Summer activities

Haha, it's been a while! Our youngest is now two and I'm pregnant for the fourth (and last!) time. We just found out that our youngest (to be born in October) is a girl as well, so among other things I'm currently working on wrangling together all the boy clothes too small for Thomas and getting rid of them. I've also been working on a list of ideas to do this summer so the kids won't be able to complain of boredom; I figured here is as good a place to keep the list as anywhere, especially since my notebook with my draft keeps getting lost. I plan to make fun little cards for them to pick ideas out, but a typed list is a good first step, right? Here goes:

water balloons
camping
stargazing
pajama/movie day
make ice cream
take a hike
swimming
bug hunt
cardboard box fort
picnic at park
campfire dinner
library trip
play in sprinkler/hose
take a nature walk, take pics; on a rainy day use those pics to make a nature book
scavenger hunt
attend an outdoor concert
build sandcastles
build a wood craft
fly kites
sewing project - make picnic blanket
make sock puppets
make and blow bubbles
excavate ice/plaster block
bike ride
hotwheels races on driveway
dress up party
tie dye ice cube shirts
make pinecone bird feeders
make silhouettes
pet rocks
toy swap
fingerpainting
zoo
make lemonade
treasure hunt
splash pad
visit animal park in Sandusky
make cookies for friends
visit a farm
feed ducks
handprint art
play post office
make pizza
lego contest/building
toothpick/marshmallow building
popsicle stick puzzles
color
play freeze tag
make an obstacle course
paint with water on driveway
play hide and seek
play red light, green light
play Simon says
play Mother May I
decorate superhero capes
visit museum of art
corn maze (September or October)

Edited to add a few more ideas another local mom posted on her blog:

1. draw self portraits
2. have hopscotch fun
3. go bowling
4. make beaded necklaces
5. go to a parade
6. visit youngs dairy
7. visit ice cream factory – ye olde mill in utica ?
8. build boats from juice containers and find a place to test their floatability
9. visit anthony thomas for a factory tour
10. build an obstacle course
11. draw a play city on butcher paper, tape to floor – add directionals, cars, etc
12. go to a fair – ross county, ohio state, etc
13. visit santa maria downtown pirate ship
14. go to a columbus commons friday funday
15. have a mini-olympics session

Hopefully this will get us started!

Recipe of the Day

So, I know I haven't posted in forever and am not for sure this will last, but since I'm posting these on our playgroup's message board I figured I might as well publish them here, too. One of these days I'll get around to writing actual posts again!

One-Dish Chicken Supper

My notes: The "standard" recipe comes from the back of the Stove Top Stuffing boxes ... you can also add broccoli or frozen mixed veggies. The crockpot version is from the "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook. I wonder if this would be good with cream cheese instead of the sour cream or milk?

Standard edition:
1 box chicken stuffing (or turkey, your choice)
1/4 c. stick margarine, cut up
1 1/2 c. hot water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (or equivalent; I often cook a whole chicken or turkey and freeze the leftovers, then just pull out a package of the larger chunks for this dish) - you can do this with cooked or uncooked chicken, I just use the cooked for convenience and time-saving
1 can cream of mushroom/chicken/celery (your choice)
1/3 c. sour cream or milk

1. Mix stuffing, margarine, and water, just till moistened.
2. Mix soup and sour cream (or milk).
3. Put chicken in baking dish, top with soup mix then stuffing.
4. Bake at 375 deg. about 35 minutes or till chicken is done (if using precooked chicken, cook till stuffing is nicely browned on top).

If using a crockpot, everything is the same except steps 3 and 4:
3. Put chicken in crockpot, top with soup mix then stuffing.
4. Cook on Low 6-8 hours.

And the quick list of updates since I haven't written in about a year:
We're expecting another daughter in May.
Thomas is in preschool and is looking forward to Kindergarten in the fall (actually, "looking forward to" doesn't quite cover it - he's been asking about just when he gets to start for the last year and a half!)
Beth is finally growing some hair and hates the fact that she isn't in preschool yet; she'll start a one day/week program this coming fall.
Clay is still at OSU and still loves his job.
Rob is still at OSU and living with us, and still can't wait to graduate.
Pregnancy is still a mix of enjoyment and discomfort, and I'm totally worn out by it!

