be back in a bit...

I have some bloggy type thoughts of things to write about soon, but I will have to wait a few days; a friend will be borrowing our 'puter. When Joel asked me about this, I had to take a deep breath and consider how I would get by:) Maybe I'll be super-productive! I have to tell whoever is reading that we almost completely finished our Christmas shopping today...and....we got a Christmas tree....and...I've almost got all of our addressed organized for the Christmas card. I decided today that I think I should be pregnant more often because I am so much more organized this year than in the past. Hmmmm....never mind...pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but the first four months were not so fun this time. At all.

Anyway, have a wonderful week. Happy Christmas Season!!

Giving Thanks...

Thanksgiving was a smaller affair than usual, but it was still so wonderful. We went over to my mom and dad's and in addition to family members, we were able to spend the holiday with our very special family friends (part of the family, at least).Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday, especially when you're not in charge of the turkey:) I felt more reflective than usual and truly thankful for all the God-given gifts in my life. While we have more than a few missing faces around the table and we missed them all so much, we're looking forward to seeing them all sooner than later! We had a special treat when it started to snow and Auntie Kels took Parker out in the snow! Isn't is fun to watch children appreciate these small wonders? It is snowing again today and Parker is practicing his newest word: NOOOOOO (which translates to snow). Funny how it sounds similar to his other favorite word!

Here are just a few of the many, many photos taken on Turkey day...

~insomnia~

It is almost four in the morning and I've already been up for a couple of hours just waiting to fall asleep again. Is this a normal pregnancy symptom? I've read that a lot of women in their 3rd trimester can't sleep because they can't get comfortable or they keep getting up to go to the bathroom. This isn't the case for me because I, thankfully, have neither of those problems. I just can't sleep and it is super-annoying because I know that my little one will be waking up in a few hours and he won't care if I feel like a zombie...he wakes up running and I have to run after him:)

Anyway, this is all I have to say at 4 am. And believe it or not I can't even find any cute pictures to post right now because they're stuck on my camera with a dead battery. I just thought that blogging a little would help me in the sleep department. So far...not so good :(

On certain mornings...

This is what "getting dressed" looks like in our house:)

Nostalgia...

I am very nostalgic these days, especially in my choice of Christmas music. I admit that I start very early....beginning of November! I have been buying a new Christmas CD each winter because I want it stay fresh and new, all while being nostalgic...hmmm.

This year, I have been a bit indulgent and have bought TWO new CD's for the season! The first one I bought was Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. I think it is from an old radio recording, which I think is very cool.

And last night I picked up Burl Ives' Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer! Oh my gosh...I love it so much! The music reminds me so much of my childhood and the cute little movie with Clarice:) Maybe I'm so into the old stuff right now because our house was built in the 40's and I love imagining what kind of music was playing here back then. It is crazy to think about how many people have lived in and loved this home. Did you know Bing Crosby is from our little city? Maybe he lived in this very house:)

Even though I buy a new Christmas CD every year and I love almost all of the music of the season, the favorite will always be Roger Whittaker. It is totally 70's retro and very much an acquired taste, but we love it because we grew up with it! Please share your favorite so I can put it on my list for next year!

you said you wanted pictures...

Here it is...our new couch!






I know you've been waiting....











Okay, so I couldn't resist. I'm totally kidding. Not my style and it wouldn't be my first color choice. What is that? Coral?

I've been trying to get a real picture of our couches, but how do you take a good picture of microfiber furniture?

This is a picture of our living room on a typical night after Parker has gone to bed. This is the love seat. See...you can't really tell what the color is or what it really looks like, but you can get an idea. Plus, you get a great shot of our hideous antenna on the top of our CD player. Lovely:)

This is the real couch and my cool sewing machine...which is totally decorative in my case.


So this next comment is totally unrelated to furniture, but I had to admit something: Pregnancy makes me crazy! I've realized that motherhood, in general, has made me more and more extreme in many ways....but this is just out of control! I used to be such a level-headed, laid-back person... I have no idea what has happened to me. Even when I was pregnant with Parker, I was still emotional and irrational at times, but this baby has taken me to a whole new level. So, yesterday, I cried because Joel was going to go to lunch with some guy friends without Parker, which meant I couldn't go to Pier One without Parker (because we all know how much fun that would be). Now, I didn't just cry....I totally lost it! And these kind of things happen all of the time. My poor husband. Now, I wonder if this craziness increases with each subsequent pregnancy? I hope not. Who knows what would happen with a third...Oh My.

Are we there yet?

Every so often, Joel and I feel like we might have made it to adulthood. I mean, I know that we're technically considered an adult when we're 18, but I really think that it is a process to grow into that label. So, technically, we've been grown-ups for 10 years or so (Joel, not me...he's old:), but we're still trying to feel that way.

Yesterday, however, we felt like we had a very "grown-up" day. Two momentous things happened to us and both were deliveries to our house: our brand-spankin' new sofa and love seat were delivered AND our return address stamp with our very own address on it came in the mail! Wowsers:) I feel like I might have over-blogged this topic, but I'm just so excited to be settled into a life of our own without feeling like we're going to move soon and both of these deliveries just confirmed that life is feeling normal.

The address stamp is pretty self explanatory! We've just never lived anywhere that we knew we were going to stay so I've always just hand-written all of those return addresses on waaaaay too many Christmas cards. This year is going to be different because we have a flashy new stamp with our name on it. What a year:)

We've never before bought any furniture with plans to have it last for the long-haul and these pieces of furniture are definitely items we want to keep. After moving the furniture in the living room around and around, we finally settled on the setup. Poor Joel....I just have to blame the indecisiveness on the pregnancy...because I can. We plopped down on our new cushy couches and grinned because we knew that we just might have arrived at adulthood. It's a good day...he he!

