Good News/Bad News

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts, but I thought it might be fun to bring it back, so here goes:

The Good News is that Wiggle Man is feeling better after a weekend long cold, and is actually eating normally.
The Bad News is that eating normally right now includes informing me that the mac n' cheese I made him for lunch "tastes disgusting."  I then attempted to add some shredded cheese to it for him, but was told that I had "scrunched up" the cheese. 

The Good News is that Bam Bam has a new nickname.  While he's as strong now as he was in the womb, he's so laid back that Bam Bam doesn't seem to suit him.
The Bad News (for him) is that I've taken to calling him Chicken Nugget.  I'm sure he'll love that in about 10 years.

The Good News is that the humongaloid spider in Wiggle Man's room this morning was not, in fact, a Brown Recluse as I suspected, and that the Rev graciously, and without mocking me, removed it for me.
The Bad News is that there was a honking humongaloid spider in Wiggle Man's room when I woke him up this morning.  UCK.  (*Cue extensive shuddering*)

The Good News is that Chicken Nugget is perfectly content to sleep through his big brother's temper tantrums.
The Bad News is his big brother's temper tantrums.  I am not as adept at blissfully ignoring them.

The Good News is that I can zipper and button my "big" pre-pregnancy jeans, and zipper and almost button (using the good ol' hair elastic trick) my "tiny" pre-pregnancy jeans.
The Bad News is there is a serious case of muffin top in both instances.  Also, I'm trying not to get too optimistic, since the first couple of weeks after Wiggle Man was born I was almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  Then things got very, very scary.
The Good News about that is that my midwife thinks she knows why my body did that, and what we can do to prevent it this time around.  Here's hoping.

The Good News is that I love banana bread, and made a pretty awesome healthified version of it last week.  Whole wheat flour, applesauce instead of oil--next time I may even throw in some flax seed.
The Bad News is that I cannot imagine banana bread without chocolate chips.  And I may have consumed the entire loaf myself over the course of the weekend.  There's nothing wrong with banana bread for dinner, right?  (Before any cyber-detectives jump on this--yes, I know eating tons of banana bread and popcorn is not likely to prevent the scary weight gain from recurring.  I promise, I usually eat very well; my calorie intake is not the cause.)

The Good News is that Chicken Nugget slept long enough for me to eat lunch, and type this post. 
The Bad News is that I have to now wake a sleeping baby to feed him...and waking a sleeping baby's never good.

Kisses,

He's Here!

Bam Bam has made his appearance!

On Friday morning, I went for my regular 38 week appointment.  At my 37 week appointment, I was 4 cm dilated.  Before she checked me on Friday, my midwife wanted to know how I'd feel about stripping my membranes if I was 5 cm dilated.  Then she checked me and said, "Uh....how about if you're 7?!?"

Yep, I was walking around town 7 cm dilated. 

We decided the best thing was for me to go home, get my things together, pick Wiggle Man up from school and get him settled at his friend's house, then the Rev and I would head to the hospital.  Once we were at the hospital, I wanted to see if I could get some stronger contractions going without resorting to pictocin.  I had pitocin with Wiggle Man, and that plus having my water broken equaled some sudden, painful contractions.

So this time around, I walked.  I walked around and around and around the floor.  I sat on a birthing ball.  I sat in the jacuzzi tub.  I walked more.  I sat on the ball more.  And after 4 hours I'd made it all the way to 8 cm.  I know.

So we started the pitocin.  At this point, my water still hadn't broken, but the contractions were picking up.   The Rev made a great labour coach, by the way.  He was fabulous, and I couldn't have done it without him.

Eventually, we realized I wasn't getting past 8-9 cm without my water breaking, so the midwife did that.  Since I have already scarred friends of mine with a detailed account of that, I will save you the visual.  But it would have made a great scene from one of those teen comedy movies, I assure you.

