Monday, September 30, 2013

There's a New Guy in my Life- Part 1

Before I introduce my new guy, let's back up a bit to before he arrived:
August 25, 2013 (37 weeks)

September 1, 2013 (38 weeks)
That is one dangerous belly, it looks like it could knock Pip into the water!
 I made a prediction that Lil' Bean would arrive sometime around August 28-September 2. So we had Bobby's mom, "Oma", come as a "just in case".  While she was here, she cooked, cleaned, took the girls to the splash pad, and let me rest.  I didn't lift a finger the entire time she was here- it was heavenly.  Despite having contractions the entire time she was here, Oma left without getting to meet Lil' Bean. On Wednesday (9/4), we dropped her off at the airport then went to my favorite Greek restaurant Niko Niko's for dinner.  The entire day, I had the fewest amount of contractions ever so I thought that labor wouldn't happen for another week.  I inhaled my delicious dinner and we headed home.  On the drive home- no contractions. I watched television- no contractions.  I went to bed- no contractions. 

At 7:20am on Thursday (9/5) not even 24 hours after dropping Oma off at the airport, I woke up to an intense contraction.  I looked at the clock (skeptical that labor was imminent) and thought "Okay if this is for real, the next contraction will be around 7:25ish.  At 7:25ish, I had another intense contraction.  So I thought, "If this is for real, the next contraction will be around 7:30ish.  At 7:30ish, I had another contraction.  Now at this point, I had 2 thoughts: 1- I've had contractions back to back before and then they stopped.  2- The next contraction will be at 7:35ish and if it is, I better wake Bob up and start making some phone calls. 

7:35ish, I was punching Bob to wake up.  His response was to lovingly put his arm around me and tell me how much he loved me.  Obviously, he was completely zonked.  I said, "Bob, I think we need to make phone calls.  I've been having contractions and if I'm correct, the next one will be at 7:40.  If it is, we need to go to the hospital."  Bob shot out of bed, fully awake.

By about 8am, I showered, packed my last items in my bag, and Bob made a phone call to my very pregnant neighbor to come watch the girls until Latsamy could come over and take them.  We then headed to the hospital in morning suburbia traffic. Oh  joy, it was the longest ride of my life.

We arrived at the hospital and they had me go to triage and monitor my progress.  It was determined that I was in fact in labor.  Duh!?!  I arrived at about 3cm and a little over 70%, so they hooked me up and then we waited and waited and waited...and we didn't wait because labor was taking so long, but because they had no room ready for me.  They finally moved me about an hour before Alex was born.  Phew!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Great Expansion


 How you like this 36 weeks shot taken by my little photographer Pip?  It's not perfect, but it was taken by Pip and that makes it super special to me.  Plus, I'd have to admit that's a pretty cute photo bomber crashing my pregnancy pic.

I'm 36 weeks +couple of days and I honestly can't imagine getting any bigger. It seems that all the great weight gain I did in the 1st and 2nd trimester has been completely undone in the 3rd.  While I physically don't appear as big, my baby bump is growing exponentially each week! 

I had a doctor's appointment earlier this week and my body is gearing up for delivery, but he assured me "NO baby this week!"  This I already knew.  Lil' Bean is going to be here in 2 weeks- mark my word on this.  I am almost confident that he will be making his appearance sometime in the next 2 weeks.  So by my "mother's instinct" calculations that puts him as being born on or around 38 weeks pregnant which is between August 30- September 2.

I want to clarify that this is not wishful thinking.  I don't care if he comes at 38weeks or on his due date.  I hate when people assume that I'm just ready to kick this kid out of my belly. Not so. I like to look at patterns and try to find similarities or coincidences between events.  For example:

P was born at 37 weeks, she shares a birthday with her daddy.  I hoped that she would be a Halloween baby, she came an exact week after Halloween.  Her original due date kept changing from the 12th, 19th, 26th.  I'm assuming the 26th was the most accurate due date, but who knows.

B was born at 39 weeks.  I had a feeling she would be a 4th of July baby instead of her original due date of July 12th.  Because of this "mother's instinct", I kept telling her to hold on until Grandma came and then she could come whenever she wanted and we changed my mom's flight from the 9th to the 4th.  She was born in the early morning hours of the 5th, an exact week before her original due date.

