ALL THE TIME the past few days and could really use a nap each day, but it doesn't happen because I just sit around listening to the baby monitor waiting and waiting and waiting for him to GO TO SLEEP until finally he starts crying and I go get him up again and then repeat the whole process 30 minutes later.

It is still entirely much much too hot outside. I have been having dizzy spells. The only thing the kiddo wanted to do yesterday (besides throw every piece of food I gave him onto the floor in a fit of anger because he's not feeling well) was go outside. And I kept saying, "No, it's too hot outside," and he would scream and cry at me and run from the front door to the back door and back to the front door looking at me over and over with tear-filled desperate eyes. But I did not give in, because I knew if I went outside in the middle of the day, I was going to get dizzy again, and I am tired of the dizziness and am trying to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately, going grocery shopping seems to trigger it, and I have to go grocery shopping every week.

We had an absolutely wonderful reunion with my family in California last week. We went to Disneyland for two days, and the beach for one day. I went on all the kiddy rides at Disneyland (the circling rocket ride in Tomorrowland proved to be too much for me). Aiden loved It's a Small World, and liked the carousel, and Dumbo, but didn't much care for most of the little movie rides, as they all have dark parts and scary music bits and most have flashy light bits too and it's all a bit much for a sleepy 16-month old to handle. He loved playing with his cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents, though, which was good, as I let them take care of him a lot of the time for me so I could focus on not being dizzy (I almost passed out, vision blacking out, ears ringing, the whole nine yards, while waiting in line to buy us some lunch the first day at Disneyland! Very exciting. My sister bought me a Powerade. It was blue, and delicious.) I loved seeing all my family, and wish I got to visit with them more often. I miss getting to spend time with them. I think maybe they should just all come visit me in November. The weather here should be lovely by then, and they can put up all my Christmas decorations for me. Not really on the decorations, but still, it would be fun if they could come visit. Maybe eventually I'll have the "pink room/storage room" cleaned out and they could actually have some place to stay if they came to visit. I ought to clean it out anyway in preparation for the new kiddo. And because it's a mess.

Our broken showerhead is fixed. And I have a new garage door opener remote for the car, so I don't have to get in and out to use the keypad every single time I go anywhere anymore, which should prove to be lovely and appreciated greatly by both myself and my child. Now I just need to find a repairman to call about quotes for fixing the microwave turntable, because if it ends up that it would be really expensive, then I suspect we should just buy a new microwave. The current microwave still works, true, but a working turntable makes food heat so much more evenly/quickly! I am so spoiled.

Anyway, I am not at all excited for tooth fillings tomorrow. It kind of hurt on the last batch and they had to give me extra Novocaine that resulted in me having a very numb (finally) right side of my face right after I got home, and my jaw ached all day. I suspect it will probably be just the same on the left side tomorrow. But I am very excited for Friday. Ultrasound! I need to remember to bring a blank DVD so they can make a copy of it for me so Mike can watch it. I am honestly feeling a wee bit ambivalent about the ward campout. I am not sure how well Aiden will do with falling asleep in a tent in the cold mountains, etc, etc. Who knows, maybe he will surprise me and we will end up having a fabulous lovely time. Honestly, I'm really looking forward to October when he gets to go to nursery. Fairly unrelated to the ward campout, but that is what popped into my head, so there you go.

By this time last time I was totally done with the morning sickness. This time around, though, it seems to keep cropping back up unexpectedly just when I think I'm finally all over with it. I am feeling better almost all of the time, but every once in a while I start feeling very suddenly and violently ill. This child, oh this child, this child is turning me into a picky eater and a tired sick constantly hormonal wreck. My apologies to my other child, you can blame your mother's several months of hardly playing with you and spending a lot of time lying on the couch on your new sibling. Cheese crackers are the worst. Though I made some Kraft Mac-N-Cheese a few weeks ago that I ate a few bites of and then couldn't even stand to look at anymore and ended up throwing away because it was making me feel ill every time I opened the fridge and saw it there. REAL CHEESE IS STILL DELICIOUS though. Just in case you were wondering.

Lazyhead and Sleepybones never could agree

We had a return to the morning sickness today (just as I was starting to think it was over with). It seems as if it is not one thing, it is another. When I'm not morning sick, I have a cold, or I'm dizzy, or my sciatic (sp?) nerve goes off, or I have a grumpy child to deal with, or it is simply too darn hot outside to do anything.

I am really looking forward to when summer is over.

Here is a list of things I plan on doing once it is cooler outside again:
Go on walks with my Pickle Boy every day. We both like walks.
Cook dinner regularly.
Not be sick all the time.
Keep the house clean.
Play in the backyard.
Go to the playground that has the swings.
Have picnics.

You get the idea.

In the meantime, I am going to daydream about living in a temperate climate. And I'm going to daydream about rich, flavorful beef, and donuts. Not together. But the same meal (entree and dessert), sure. Yum.

Hi, hi, hi, hi, nananananana

Here is Potato Bug's current list of words:
Nana (banana)
Reggie (his grandparents' dog)
Mamamamama (Mommy)
Dada (Daddy)
Dah (Dog)
Bye-Bye
WaDa (Water)
Uh-oh
Hi
Papa (Grandpa)
Wazzat (What's that)
Ba (ball)

Shju (shoe)
Che (cheese)

He occasionally mimics me when I say other words as well. Papa and Reggie and Wada he's only said a couple of times each, and doesn't generally seem inclined to repeat them. He signs "more" frequently now, and loves signing "dog" and "daddy" and does a half-sign for water when he's thirsty, and still sometimes does the sign for food though more often he walks over to the fridge and pounds on the door of it until I get him something to eat. He loves blowing raspberries, and blowing on hot food, and sometimes licks me when I ask him for kisses (which is the closest to actual kisses that I've gotten from him so far).