The very next contraction I was ready to push, and about half an hour later, Bam Bam joined our family on "the outside."  The put him on my chest while they cleaned him up, and the midwife waited until the umbilical cord stopped pulsing before she cut it. 

I remember when Wiggle Man was born it was hard to feel anything beyond the relief that I had done it; I had actually delivered this baby.   This time was more emotional for me.  I think knowing how much love I have for Wiggle Man helped me feel that maternal swell of love for Bam Bam right away.  Although, I will admit that some of my first words to Bam Bam were "Thank you for coming out!"

Wiggle Man is so gentle with his little brother, it makes my heart melt.  He gives him tiny kisses on his forehead, and strokes his dark hair.  When Wiggle Man came to the hospital to meet his baby brother, Bam Bam turned to look at him as if to say, "Oh, I know you."   It was darling.   I'm still waiting for the sibling jealousy to kick in.  I'm sure it will, but for now I'm loving every second of my two boys.  And my big one. 

Speaking of Bam Bam, I think he needs a different nickname.  While he certainly was strong and active in the womb, his personality so far on the outside is very laid back.  At the risk of jinxing everything by saying this, he's a really calm baby.  It's a little unnerving.

Kisses,

This Week

Well, I'm still pregnant.

Which is good, really.  Today is the 36 week mark; when I go to my appointment tomorrow I find out if I am allowed off the couch this week, or next week. 

Things have been quiet around here, for the most part.  I hang out on the couch, I crochet, I read, I check my email more times a day than is good for anyone's sanity, and try and keep Wiggle Man occupied.

We have been super blessed by a church family who is taking wonderful care of us. 

Oh, and I try not to eat everything in the house.  Like, this afternoon I had a cheese stick, a pudding cup, and some popcorn.  And I'm seriously considering a bowl of mashed potatoes covered in cheese.  For some reason, the last month of pregnancy for me is always a killer.  I do great with my weight until that last month, when I no longer crave fruits and veggies, but carbs, carbs and more carbs.

In other news:

This big guy had his first day of school today:

He was sooooooooo excited to go to school.  The Rev and I were sooooooooooo excited to have him go.  He's been in need of some routine and some time out of the house.  When he came home, we made a craft for each set of grandparents.  He's been adamant we need to make them something for Grandparent's day, which according to the Sprout channel is coming up.  (Sorry Mom and Dad--I didn't know!)   I'd show you a picture of our craft, but I'd spoil the surprise for Grandma and Poppa, and Grammy and Pop Pop when they get their presents.

Plus, Wiggle Man wrote his name on a piece of paper that was actually legible.  Whoa.

Kisses,

What a Week!

Well, this week has certainly been a surprise.

A little background--when I was pregnant with Wiggle Man, he came right on his due date, and I felt very little in terms of contractions. (Lucky, I know.) Basically, from the first contraction I felt until the time Wiggles was born was about 3.5 hours.

So when I started feeling crampy this past Sunday night, I honestly thought it was just something I'd eaten. When it didn't go away, I called the midwife Monday morning. I got an appointment Monday afternoon, and honestly expected to be told it was nothing and sent home.

I wasn't expecting to be sent to the hospital, stabilized and then transferred to a university hospital with a NICU. It was...chaotic, to say the least. Also a little humourous, given that I'd driven myself to the midwife's, then driven myself across the street to the hospital, walked up to the L&D floor, where I was whisked into bed and told not to move. (Ummm...I DROVE HERE.)

The good news is that I'm still pregnant. They were able to stop my contractions and the progression of my labour. They gave me steroid shots to help Bam Bam's lungs should he decide to show up early. Then they monitored baby and me for a couple of days, and sent me home.

Now, we wait to see what Bam Bam has in mind. I've been told to take it easy. Beyond that, we're not sure what will happen when.

I will say this--it's new motivation to get that nursery done! (I'll be supervising, of course.)

Kisses,

Shameless Self Promotion

Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may be either a) kicking into high gear for school or b) counting down until your kids go back to school/you go back to teaching.