So based on these numbers and finding patterns:  A will be born at 38 weeks.  My mother's instinct was a week off with P, a day off with B, so it should be spot on with A.  Also, P shares Bob's birthday and she was first born.  A is the last, he's the only McRae male- wouldn't it be weird if he shared a birthday with his middle namesake?   We also felt impressed to fly Bobby's mom in at the end of this month.  Now A's due date is September 14th. So, I could be wrong in all respects and my theories are just that- theories.  We'll see...

Circus, Circus!

Earlier this month, my friend Latsamy threw me and Lil' Bean a baby shower.  Everything was so beautiful and awesome!  I was pretty much blown away by all the decorations, food, and the overall effort it took to plan and execute it.  It is no secret that I don't have much luck with showers- wedding or baby.  Typically, I shy away from having parties thrown in my honor because they always, always end up a complete nightmare or disappointment.  In fact, this shower is the only shower that actually panned out in less than dramatic fashion.  I ate good food and opened lots of presents (clothing and bottles) and people actually showed up...and I knew them!  I'd have to say what a way to welcome Lil' Bean into the world! Kudos to my friend Latsamy who could start her own party planning business!

The décor

The food acting as décor

More food decor

We made an alphabet book for Lil' Bean.

I mustache you a question
 
Just chatting

Me and Latsamy


Sunday, July 21, 2013

32 Weeks: Just a short 8 weeks to go! and a Vent

 
I have 8 more weeks to go!  Whenever I was teaching and it would get close to a break like Christmas, Spring, or Summer break I would tell myself: "You can do anything for ____weeks!" Repeating that on a daily basis helped the weeks go by in a flash.  So far, I'm feeling okay.  I've had to make a few adjustments to my lifestyle, but it'll be okay.  Everything in moderation, so I'm trying to stay as positive as I can about this change. 

Now that I've given an update, I need to vent a bit about some of the things people have said to me, that make me want to throat punch them:

For some reason, being pregnant means that people can say what they want to you about your size, your desire to have the baby already because you must be so miserable, how you're going to have your hands full, and etc, etc, etc! 

First off,  during this pregnancy I've been known to tell people to shut up (complete strangers even) and I give the death stare/glare quite a bit.  People that I know and don't know like to comment about the size of my belly.  I get asked if I'm having twins or if the baby is measuring big.  When asked about due date and I say I have 8 more weeks to go, they act like "HOLY CRAP!  you are HUUUUGE! and you still have 2 months!"

Enough already.  I'm 5'2.  I have a short torso.  The baby can only go out and honestly, I'm measuring right on track and secondly, I could run freakin' circles around you 8 months pregnant, I hold my full pregnant body weight in a perfect, straight arm plank for 2 minutes in the Texas heat after doing 100 biceps curls, and can probably out push-up your butt. My physicality is so beyond you and I'm 8 months pregnant.  So bam!

Next issue:  quit assuming my feelings of being miserable and wanting to have this baby already.  Not once have I complained about the state of my pregnancy woes or expressed any desire to have this baby early.  Seriously people, I'm not some selfish whiner that would rather risk my baby's health just so stop the "pain" of pregnancy.  Baby's need to develop for 40 weeks.  Is pregnancy easy? NOPE. Can I complain if I want to? ABSOLUTELY! I'm allowed to feel any way I want to feel, YOU are not allowed to assume my feelings and make them truth.

Lastly, the hands full comment.  Some of those comments have been made in all sincerity (I don't take offense to it) and others have been made in a "Ha ha look at you, your kids are running around Target like wild boars and you're pregnant with another one!!" Shut up. 

Being pregnant reminds me of the saying:  If you don't have anything nice to say, DON'T SAY IT!  I do get compliments though.  I've had people tell me how beautiful I look or how I'm all belly or you should be on the cover of a Pregnancy magazine(that was my favorite compliment).  Those I welcome, say those things to me because being pregnant is hard, giving up your body to create life is hard, being in a constant state of unmedicated hormonal imbalance is hard.  Be nice to us pregnant  (and post pregnant) ladies! Please. Or you'll likely get throat punched.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Sew Much To Do

 I am a self-taught quilter and amateur sewer.  Occasionally, I have bursts of creativity and ability.    These bursts can never be replicated or mass produced.  Honestly, I forget how to do it almost immediately after completing a project.  It's kind of frustrating because I want to learn from mistakes and modify here and there or create multiples for fun, but I can't.  I guess it's my brain's way of saying, "Hold on there little missy, you only have so much time and money!" 
 