Thursday Thirteen: 11.9.06

Thirteen things I want to remind myself of during those first few weeks of my new baby's life...

If everything goes my way and my OB is persuaded by my great argument, I will be holding our new baby in less than 3 months from now--February 6th to be exact! I thought I would put together a list of things to read back to myself in the early days when things can feel overwhelming. Do you have anything to add?

1. Stay in the hospital as long as they'll let you--real life begins when you get home so enjoy this unique time.
2. Take pain meds as long as needed for surgery--don't try to go off early because of pride.
3. Set realistic goals and don't plan on getting much done.
4. If baby has bad reflux again, don't worry because you have experience this time and know what to do.
5. Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle.
6. Relax and let people take care of you...but make sure to set boundaries.
7. Give the baby a pacifier right away and introduce a bottle not long after--it isn't going to cause problems.
8. Remember that you are not cheating Parker of special time with mom; you've given him a gift of a new sibling!
9. Use a sling to carry baby around so hands are free to help Parker.
10. Let baby sleep wherever it happens and don't get wrapped up in establishing a schedule; bad habits are not established this early on.
11. Expect lots of crying...from everyone!
    
12. Enjoy this moment--it will be over in a flash!
13. Take as many pictures of this second baby as you did of Parker.
    

For more lists like this, visit Thursdaythirteen.com

Oh My!

Just so you know, the name of my blog actually means something. I wasn't just pulling cute words out of thin air... The "Amy " part is obvious..it is my name. But the "Oh My" part? Well, it is a phrase I often use when I have no idea what else to say. It is often accompanied with a wide-eyed look between Joel and I that says...

Is this really my life?!

Life with a toddler is sort of funny (as you veteran mama's know). Here are a few everyday "oh my" moments from this past week.

• May cause excitability in young children. It is nap time for Parker, but at the moment he is jumping on his bed and seeing how far he can throw his huge collection of pacifiers across the room. Apparently, the cold medicine is causing some hyperactivity. Sigh. Oh My.
• I actually hid the elephant book. I know, it sounds just terrible, but I couldn't handle it anymore and it is just for a few days so I can catch my breath. On Saturday morning, Parker woke up at 5:15 and as soon as his feet hit the floor, he ran and got the book and demanded that we "read book". And we did...three times before 6 am. I have no idea where this obsessive behavior came from:) Oh My.
• Maybe a bodily fluids issue? Parker has always seemed to go extreme when it comes to all the gross things that go along with babyhood...puke, pee, drool, etc. Lovely stuff. He has drooled a lot his entire life and it didn't take us long to figure out that it has nothing to do with teething. I mean, seriously, he's 18 months old and if he didn't wear a bib, he would probably go through at least 3 shirts a day. At home, he wears huge, ugly, rubber-backed bibs all day (see pic above) to catch the stuff--and he goes through at least two of those a day. I'm trying to get him to just close his mouth, but so far, it hasn't worked. Oh My.
• The boy looks bald. So Parker needed a haircut and we've found that it turns out just fine when we use the clippers at home. Usually. This time, I asked Joel to cut it since he did such a nice job last time. I don't like Parker's hair cut super short because then he looks bald and way too old. We picked out the little things you put on the clippers to make sure you don't cut too short; a one inch for the top and a 1/2 inch for the sides. Joel got started and I was standing nearby to help distract Parker with treats. I noticed an unusual amount of almost white tufts flying to the ground, and for a moment, just thought that his hair was extra long. Turns out that the 1/2 inch thingy was used for the entire head! A head that looks almost bald and huge dark circles under his eyes from a little cold...Parker has seen better days! Oh My.

My giraffe and growing girth:)

Okay...so I know that I promised to post pictures of the Parkster yesterday, but my sister was with us and we went shopping! And you know how shopping just poops you out? Well, my typing fingers didn't have the energy. Parker looooooved being a giraffe. He actually asked to have his costume on and he certainly thought he was so funny and cute! Our little party was a super fun time to spend with family and friends. We all ate so much! So here is my little giraffe...

I also wanted to add this picture of Parker and a sweet woman at the Alzheimer's home we went to visit. I think she believed that Parker was one of her own and took a liking to him. And I think that Parker may have given her a little gift of love because he thought she was pretty special, as well. He even gave her hugs and blew her kisses. Ohhhhh...I just love him.

You may wonder why I always take pictures of Parker in a sepia tone. Well, he has such light hair that his hair seems to glow and look like a halo in color pictures...anyway, just so you know...

I've had a few requests for a new picture of my growing girth. I agree that it is time to update because this is when I just pop out! What do you think? I think I may have gotten the "special treatment" at the grocery store the other day! I'm about 25 weeks now and when I compare pictures from the last time around, my belly looks exactly the same. Hmmmm....maybe another 7 lb baby? I hope so...

I couldn't figure out which one was better. Both are just so flattering...ha! They were both taken this morning but why does it seem one belly is bigger? Maybe the baby actually moved!

Works For Me Wednesday

This is a last minute post before I get ready for bed ... and don't you dare look at what time I'm posting this:)

Here is what works for me today: toothpaste as jewellery cleaner. I asked a jeweller once about how I could clean my wedding ring at home and he said that they actually use toothpaste at the store. So I just whip out an old toothbrush, apply some paste and gently scrub away. I have found that I can get my ring cleaner at home than if I ask someone to do it with their big machine. Make sure you put the stopper in the sink if you are working over it...I have had a few close calls!

Now I'm off to bed...enjoy your clean rings!

For more tips like this, visit Rocks In My Dryer.