Waking Up

Wow! I feel like I've been gone so long that I should reintroduce myself ... in more ways than one! I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner, Beth has been around for 9 1/2 months, Thomas is in preschool ...
You know how they do those little questionnaires at your 6-week appointment after your baby is born to make sure you're not going crazy? Well, that wasn't a problem ... but soon after my appointment, we moved and a million other things were going on, and I started falling apart. I should have gotten help sooner, but thought I was getting better, yadda yadda yadda. I made an appointment to see my old OB/GYN from here back in August, but couldn't get in till September, which I did. She put me on meds, they sucked and didn't work out, ugh. So, last week I went to a FP and she was terrific (in spite of my laundry list of stuff to ask about). I'm now on Celexa for post-partum depression and I feel like I'm all of a sudden waking up to the world (hence the title of the post). I've felt like the real me had been shoved out and just watching this crazy mean person run (ruin?) my life, and my family's life. It's been so frustrating, it feels like you're in this big hole and trying to climb out but someone keeps dumping more dirt on you, you can't get out, and it's heavy! When I explained that last bit to Clay, he said "Yeah, you don't have to tell me, I've had to deal with it for years, but you do explain the feeling a lot better than me!" True enough, it gives me a new perspective on how he has to wrestle his emotions and reactions ALL the time, not just for a horrible several months.
But now I really am getting better, I can tell on so many levels! I've *missed* Thomas when he's gone, he has a new sparkle that we haven't seen regularly in WAY too long, and I'm generally happier and easier to be around. Yea! Now I just have to get the house and the family back on track (not in that order!) There's lots of stuff I want to do with the house, but I've been so out of sorts that I haven't managed to get off the couch long enough to accomplish something real in ... um, let's just say a long time. I have tons of sewing and mending to catch up on, too! As far as the kids are concerned, I can play (for short periods of time, this is medicine, not a miracle!) and I'm looking forward to starting to work with Thomas in workbooks and fun activities as we settle into a manageable and balanced schedule. Beth gets to play too, but really a baby can't do much with crafts other than chewing on the pieces!
Expect to see more of me on here in the future, but I'll be spending less time on the computer overall - I have a life to get back to!

Food!

Yay! I'm (day)dreaming about my freezer right now, as the mommies from playgroup brought over a bunch of casseroles and soups for us to eat. How awesome is that?! We hosted playgroup today, so while trying to finish up getting ready this morning (thank goodness Jenn and Henry were the only ones *really* on time, I don't mind looking frazzled in front of them!) I was trying to figure out what we were going to have for dinner. I was drawing a total blank, then Jenn and Henry arrived bearing a dish of lasagna rolls. Those went straight for the fridge so we can have them tonight - then everyone else started showing up with more food for the freezer! Everything sounds delicious, I can't wait to eat them all. My mouth is watering just thinking about dinner tonight!
Playgroup went really well, though for about 20 minutes there pretty much all the kids decided to take turns having a crying break. We (the mommies) couldn't figure out what *that* was all about, but the time passed and everyone was happy again. Lots of fun getting to hang out - thank goodness my mom was here for those 2 weeks, it was easy doing the little bit of tidying needed for everyone to come. Somebody else had been signed up to host this week but sent out an email Tuesday that her son was sick so she wasn't going to be able to (not that any of us would have wanted to bring the flu home anyway!) I figured we might as well, I think all of us mommies care more about having a place to gather and let the kids play while we talk than we do about inspecting each others' houses with white gloves. Not to mention that with the new baby I've got us well stocked on snack foods, so no need to run to the store. Plus, this way I won't be hosting for a while so less worries as far as interfering with the house being on the market. Anyway, it went off without a hitch, except that I've got another headache so I think I was sort of fuzzy the whole time. Jenn and Henry got to stay for lunch after which was great, but I hope I didn't bore Jenn to death since I was pretty out of it, having just taken headache meds. The boys had a great time playing - for some reason both of them have been acting up a TON the last few days, so they spent a lot of the morning trading places in time out.
Off to change (another) diaper!

Email out to the Mommy's Group

Easier to just post something I've already emailed out than typing it all over again!

Hi everyone!
We won't be there, Elizabeth Rose ("Beth") joined us on Monday at 11:27 AM. 5 pounds, 14 ounces; 17 1/2 inches long - the tiniest baby I've ever held! We got to come home yesterday afternoon, everyone is doing really well - easy labor and delivery! Well, as easy as it possibly could be - my water broke at 5 AM, didn't leave the house until 9:57 to drop Thomas off at Jenn and Henry's (thanks again Jenn!), contractions didn't start getting closer than 5ish minutes and more painful until we were at the hospital. Not even enough time for the epidural or any other pain meds, though I thought I had wanted one. I'm a big wimp when it comes to pain, but apparently didn't need one - even the pushing wasn't as painful w/o meds this time as even just the early contractions were with Thomas' labor (we were induced for him and I did get an epidural after a bit). I know all of you with girls will disagree, but I'm convinced I have the most beautiful baby girl ever to have existed!
My mom is here helping us transition from life with one kid to two, and will be hanging out for the next couple weeks (yay!) so not only are we doing really well, I have a doting grandma here to help if I want a nap! Thomas is amazed by his new baby sister, and has already associated her with pooping and crying (ie he thinks that's all she does) - he's not sure there's a difference between her and his baby doll we got to help him get used to life with a baby. Except that his is quieter.
Anyone else have a kid this tiny? Even the newborn stuff is like a tent on Beth, and when I looked at the preemie stuff at Wal-Mart it's about as wide as it is long - she's not just short, she's skinny, so there was no point in getting any of it either. If anyone has any idea where I could find something to fit her other than the gowns (also tents!) please let me know - it's going to be a couple weeks before she's big enough to not be swimming in the newborn stuff.
Hope you all are having as awesome of a week as I am!
Karen (and Thomas and Beth!)