I always, always make my babies a quilt.  It started with a simple strip quilt for Piper, Brynn's quilt took more effort and involved piecing fabric to create a pattern and I hand sewed the binding (which was a first for me), and  Lil' Bean's quilt is completely ambitious.
 
 Lil' Bean's Shades of Blue Zig-Zag quilt
 
 
 
 I wanted a quilt that didn't scream "BABY!" and I love the pattern.  I used shades of blue in men's shirting fabric, a white and navy flannel, and the backing is the devil's creation: minky (oh if it wasn't so soft and snuggly). 
 
I'm not even going to lie and say, "Oh this was so easy once I got the hang of it" or "It went together in minutes."  Lies, all lies!  I bought the fabric back  in May and I just finished the quilt top. I cut and pieced every single triangle/square to create the effect.  I am no genius when it comes to tessellations and had to draw out how to sew each square together so I would get zig-zags and not diamonds.  I still have to sandwich the layers, quilt them, and then bind the quilt.  Honestly, I should pay someone to finish it for me. I did the hard part.  But that's the fantastic thing about doing hard things: you get to marvel at how AWESOME! you are. 
 
 
My next sewing project (finished before the quilt top), was a car seat cover.  Not only do I have bouts of creativity, but I also moments where I see something that someone else has and I think, "I can so make that!" So, so make it I did. 
 
Lil' Bean has to represent so I used the Alabama and houndstooth fabric from a nursing cover I no longer planned on using and backed it with a puckered, gray minky (seriously, I love minky.  Pain to sew, mess to cut, but so soft).  I love it.  If I wanted I could make a BYU one, but...like I said my creativity comes in bursts and I've forgotten how to make another one already. Oh well...guess he'll be sportin' Alabama.  My mom sent me more Alabama fabric to embellish diaper rags and make them cute.  This project will happen after the quilt is done. 
 
I have a laundry list of projects to complete.  This nesting thing is hard to ignore.  I suddenly feel strong urges to do everything at the same time.  Lil' Bean's nursery is 95% finished. It looks good, not gonna lie, I'm pretty impressed with it. 
 
The house suddenly needs to be decorated too, so I'm trying to finish up all the accessories.  I told Bob that I feel like I get 2 of the 3 layers (paint, furniture, accessories) of decorating done and always end up with half-finished rooms.  So now it must be finished!
 
Busy, busy momma with only  8 more weeks to go!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Cat Has a Birthday!

 
I know what you are thinking: "I thought this was going to be about a cat?"  Well, this is our cat.  We've determined that Brynn is a cat.  She picks and chooses when she'll love you or give you snuggles.  Once she picks snuggles, she quickly wants to leave.  She doesn't listen, EVER. Basically, she chooses to ignore us.  We know this because she looks at us and just walks away as if we weren't speaking at all.  She is a cat.  And this cat turned 2 last week. 


 
For her birthday (which was extremely low key as she was a total grump.  Surprise, surprise), I took her bowling with a few friends.  For some reason, Brynn always wins at bowling.  She enjoys bowling for about 5 frames and then decides that everything else not bowling related is far more interesting- namely licking the ground, sticking her hands in the ball return, or going up to random people and just staring at them. The next day went to the movies and watched Monsters University.  For a cat, she does really well in movie theatres.
 
 
We've been going to the pool A LOT this summer and Piper wanted swim goggles.  Brynn decided that wearing swim goggles around the house was pretty cool.  She also likes to wear Piper's bike helmet when she gets in the car, sometimes she wears the helmet with the goggles.  I wish I had a picture because the description doesn't do her silliness justice. 
 
 
At 2 Brynn is:
*not talking as much as I had hoped.  I know she has something to say and she chooses not to say it.  Piper had a sleepover 2 weeks ago so we took Brynn to Costco.  On the way there, she was jabbering our ears off.  We couldn't understand everything she was saying, but it was the most vocal she's ever been especially in the car.  We determined that Brynn doesn't talk much because she has a chatterbox for a sister.  I'm still worried about her overall speech, but she understands a lot...now whether or not she chooses to listen or convey that she understands is another question.  Her favorite phrases are:  "whoa buddy!" she says this a lot while I'm driving and "what happened?"  she says this anytime something doesn't go the way it should.
 
