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!!!