Family Musings

I wasn't able to say that last time I got pregnant. Charlotte came 5 days early. But not Babin. She seems very happy to hang out in my uterus a little while longer. So far, there are no signs of labor. And I am okay with that. I understand how much easier it is to take care of her while she is inside of me. There are no diapers, midnight feedings, or swaddling blankets to untangle right now. But soon all of that will change. It is hard, if not impossible, for me to imagine what life will be like with 2 children. I just can't get my brain around it right now. I promise that there will be a blog post just as soon as I either go into labor, or have the baby. I'm not sure how the timing will all work out yet since Bruce is working and my mom is going to be 2 hours away most likely when I finally need to call my midwife. But, I'll be asking for your prayers when it comes time for labor... I am planning a water birth to ease the pain and will be again using some hypnoth...

I am usually a high-energy, let's do lots of stuff every day kind of mom. I dance in the living room to made-up songs. I take Charlotte to the museum 1-2 times a week. We do fun art projects on a regular basis. Or maybe I should say, I used to be like that. Until about a week ago when I just hit a brick wall. For some reason, I just keep forgetting that I am almost ready to deliver a new baby into the world. Why is that so hard for me to remember? Why do I have to hit 2 pm and then feel like I am crashing into a wall? It has really been wearing on me that Charlotte has watched so much television in the last week. I feel bad. I always thought I'd be the mom who wouldn't let her toddler watch any (except for Signing Time), and then I became the mom who said okay, but no more than 2 hours a day. Then yesterday, Charlotte watched at least 6 hours of tv. Granted, she was not sitting in front of it like a zombie, but running around and dancing to the kids songs, but still... ...

I ordered a "Mommy Necklace" a while back in anticipation of Babin's arrival. I've already worn it a few times and got a compliment each time. Now, I want more. Fortunately, I found out today that there are a few websites giving away a necklace of my choice, so of course I am entering. And writing this blog post to get extra entries. i hope you won't mind indulging me... heck, you may want to enter for yourself or a friend too! The next two on my wish list are Sea Sand and Silver Ice . I already have a Rainstorm and Snazzy . Here are two blogs where you can enter to win your own necklace: This Mom Can Shop - ends Sept. 15 Paisley and Pretties - ends Sept. 3 Good luck! (Oh, and if you don't need one of these necklaces, you could always enter and then give it to me.) :)

So now we get to relive my Sweet 16 party. We always had good parties at my house during my middle and high school years. And my Sweet 16 was no exception. There were at least 50 people there and I am not particularly embarrassed by my clothes or my hair. What a nice surprise for me! Our family friend, Sherry Moriarty , made the cake, as she had done for my previous birthdays. My mom asked everyone to sign the paper on the front door with birthday wishes, but I don't have it anymore. Our back patio was home to countless ping-pong games over the years. And at night, with the screens, it was a cool place to hang out. I don't remember many of the gifts I received that year, but there is one that sticks out especially in my mind. Bruce had been invited to my party but couldn't make it due to work. But, he did give me a gift at school. It was a silver necklace. I never knew someday that we would be married, but I still have that necklace, almost 16 years later. Half ...

I did try to dig out whatever photos I could find of me during my 2 pregnancies, just because I thought it would be fun to compare. But before I show them to you, just remember, we are only comparing the size of my belly... nothing else. I already know it is all bigger! :) It really struck me as sad the limited number of pictures of myself I have to show you. I guess that is what happens when I am always the one behind the camera. So, here are two sets to compare. 31 weeks with Charlotte and 31 weeks with Babin 37 weeks with Charlotte (in red top) 39 weeks with Babin (in floral top) I think I am about the same belly-wise for both pregnancies. What do you think?

I'm happy to report that my tricks for reducing leg cramps and my restless legs symptoms are working. The extra milk and iron make big difference. I just don't take them at the same time since calcium affects the iron absorbtion. Thanks for all the concerned comments and emails. We are now in the home stretch of this pregnancy and I wake up each morning wondering if this is the day we will get to introduce the world to Babin. It is an exciting time, but as a friend reminded me this morning... it is a lot easier to care for a baby in the womb than outside of the womb! Like my old friend Stephanie , I've been wondering how I compare in this pregnancy to my first one. But, it seems I have not take enough pregnancy pictures this time around to do that sort of comparison justice. Here is a picture of my belly as of tonight. If this time around is anything like last time and Babin comes 5 days early, then we should have her in our arms by Thursday or Friday afternoon! But i...

I thought I had told you a long time ago about my cheese making experience in Nagarote , but I can't find it. So I guess I never did. But don't worry, you won't have to miss it, now you get to see me in my cheese making debut!