*still has a good appetite.  She eats pretty well...sort of.  Loves bananas, fruit snacks, and spaghetti. 
 
*is always, always moving unless she's watching a movie.  She never stops.  It's exhausting for this pregnant mommy.  She loves to swim and do pretty much whatever big sister does.
 
*doesn't have a special bond with stuffed animals, but she loves her blankets.  She has multiple blankets and recognizes them by sight and feel.  I tried to stick another blanket in there and she threw it out and screamed until I brought in her real blanket.  She needs a blanket to snuggle and a blanket to sleep on at all times. 
 
*isn't potty trained and we won't be potty training her until she's almost 3 so don't even suggest I need to train her because I already tried potty training as a pregnant mommy to a headstrong 2 year old and it resulted in a very angry pregnant mommy.  When said child was nearly 3, she trained in 2 weeks.  I can wait. She does, however, let us know when she is poopy and/or pee pee.
 
*will do pretty much anything for a laugh.  She loves getting a good chuckle out of you.  She's a jokester and she's so funny.  She has these faces that she'll make on command, it's hilarious.  Her faces are: "no banana face"- this is a sad face, "zombie face"- this is her glassy stare when she's tired, and "pleased as pie face" or Cheshire grin- this is her " I've done something very naughty or I'm thinking about doing something naughty" face.
 
*is still a momma's girl.  There is no one else in her tiny little world that she loves more than her mommy.  Awww...
 
I was looking at pictures from when I was in the hospital giving birth to her and I can't believe how fast it went by.  Poof, my little tiny baby is now 2.  It's amazing.  You think you'll remember all the little things, but you don't and in a blink it's passed.  Slow down, time.  Slow down.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

27 (and a half) weeks- The Downhill of an Uphill Battle

I am almost there.  I'm so there, I can't wait any longer. I am almost to the mark in my pregnancy where I can do whatever I want, act however I want, say whatever I feel like saying, waddle till I can't waddle anymore, cry, mope, be emotional, and I finally get to redeem myself of these actions with the phrase:

 "I'm 7 ( or 8 or 9) months pregnant! and it's July (or August or September)!

 I look forward to that time.

Honestly, I still feel pretty good.  I have the usual aches/grumpiness and towards the end of the day I am dead tired, but it's still the easiest pregnancy by far.  I joined a Baby Boot Camp (intense) exercise group back in April with my neighbor (who is also due in September with a boy).  Joining the group has helped me tremendously with weight gain and overall self-image.  I still run (surprise, surprise) in fact, I love running past the non-pregnant ladies at workout class or when the super fit mommy has to one up me, it's such a validation of everything that I've worked so hard to achieve. 

Lil' Bean is kicking away in my belly.  He does somersaults and has the hiccups.  His favorite spot (no surprise here) is sitting very close to the front of my belly.  I won't get anymore pics of him unless we splurge for a 3D ultrasound, but rest assured he's handsome like his daddy. Pip loves coming up to my belly and talking to Lil' Bean.  The other day, she got to feel him kick and was absolutely delighted.  B, on the other hand, is completely disinterested in the baby.  I'm not sure she realizes there's a baby in there.  She's my girl and I worry about how she'll handle Lil' Bean once  he gets here.  Speaking of Lil' Bean, I have not fully committed to his name.  Both Bobby and Pip call him by his "supposed" name.  I have not been able to do that. I don't know why it's so hard for me to call him by his "supposed" name.  Oh well, I like his name.  I can't bring myself to call him that...yet.

I've been working on Lil' Bean's quilt (I can't wait to post pics of the finished product) , carseat cover, and I plan on embellishing a few diaper rags while I'm at it.  We also bought a new nursery set.  This was a hard purchase for us.  Our current set is still good, but B still uses it as she isn't ready for a big girl bed.  Since Lil' Bean is our "last" baby, it made sense to go ahead and purchase a convertible crib and furniture that can grow with him as he gets older.  We got a great deal on some quality pieces so I don't feel too bad about buying nursery furniture for the last baby.  