We just got back last night from a lovely vacation with Dusey's family in Oceanside, CA. We went to the beach lots, where Potato Bug adored playing in the sand and seeing his cousins and grandparents almost all day every day. We also went to San Diego Zoo, which I loved. I particularly liked watching the gorillas and the polar bears and the pandas (though I wish they let you stay to see the pandas longer). Oh, the hippo was fun to watch, too. Dusey took some really amazing photos while we were there, most especially of the gorillas and the lion. I forgot to put sunscreen on my back for the first few hours of our last day at the beach, and am now suffering the consequences. Potato Bug and I are both having a bit of a hard time being back home alone with each other. This will probably not be helped by his pediatrician appointment this afternoon, since it's time for shots again.

At thirteen weeks along, I am still feeling pretty sick most of the time. I managed to not throw up once during our vacation though, despite a couple close calls. It was a nice respite from two straight weeks of throwing up every single day. At first I had the hardest time dealing with dinner, but the past couple weeks it has switched to breakfast. Hopefully it will go away really soon so I can start feeling like actually making food for my family again. I have gained a lot more weight this far into this pregnancy than I did last time, because I just don't feel up to making food most of the time, so we've been eating out a lot, and eating a lot of microwave meals (like corndogs and burritos and things). I am frequently craving steak. I finally got some Flinstones vitamins to take, which might help with the cravings. They certainly taste infinitely better than the store-brand chewables I got last time around. Maybe I'll try the gummy ones once I run out of these.

Potato Bug loves running around everywhere now, and always wants to go outside to play and pull the last few tomatoes off their vines. My books are going to be moving from our front room into our bedroom in an effort to keep him from playing with them constantly. He is slightly more interested in coloring, though it still doesn't keep his attention for more than a few minutes. He tries sometimes to help me build the block towers, rather than just always knocking them over now, which is nice. We play lots of little games together during the day where he'll run around and I'll chase him, or he'll fall over on the floor and I'll tickle him, or he'll bring me a book to read to him, etc. He loves pretending to mix stuff, and had great fun on our vacation taking the whisk and the colander and mixing the air around with them. No trash can is safe from him, except for the one we got with a locking lid. He threw away his sippy cup while we were in California. Drawers and cabinets are a constant risk as well, and I need to finish putting the cabinet locks on the bathroom cabinets and games cabinet and Dusey's photography cabinet. He does actually listen to me most of the time now though when I tell him to not do something, or ask him to put something back. I have decided we will work on saying please and thank you after he has gotten to the point of actually asking for things better, rather than just whining and reaching for what he wants.

Overall, we're having a good time. I am looking forward more and more to the reunion with my family next month. I miss them.

I had forgotten

I had forgotten what it's like for me, being pregnant. Of course, this time, all the symptoms seem to be coming on a little quicker, a little sooner, than they did last time, and possibly a little worse, too. Or maybe it just seems that way because I'm trying to take care of a very clever toddler who is now darting all around the house all day getting into absolutely everything, while I am at the same time trying not to throw up.

My house is a disaster zone, verging on a federal emergency. The only reason it hasn't gotten to that point yet is because Dusey cleans stuff up every night when he gets home.

I could clean it, I suppose. I tend to put it off, though, dreading that darting pain in the sciatic nerve, dreading feeling so tired that I suspect I may pass out at any moment, dreading hunching over the toilet again when something unexpected sets off the queasiness. Smells, sights, sounds, movement, most anything can set it off. Diaper changes are the worst.

My giggly little boy was happily watching me throw up a few days ago. He ran off to his room, and brought back one of his board books, which he determinedly tried to throw into the toilet. Thank goodness I got it out of his hand right before he let go of it. A couple days later, I forgot to close the bathroom door, and as soon as I realized, I ran in there just in time to see him swirling the toilet water with my hairbrush in between splashing around with his hands. That is now the first thing I check every day once he is awake, is making sure that door is closed. Hopefully it will be a long time yet before he learns how to turn the doorknob. I still don't know what to do with my hairbrush, I've left it sitting in the sink ever since (I have another that I've been using, no worries).

We left the kiddo home with his grandparents this last weekend, while we took an overnight trip to Fresno for a friend's wedding. It was an enjoyable trip, and I didn't miss my babykins quite as much as I was expecting too (though I did miss him). I never want to sit on the back row of a small airplane again though. Somewhat turbulent landings on both flights made me into one queasy lady.

I watched some Food Network yesterday. One of their chefs was cooking an aged steak. So, of course, then I started craving steak. With buttermilk biscuits. So we went out to eat last night at Texas Roadhouse, where I got my steak (but no biscuits, sadly). It was fairly tasty, and I actually managed to keep it all down once we got home, with the help of a cool wet washcloth and a husband who took care of our child's bedtime routine all by himself.

I got a laptop. 17" MacBook Pro, old floor model that was getting replaced at Dusey's store, so we got a really, really good deal on it. I love it. I also got Dusey's old iPhone, since he got the new 3GS one. I have been playing around a bit with both of them, and am perfectly satisfied on the technology front for the foreseeable future.

I've been doing lots of reading lately, as reading and watching TV/movies are about the only things I seem to be able to do lately without feeling really sick. I've read a couple more DiscWorld books. I also reread Ender's Game, and for the first time read Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. Children of the Mind is next on my list, after which I'll probably read more DiscWorld books.

It is hard to believe that it is already almost the 4th of July, yet at the same time, it feels like time has been crawling, so slowly. I still have probably 4 to 10 more weeks of feeling sick. There is more than a month left before I get to go have "the ultrasound". I have to have four fillings, but can't get them until August. Hopefully July will go quickly. I want to set off fireworks. I don't recall if they're legal here or not.