If you've ever wondered the answer to that question, well, today is your day. Besides her obsession with all things "choo-choo," she loves to run. I don't usually mind it and figure it helps her get in enough exercise. The other day she just went crazy though combining her love of choo-choos and running. Take a look:

I really should post a picture, but my computer is in the shop being repaired... I just wanted to let you all know that I am not crazy. I know. You don't believe me. Only crazy people would tell the world on a blog that they aren't crazy. But let me explain. I have been horribly fatigued for the last couple of weeks and while, Bruce has been kind enough to let me sleep until 9 am several mornings, I just can't get make it through most days without an extra cat nap. When I got pregnant, I expected to wake up to go to the bathroom and I knew there would be leg cramps. What I never counted on this time was getting pregnancy-induced restless leg syndrome . I would lay in bed everynight thinking I was nuts because I needed to move my legs. It seemed nuts to me and no matter how active I tried to be, to wear my legs out, they still wanted to move when I hit the sack. So now, I am going to increase my folate and iron and see if that offers any relief. Let's pray it do...

Who needs a big backdyard and a fancy trampoline? Not us! Charlotte can make a game out of anything... including my exercise ball. Doesn't this look like fun? Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com Charlotte translation = "Daddy, stand up." (heard at the very end)

True to my word, we have continued exploring the world around us via a trip through the alphabet. Just a reminder, the letter isn't so important for teaching Charlotte her alphabet or how to read, but is most important in guiding me to select new activites for her to particiapte in. We started our I week by making an igloo with cut up construction paper. For Charlotte, the best part was being allowed to use the glue stick for a long time. She loves "coloring" with it, but hasn't 100% figured out that it is meant for sticking the "ice blocks" to the blue igloo. Charlotte also liked sitting in her new school desk. It is an old-fashioned piece I picked up at a recent consignment sale. There is even an opening under the seat to store things... I am thinking of adding her coloring books and crayons there so she can access them on her own, thereby learning to entertain herself more often. Then, coincidentally, the book at our favorite children's museum storyti...

When Bruce went to wake Charlotte up from her nap today, he couldn't resist taking this picture of our little girl learning how to grow up. Settling in for naptime was easier than our first bedtime, but it still isn't easy. I discovered that I am fairly patient with Charlotte, until I lose my patience. Then, well, it isn't pretty. I have to work on that.

I won't bore you with a lot of stories... we just had a quiet family afternoon with some present opening and dinner. For posterity's sake, here are the photos with some brief explanations. Charlotte received a new chair from her G-ma and Grumpy. It rocks and has a great stain-hiding pattern on the fabric. Good thinking G-ma. Next was a gift from her Grandpa, something I know we will all enjoy, and something Charlotte recognized immediately. She eagerly said, for the first time, "Signing Time with Alex and Leah." Usually she leaves Alex off, but today she got the whole line from the song. We still love signing and she knows about 200 signs by now. A gift from Bruce and I - a choo-choo train alphabet puzzle. There are a lot of pieces to this one, but I know we can work on this one for a long time. She likes puzzles, trains, and is starting to learn how the alphabet works. Because she has been so blessed with new toys recently, Bruce and I kept the gifts from us to...

My dear Charlotte, I put you to bed a few hours ago, and sure did give me a fight tonight. After all the festivities of the day, you were so excited to finally be sleeping in your new big girl bed, that you couldn't settle down to sleep. It took your Daddy and I more than an hour and a half to help you wind down and actually lay down to sleep in your new bed. I know it was a big change tonight, but you are getting older and need to set a good example for your baby sister. As I decorated for your party today by hanging various pieces of art you've completed over the past year, and photos of you from the last two years, I couldn't help but marvel at how much you have grown. Your hair is so long now! And a year ago, you were barely speaking, now you can say almost 200 different words, and most of the time people around us can figure out what you are saying. When we read books together, you are starting to finish the sentences on each page. You love to sing "Rock-a-b...

Peek-a-boo! Look who's 2! Today is Charlotte's birthday...    Wearing her traditional Romanian dress, from our friend Miha .     And never sitting still for a second during the photo session, wearing her traditional Nicaraguan dress.     Praying that we will let her play with the toy piano very soon, wearing a Chinese qi pao also from Miha.     Saying thank you for all of the lovely birthday wishes.   Showing off her momma's 8-month pregnant belly.