I feel good and I can't wait to bring Lil' Bean into our family!

Outside and Inside

It's been awhile since I've updated our blog.  I have a good excuse.  I went out of town- twice (post on that later).  I'm growing a baby and taking care of 2 kids.  Oh, and we've been home improvement fools. 
 
The term "move-in ready" is a big ol' fat lie.  Nothing is "move-in" ready, even a brand new house.  This past May we celebrated our 1 year anniversary of living in our new home.  Since then, we've completely re-landscaped the front yard and finally did something with the front room. 
 
So here's what we've done so far to the OUTSIDE:
 
YARD 2012
 
YARD 2013

 When we moved in, we were left with the standard builder picks of the crappiest plants you could find just plopped down in the generic formation.  In the back growing bed, we took out the boxwoods and some other shrubs and the front bed we removed the 3 live oaks, 2 trees I can't remember the name of, and a random assortment of shrubs.  We also found lots of construction material:  bricks, slabs of wood, concrete, wires, trash, and lots of sand.  Bob worked really, really hard and we still have a few more plants to purchase, but the yard is pretty much done.  Bobby planted a magnolia tree, Japanese maple (I've always wanted one of those), day lilies galore, a crepe myrtle, azaleas, and roses.  It's so beautiful.  Everyday when I pull in, I smile because I know it's "our" yard.

And now for the INSIDE:
 
When you first walked into our home, you were greeted by what I lovingly refer to as: the dog's hideout or what it really was: the entryway/formal dining room.  It was basically an empty room with our old Provo basement carpet (to help catch dog hair), the piano, and the dog.  We knew we didn't want it to be the dog's room (ya think?) or the formal dining room. So instead, we made it our formal living room.  I slowly started purchasing furniture for the room and found a few accessories that I had packed away that matched my vision: a Pottery barn-esque room on a shoe string budget.  Bobby wanted to create the look of wainscoting along the bottom and a dark gray on the walls.  We bought 6 cans of paint: 2 shades of gray + an extra gallon of the decided shade, 2 shades of white, and a sample gray that turned out more taupe-y gray- what a pain! 
Imagine more accessories, a killer art piece created by yours truly above the piano, and these drapes in white. I love these drapes, but they won't be here until August (bummer).
 

 The entry way is almost 100%.  It's missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.
 This wall will have a couch (pictured below or some variation of that style) along with a gallery of artwork created by P and B.  We're also going to change out the lighting in the entry and living room for something more industrial/casual (pictured below or some variation of that style)

 
I love the front room now, where before I dreaded going in there.  One negative, is that Boo still hides out in there, but at least the room doesn't look like a storage room anymore.

We still have a few more projects up our sleeves:  nursery for Lil' Bean, B's "big" girl room, and the kitchen, but funds and lack of time have caused us to prioritize what needs to be done and what we want to have done.  Story of our life.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

5 Months Me and Lil' Bean

 
Me at 5 months
 
 
Lil' Bean at 5 months
 
 Maybe someone can confirm or refute this claim, but I'm going to conclude that being pregnant with a boy is SOOOOOOO much easier than being pregnant with a girl.  My hair looks great- I can go 3 days in between washings and no one is the wiser! My skin is flawless, but dry so I slather on the moisturizer and it's smooth like butter with no pimples!  I feel pretty good too.  So good that sometimes I forget I'm pregnant and if it weren't for the belly sticking out a bit farther than normal I'd swear I wasn't pregnant.  Sure there's the aches and pains- hello round ligament pain, oh there you are sciatic nerve, and varicose veins how I've missed you BUT overall, this pregnancy has been very good.  I've steadily gained a pound or 2 between each visit (this is big for me as I generally gain about 5-6 pounds each month).  I crave salads and occasionally candy, not much fast food passes these lips or cake or cookies for that matter (lately I've been indulging in ice cream, but it's a passing faze as the ice cream helps soothe this cough I've been nursing for 3 weeks).  And, I'm still running and exercising.  I don't run near as much as I did (4 days down to 2 or 3), but I'm running 3 miles when I do run.  I joined a exercise group for moms to be and moms of little ones and I'm still out there squatting and lunging like my life depended on it.  So at this halfway point (22 weeks tomorrow), I feel good. 
 