This means that private music teachers like myself start thinking about recruiting new students, and gearing up for another year of lessons, festivals, and recitals. Until recently, most of my attempts at self-promotion have been local. After all, it's hard to take lessons from someone on the other side of the country.

Except when it's easy.

Last year I started a website for my new online studio, Studio 10:10. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so. If you have, feel free to check it out again, and let me know what you think. While it's primarily set up as a flute studio, I'm considering expanding my online studio to include piano and voice, like I do in my home studio.

How does it work? It's actually very easy. As long as you have an Internet connection and a web cam, you can take lessons from anywhere. I've even given lessons to students on vacation!

I use Skype (a free service, if you're not familiar with it) to set up a video call with a student, and the rest progresses like any other lesson. The sound quality is usually great, although it may be affected by the quality of the student's equipment. In situations like that, there are usually simple remedies, like purchasing a separate microphone, or sometimes even moving the laptop to the other side of the room!

Now, here's a pretty screenshot of my website.

Oooh. Ahhhhh.

The actual address is http://www.cyberflutelessons.com/ and like I said, I'd love for you to check it out and pass along any feedback you might have. If you have friends or colleagues that are looking for music instruction from a qualified teacher without the high pressure atmosphere, please let them know about my studio.

My online music studio is also listed on Thumbtack, a great place to find contractors and other service providers.

Ok, commercial over. Now back to our regularly scheduled content of pregnancy updates, life with a toddler, and my latest attempts at crocheting.

Kisses,

What's Up, Buttercup?

Not much, actually.

Bam Bam continues to beat the stink out of me from the inside. At this point, I'm starting to believe he will give Wiggle Man a run for his money when it comes to how active he'll be once he's "on the outside." He seems to be doing well, I'm doing well, the midwives are all happy--8 weeks to go!

The only downside right now is that while I don't have Gestational Diabetes (phew) I am "carbohydrate intolerant." Boo. I was with Wiggle Man, too. One of the midwives actually suspects that I remain this way for longer post-partum than most women, and that this was the cause of my ridiculous (and hitherto unexplained) weight gain after Wiggles was born. I was counting calories and dieting post-partum, but not carbs. Ooooooohhhhhh.

Many of the other symptoms of carbohydrate intolerance/insulin resistance are things you might typically expect post-partum, like fatigue, irritability and mood swings. It's like a giant light bulb has gone off. I'm bummed to have to watch my carb intake (I do love bread), but I'm also kind of glad to finally have a possible explanation.

I was super blessed to have two baby showers last week. The first I knew about--the members of our church choir, bell choir and their families got together for a fun cook-out and baby shower. They did a great job of making Wiggle Man an important part of things; he had a ball helping me open gifts.

My friends surprised me with another shower later in the week, and even arranged for some surprise guests! The Rev's sisters, Mom and Aunt drove down for the occasion. This baby is set, let me tell you.

Now all we need to do is get everything ready. The Rev has been working hard painting Wiggle Man's new room. Once we get him moved into his new digs, we can start on the nursery for Bam Bam. I've been sorting toys and clothes (man, we have a lot of 2T and 3T clothes) and trying to do what I can that doesn't involve inhaling lots of paint fumes.

My current crochet project is a blanket for Wiggle Man. He thinks I've done enough hats and booties for his brother, and that it's time for a blanket for him. 2 squares done, 7 more to go--I'll get a photo up when it's done.

And now you're caught up to speed!

Kisses,

Hats!

I fell in love with this little hat the first time I saw the pattern. It's not exactly practical wear for a newborn, but I think it will make for some cute pictures when Jumping Bean makes his appearance:

The elf hat pattern can be found here. When I made it, Wiggle Man asked what kind of hat it was. I told him it was a baby elf hat. His response? "The baby is gonna be an ELF?" Oops.