I found this list of 100 things parents should try to do with their children before they reach kindergarten age. I thought it would be fun to see how far we had come in the first two years of Charlotte's life. To keep things simple this year (since I still have 3 left), I'm just hyperlinking to the things I've blogged about...she has done some of the other things, but I don't have "proof." 1. Go to the zoo 2. Visit a farm 3. Go on a hike 4. Play with kittens or puppies 5. Catch a frog 6. Make a gigantic mess 7. Help clean up a gigantic mess 8. Master the monkey-bars 9. Swing high up into the sky all by themselves 10. Try ice-skating 11. Go sledding 12. Make a snow-man 13. Blow bubbles 14. Plant seeds and watch them grow 15. Have a pillow fight 16. Jump on a big bed 17. Jump on a trampoline or in a bounce house 18. Hang out in a tent 19. Spend days at the beach 20. Build sandcastles 21. Go fishing 22. Go out on a boa...

I've put off writing this post for a long time and finally, now that Charlotte is almost 2, I feel an urgency to get it written before I forget the details. Our weaning from breastfeeding was mostly Charlotte led, but with a strong dose of encouragement from Momma. I was, and still am, comfortable with the idea of tandem nursing, but didn't feel like it would be a mark of motherhood excellence if I did tandem nurse. Or that it would be a mark of shame if I didn't. My pregnancy probably played the biggest role in Charlotte's weaning. As I progressed, the milk began to change and it was more work for her to get it. Apart from that though, when I saw signs she was frustrated, I decided to encourage her in a direction that didn't involve nursing at all. The other thing that helped was Charlotte began sleeping through the night right around 18 months old. And since most of her nursing was overnight, I got off easy for those few feedings. Once I reached the decisi...

Um, yeah. Alphabet School. I took my daughter there for several weeks, and well, lfe got busy and we stopped going. But, since then, we have done several "H" themed activities and I finally have enough that I think I can make a passable attempt at sharing them with you. Some of these go back 3 months... Heart Faces Paint Horse anyone?   Wanna hang out with me?   Hiking in Highlands Hammock Stopping to smell the hyacinths Riding her bounce and spin horse I hope we get back on track this week and I can bring you a post sponsored by the letter "I."

High school was fun, right? Well, parts of it were at least. And Reflections was one of the parts I liked, mostly. It's like any other time you try to get a bunch of girls together... there is bound to be some drama! In 8th grade, I knew I had to follow in my Aunt Kim's footsteps and join the color guard. It was fascinating to see all those girls twirling, spinning, and throwing flags and rifles in the air with such precision and grace. So, I audtioned, in the world's most awful blue leotard and silver leggings (thanks Mom!). Fortunately, the sponsor and captains looked past my abysmal attire and saw some talent, so they let me in! Thanks Mrs. McKinney! The picture at the bottom is from my Junior year, when I had the privilege to be captain. That was the toughest year for me. We had an awful Winter Guard routine with even more awful costumes (imagine dressing up like the plant from Little Shop of Horrors!). The cool thing about that year though, is that every member ...

A long time ago, my friend Heather wrote about freezing all of her friendships at the height of their perfection.  It resonated with me, but not because I wanted to freeze all my friendships, but because I had some ghosts of friendships past that wouldn't leave me alone. I knew early on that not all friendships were meant to last forever. I have lots of friends that have been temporary... I just wished they realized it! One girl, whom I was friends with in 6th or 7th grade, decided to spread rumors about me when we got to the 8th grade. From that point on, we hardly ever spoke to each other. Then, fast forward to the college years and she starts visiting my parents house while I am out of town. She tries to meet up with me again several years later when I was in town working, but things just never click for us. I was over the rumor-spreading, but we still had nothing in common. Despite this, she kept calling me for years. I usually just didn't answer the phone but sometimes ...

A week before our trip to Nicaragua, Charlotte and I accompanied some friends on a road trip to North Carolina. Since this blog functions as my scrapbook of Charlotte's life, I figured it was better late than never to post some photos and stories from that week. The trip to Franklin, NC is about 10 hours, which is Charlotte's longest car ride to date. About half-way through, she was still smiling. One of the days, we drove up to Highlands, NC. The weather was absolutely beautiful and even though it was mid-June, a light jacket or sweater wouldn't have felt out of place.   Stephanie and Charlotte had fun the whole week. Charlotte adores her and calls her Nee-Nee.     We also had a chance to go gem mining.  The water made this a fun treat except Charlotte liked to see what happened when she dropped the rocks into the water run... it was hard to keep up with her. Thanks Angela and Stephanie for inviting us to join you on your last trip to Franklin!

While we spent some time shopping in Masaya, I really only wanted to find a traditional Nicaraguan dress for Charlotte to wear. After a couple of hours walking around the hot, indoor market, I found just what I wanted.