Q: What’s Worse Than Not Knowing?

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Jenn

A: For me, not knowing FOR SURE.

I had my 26 week appointment this afternoon.  They told me last time that they could do an ultrasound on the down low so I wouldn’t get charged if I wanted to, and if the tech was still around. It’s a stretch for me to get there during her working hours and I was surprised to pass her in the hallway on my way in to my appointment. Was it meant to be? Should I ask to see her? I called R – my decision he says. So I ask, and in I go. The baby is in the same bad position as the last two times with his/her rump against the cervix. But he/she does a quick little turn and maybe, just maybe, there are some female parts. The ultrasound tech guesses 80% girl. To me, that’s almost worse than not knowing because now I think I’m having a girl, but it’s still somewhat unknown.  Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I should have known I couldn’t resist temptation. It’s not that I HAD TO KNOW, but it’s just that she was right there and why not?! All very comical to me.

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Trick or Treating

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Jenn

We had a great time trick or treating. We started before dark and hit all the houses neighboring ours. Then R came back to the house to pass out candy and M and I went around the block to visit some friends. She wanted to walk backwards almost the whole way and it took us an hour to go around the block. She had to stop every two houses or so and refuse to hold my hand.  She got to eat two M-n-Ms and I’ve eaten the rest of her candy already.

 

 

We didn’t get all the decorations out this year because of the storm, but I did try something new that I saw on Pinterest. I saved old toilet paper rolls, cut eye holes and put glow sticks in them in the bushes. It turned out pretty cool.

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Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Jenn

Happy Halloween from my favorite little monkey!

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Hurricane Sandy

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jenn

We were very lucky with Hurricane Sandy. While our power went out tons of times, it never stayed out and we didn’t have to relive last October’s horrible week-long power outage or the post storm homelessness. And it’s looking like Halloween and trick or treating in our own neighborhood will actually happen this year!

My office was open yesterday, but I decided not to chance it and stayed home. The governor was saying to stay off the roads, and my office is several towns away from home.  Turns out the state closed the highways at 1pm and my office also closed at 1pm.  M’s daycare was closed and R’s school was also closed (and will be through Wednesday – guess they don’t have power or are a shelter for the 50% of that town without power?). The storm started mid-day yesterday with winds and rains being most intense in the late evening hours. We were sure our power would go out, so we ate everything up from our freezer and fridge in anticipation.  Everything we did was with anticipation of losing power at any minute.  We were really lucky we didn’t lose it!  Our neighbors’ fence did fall into our yard and I did see a tree or two down in the neighborhood.  Overall, it was a low key day with lots of family time, which was exactly what this little family needed.  We had dance parties on couch cushions and pajama concerts in rocking chairs. R and I even watched Shutter Island after M went to bed. It was a great day, except that we forgot to carve the pumpkin! I don’t see any reason why trick or treating won’t be on as planned.  I’m looking forward to great Halloween with my little monkey!

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Forward Facing Car Seat

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Jenn

When M was about a year old the national standards were changed and it was suggested that kids stay rear facing until two years old. Bummer, since her rear facing car seat seems to take up so much space even in my SUV. At two we headed back to the fire station for the car seat inspection and were told that at 23 lbs she just did not weigh enough to move to forward facing.  She’s now 25 lbs, forward facing in both cars and loving it!

All in all it was a great morning off with my girl (I came in a few hours late, then worked late). We started out at the dentist where she sat in the chair, leaned back and let them look at her teeth, pick at them a little and apply fluoride. She was an absolute champ. Maybe it helped how much I hyped it up for the 24 hours before. Then we were off to the fire station where she got to hug a policewoman and sit in the firetruck twice!  I wished I’d had the whole day to enjoy with my big girl.

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Up for the Challenge?

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Jenn

Last week was a challenging one for me with this little one. After several weeks of being sick, I was just plain tired. R was working all but one night last week.  She’s a typical two year old, independent and moody. She’s been low on sleep herself it seems. I know some things needed to change, but I just wasn’t sure what. I knew very well what wasn’t working – losing my cool. It wasn’t working, I wasn’t enjoying it and M wasn’t enjoying it. So, after some soul searching and lots of advice asking (thanks Mom!), I decided to try an attitude adjustment for myself. I realized I was asking the same thing over and over again of M and I was letting her get away with not doing something or with stalling while doing it because I did not want to deal with the ensuing fit should I take the item away, do it myself, etc.  But I was assured that if I stick to my guns and become more consistent, she’ll start to realize that throwing the fit isn’t going to work with me. So, it took a few days of walking away or not going back into the bedroom, etc and some earlier bedtimes and the situation seems to have diffused itself.  Or at least it feels like it to me, perhaps it’s just my change of attitude that’s making me feel better. Don’t get me wrong, life with a toddler is sometimes frustrating, but I am trying to take more deep breaths and be more patient. I’m trying to keep in mind that the way I act is the behavior that I am modeling for my child. It’s a work in progress for sure and always will be.

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24 Weeks with Baby #2

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Jenn

Here’s a belly picture at 24 weeks.  Lots of guesses both boy and girl. I still can’t believe we won’t know until this baby is born, but I’m really excited about having it be a surprise! And lots of thanks to Great Cousin Amy for making me Stay in The Picture.

We had a great weekend visit with Great Cousin Amy. She was so kind to help us (R) put the shed together on Sunday and I feel so very happy that I am able to cross that off the to do list. It affects so many other things on my/our to do list.  She snapped a nice little family photo of us in front of the house where you can see that the leaves turned on our front trees nearly overnight.  Seriously, they were green late last week!

 

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Fall Cleanup

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Jenn

Our trees seem to be some of the last to begin to turn, which means R will be raking leaves for many weeks to come! Or they’ll all come down in some FREAK snow storm – gosh I hope that doesn’t happen this year! In the meantime, he’s working to do a little at a time with his little helper and her pint sized rake. Here she’s giving us her best “smile.”

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“These Guys”

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Jenn

A week or two ago M asked me where her phone was. I said I thought it was in the car and she asked me to go get it. When I asked her why, she said she wanted to take a picture of “these guys.”  She had them all setup on R’s piano bench ready for a photo.

We were finally able to get her in to the photo as well, after she took many photos of them herself on my phone.  I think this girl will be getting her own kid digital camera for Christmas.

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Rainy Sunday Morning Tea Party

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Jenn

M slept until after 7:30am today! The bad news is it’s rainy and dreary so we won’t be able to build our shed today. The good news is we won’t have to build our shed today. So instead we’re enjoying a nice relaxing morning on the couch after eating cinnamon bun pancakes. M is enjoying a tea party with her friends. R even taught her how lift her pinky finger. Happy Sunday!

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