Here's a better shot of the pumpkin hat I made from this pattern here:

And here are Jumping Bean's hats together:

I love teeny tiny baby hats. This little one is going to have a well covered head, me thinks. And lest you think Wiggle Man has been left out, he insisted on having a hat made as well. However, you're not likely to see a picture of that here.

Do you know what happens when you let a 3 year old pick out his own yarn at the store? You end up making a hat out of the most hideous orange yarn ever. And assuming you will have some yarn in your basket to add stripes to the hat that will match the hideous orange yarn is a baaaaaad assumption to make.

Kisses,

Wiggle-isms

June! It's June! June means summer, and summer means days at the lake, at the pool, and running through the sprinkler. (Wiggle Man, not me. No one needs to see my pregnant self frolicking through a sprinkler.)

I'm still working on a nickname for Little Bean...these days he's more like a Jumping Bean. He's not so little any more, and he bounces around like crazy. This weekend I forgot to order my new favourite frozen coffee cup o' happiness as decaf; let's just say the whole ride home I was treated to fetal jumping jacks. Me thinks he likey. (Mental note: always stay within the recommended caffeine intake for the day.)

Here are some Wiggle-isms for your reading pleasure.

"I'm STAHVIN'" (Not funny, but if I have to hear it every day, you should have to hear it once.)

"Mama, when I woke up, der were sun fuzzies all over my room. I blowed dem away."

"Dis is gonna take FOWEVAH." (Said anytime I'm asking him to do something cruel and unusual, like go to the potty.)

"Mama, can I play wif EVERYONE?" This is a seemingly innocent question, seeing as "his girls" had just come over to play. Naturally I answered, 'yes.' It did not occur to me that "everyone" would include the 15 month old I was babysitting, who still had an hour and a half to go on his nap. Wiggles and "his girls" were in the room the baby was napping in before I even realised where they were headed.

When asked how he got the giant scrape on his nose: "I went to jump on da pillows, and didn't see da floor der." (Floors can be sneaky like that.)

"Can I play wif da big kids at Youth Gloop?" (Youth Gloop=Youth Group.)

And there's your dose of Wiggle-isms. If this baby is half as hysterical as his big brother is, I'll be ready for my reality t.v. stardom in about 2 years.

Kisses,

Lil' Pumpkin

Since the newest member of our family is due in October, a pumpkin hat seemed only appropriate. I've been wanting to make this hat for a while since I found the pattern online here at favecrafts.

I found some yarn that was perfect while in Nova Scotia. We were there for my brother's wedding, and visited some places we first went to on our honeymoon, almost 8 years ago now. Lismore Sheep Farm is, well, a sheep farm. But it's also a store where they sell yarn, socks, mittens and knitting and crochet supplies. I found a nice soft orange yarn and a pastel green to make my pumpkin hat, a crochet hook made right there on the farm, and some mittens for Wiggle Man.

(8 years ago I bought a winter hat that I still love to wear.)

Anyway, after discovering I have no idea how to deal with yarn not in a ball (skeins just throw me off), I finally sat down to make my baby's first hat:


The picture is not the greatest, I'll admit. I was too lazy to get my camera, so I used my phone. Camera phone + night shot = less than stellar picture. Oh well.

So there you have it. Baby's first hat. So my next question: what to nickname this little bean? Wiggle Man has been Wiggle Man since the womb, so I'm feeling the pressure to come up with something for this little guy. We have his actual name picked out already (and no, we're not telling yet) but he needs a nickname.

Any suggestions?

Kisses,

Just So's Ya Know....

It's.......











a...........................
























BOY!!!

Randomness

Yes, it's been awhile. Profound apologies all around. Here's what's new with Rev and The Missus:
I need a nap.

Still preggers. About 20 weeks. It depends on what due date you use. I prefer October 1st, because, well, it's sooner. So then I'm almost 21 weeks. If you go by the fancy-shmancy sonogram adjusted date of October 5th, I'm 20 weeks 2 days.