Lil' Bean is doing great too!  He's growing normally and is right on track with his size matching his gestational age.  He's active and on the latest ultrasound I could see him trying to suck his thumb.  His kicks and jabs are becoming more noticeable to me, but Bob still hasn't felt anything.  Piper talks to my belly and tells Lil' Bean "hi!" and "I love you".  Brynn is still clingy and all momma's girl, but has opened up to the idea of "babies" in general.  Instead of hitting babies, she will say "hi baby". I think that's progress.
 
 
Several people have asked us if we have a name yet.  The answer is yes and no.  Before we even had kids, we had a boy name picked.  It appeared that this name was set in stone as our baby boy name, but Bobby threw in another name to the mix when we were pregnant with Brynn and I love it, too!  I can't decide.  With Piper and Brynn, I just knew as soon as I heard and said the name, I knew that was their name.  With Bean, I can't decide.  According to Bob and Piper, the decision has been made. But me...I need to see him first.  I need to see his face and see who he is. 

Let's Go Ride A Bike!

For Christmas, Piper asked Santa for a bike and Santa delivered a shiny bike (bur forgot the helmet).  Piper was so excited...until she sat on it and discovered that this bike was big and it was "scary".  She refused to touch it or even get on it.  Needless to say, Santa was pretty miffed when he heard this news.  Between Christmas and now, the bike sat in the garage unused and unridden.  Piper would look at it and say she needed to be 6 before she could ride it.  Brynn would climb on it and try to pedal, but the bike was neglected for months.  We thought about buying a smaller bike to see if that would help her get over her aversion to the "big" bike.
 
A few weeks ago, Piper started to get interested in her bike.  We bought her a helmet and took her to a nearby park where she could "learn" how to ride her "big" bike.  She loved it.  She had some trouble pedaling as the wheels are 16in and her foot kept slipping, but she did it.  She had a blast riding the "big" bike (with daddy's help and encouragement), but still felt a bit scared by its size.  We felt pretty good about her small success and told her that maybe the "big" bike was too big and that we would buy her a smaller bike until she felt more comfortable.
 
Well, a few days ago our neighbor asked if we wanted their smaller bike for Piper and a tricycle for Brynn.  Of course, we said yes.  Since riding the bigger bike, Piper got a new sense of confidence and wanted to ride the new, smaller bike all over the neighborhood.  She asks daily if she can go bike riding around the neighborhood.  Brynn likes the tricycle (in theory) but prefers to walk instead of ride. 

Learning how to push down

 
I love this picture of the 2 of them- a daddy/daughter moment.

"The Strawberry Thief"

See this face?  This innocent face is a thief.  A strawberry thief to be exact.
 
This spring, I planted 4 strawberry plants.  We finally got a few tiny strawberries, but before we could enjoy them- they were stolen! 

This is the strawberry thief looking for the tell tale red berry.  She learned quickly (after eating many green strawberries, stem and all) that the red berries were sweeter. 

"Hmmm, should I eat this berry?  yes or no?  I think yes!"

Going in for the steal and she finds one- stem and all.

 "I know you said not to eat them, but I can't resist!"
 
The Strawberry thief has eaten all our strawberries and now our little bushes aren't growing anymore.  I wonder if I have them too close together and if I should transplant them.  We only yielded about 5 teeny tiny strawberries...that I know about. 

Sea World Mini Vacay/Anniversary Trip








 
 
Earlier in April, Bobby and I celebrated our 9th anniversary.  We wanted to do a little road trip in our minivan and decided to go take the girls to Sea World in San Antonio.  We left late Friday night after rush hour and discovered that neither one of our children sleeps on long road trips.  Brynn closed her eyes for about 1 hour, but Piper is like her mommy and stayed awake the entire time.  The first night at the hotel was very interesting and late.  On Saturday we hung out at the resort, swam in the pools, and relaxed.  Then on Sunday we spent the day at Sea World before driving home.  The girls had a blast.  Brynn loved the Shamu show.  I took a video of her reaction to the whales jumping out of the water- too cute- all you could hear was "WHOA!", "OH BOY", "YEAH!"  She loved it.  Piper loved feeding the dolphins and watching them train.  We did that twice.  The day was getting hot and long so we decided to skip the dolphin show and head home.  We plan on going to Sea World regularly since it's only 3 hours away.