My box o' awesome maternity clothes is M.I.A. The one with my comfy jeans, shorts, cute tops and dresses--who knows. I have some maternity stuff I got at a consignment sale, which is workable. Except the pants seem to be on a mission to confuse me. I have ones with just the band at the top, but the band is forever flipping down, or worse--the elastic inside the band gets all twisted. And they fall down, because they might just be to small. Except for the pair that's too big.

I have pants with the whole panel of fabric, but the elastic at the top shows through my shirts. And they fall down because they're too big.

I need a nap.

Wiggle Man is 3 and a half. That is all. (If you have one, you know it's a blend of awesome moments and pull-out-your-hair moments. Seriously kid--it's a cheese sandwich I'm "making" you to eat. No need to gag on it.)

The people who make protein powder need to consider that we're not all hulking body builders using this stuff. Some of us are just ladies trying to get in the ridiculous protein amounts that pregnancy requires. Please make the jars easier to open. No, really.

I need a nap.

It takes a lot of movies to get to Canada. Wiggle Man measures road trips in how many movies he gets to watch in the car before we get there. Canada is many, many movies away. However, it's worth the trip to see Grandma and Poppa. Also for Harvey's and Swiss Chalet. Preferably at the same time.

My fake nails have lasted 6 days.

I got a tin whistle. Wiggle Man has taken it already.

Oh, and I need a nap.

Kisses,


The Missus

And Then There Were Four....

Here's our newest family member, debuting in early October:



Sorry for the less than stellar picture, but it's a picture of a picture, taken with my phone. It'll have to do for now. You get the idea, though. The blob is our new baby. :)

Wiggle Man is convinced, convinced it is a baby sister.

In ever so slightly related news, Wiggle Man and I were watching Harry Connick, Jr. on tv. He started singing The Way You Look Tonight, and Wiggles just stopped what he was doing, and stared at the t.v. for a few seconds. I asked him if he remembered me singing that song to him when he was a baby. He asked, "to stop me from crying?"

When he was a baby, all we could do to calm him was to walk him around the house. Because I bore easily, I would sing to him, and The Way You Look Tonight was my favourite. Whether he truly remembers me singing it or whether the melody just struck him, I'll never know.

But I like to think he remembers.

Kisses,

Destructo

Wiggle Man was very, very excited about the snow we got yesterday.

Very. Excited.

And he was very, very sad that I wouldn't let him play in it yesterday. (Someone had a double ear infection. And it wasn't me.)

I let him out today, being the kind prison warden that I am. We made snow angels, and this snowman.


Who was promptly knocked over minutes after this picture was taken by Wiggle The Destructo.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have hot chocolate to attend to.

Kisses,

Wiggle-Isms

Because I should not be the only one to enjoy my son's isms, I share them with you. You're welcome, world.

"I not go to college today, Mom." (Oh, ok.)

"No plolemo!" (His attempt at no problemo...my trilingual child.)

"That's kindy diffwent." (My hair, apparently.)

"Let's hit the road!"

"I have bees in my ears." (Before we discovered he actually had a double ear infection. Sigh.)

"My hiccups are red and spawkwee wif hot dogs on dem!" (I don't have a clue.)

"We having a pawty for BALENTIME'S DAY! Pink cookies wif spwinkles!"

Kisses,

Wiggle-isms

"I'm STO hungry." (I don't know why he puts a 't' in there.)


"I don't WANNA be big. I wanna stay just like dis." (Me too, baby. Me, too.)



"Let's go check in the covered!" (Covered=cupboard. Usually comes after "I'm STO hungry!")



"I love you so much, Mom." (It's not funny, but I do love to hear that one.)

Wiggle Man, pointing to my sweatshirt: "Mom, what does dis say?"
Me: "It says, 'Lake George, NY'. It's a place Mommy and Daddy visited before you were born. I think you'd like it there."
WM: "Do they have cake there?"

"Ta-NA!" (He usually shouts this to announce his presence when he runs into the room naked.)

Man, I love this kid.

Kisses,