Will post pics soon, I've got to find the camera cord first.

Welcome to Beth!

Arrived yesterday at 11:27 AM, 5 lbs. 14 oz, 17 1/2 inches. Never got the epidural, not enough time! Went in right around 10 AM, the midwife was right on. Overall great experience, and they're letting us go home today! Childbirth w/o meds is not nearly as comfortable pushing-wise, but I'd do this 100 times over induced labor. Now I'm off for a shower while Beth is snoozing in the nursery, just wanted to update in case anyone looks at this!

Oh, and by the way . . .

Labor is so much more comfortable sans Pitocin. Not that it's a cakewalk, but lots more comfortable. And so much better at home too . . . breakfast is good!

In Labor . . .

Water broke around 5 AM, I am SO hanging out at home as long as possible - I can eat whatever I want and no nurses to stop me! Midwife's guessing we'll head for the hospital sometime around 9 or 10, which is a good time Thomas-wise. Assuming we make it that long, I'll call Jenn and make sure it's alright for him to hang out with them until Mom gets home, and we can drop him off on the way to the hospital. Babysitter is available until her class at 9 if we aren't going to wait long enough. Wish us luck!

House is ready, we're ready; time to show up, Beth!

Now that the computer room is the best it will ever be (until we actually sell the house, that is) we are officially ready. Dishes are done, going to fold the laundry in a bit, Clay's been run like mad (by me) all afternoon getting stuff put where it should go, rather than the convenient piles that had formed in the computer/guest room. Got rid of a box and a half of electronics stuff too (this is very impressive, btw, Clay got rid of a bunch of cables and everything!)
Never having spontaneously gone into labor with Thomas I'm a little unsure as to when to actually be calling and telling Mom to head out. It's funny though, the midwives at the OB all know that I was induced with Thomas, but don't discount that as far as how I know what might be going on (or not). I've got a hunch that I could end up getting too far along before calling Mom and she won't make it in time - apologies in advance if that happens Mom!
I am SO hoping this "prelaboring" turns into real labor soon!

Dr. Visit

She gives me hope! Yea! Did the internal exam today.
Midwife: "Have you scheduled your appointment for next week yet?"
Me: "Not yet."
Midwife: "Well, let's go ahead and schedule it but hope to cancel!"
Me: "Yea! Are you giving me hope?!"
Midwife: "Well, don't hate me if nothing happens, but yes, I am."

Big grins.



Which means today I'll be cleaning out the guest room for everyone to get here. Yea again!

I am SO ready for this kid to show up.

And having spent about 4 hours looking at houses online today (after 2 hours last night) I am also ready to give up and just print everything out, shuffle it all together, and pull one out at random. I can't believe that 3 months from now (ok, 3 months and 11 days, give or take a few) we'll be living in another state - hopefully having given birth and survived the first bit of infancy, sold one house, purchased another, and done everything (including any necessary packing for what we'll need access to in the first week) that's required with a move. 3 months. That is, before Beth can fit into the next size up of clothing. What are we thinking?
On the other hand, we get movers this time, and they'll do all the packing, loading, and unloading. I am so very excited about this, last time I was already packing 3 months ahead of time, and still we had family helping us pack stuff to move the day before we left. My mom is also very happy about this (both sets of parents swore that they wouldn't be helping us move any more about 4 moves ago) and has (silly her!) already volunteered to come help me clean before we leave. I have such a cool mom. I just think she's nuts, does she not realize how much there will be to clean considering that we will be moving in 3 months and that will be with not only one but two kids, one of which will need my presence at least every few hours for the foreseeable future?! So either she's totally nuts (my vote) or really REALLY cool (which I already knew). Thanks Mom.
I need a hot fudge sundae.

More nesting

And I have not, in fact, figured out what Thomas is trying to tell me - it took a half an hour tonight to calm him down enough to sleep without getting through to me. I need to figure out a way to record it and post so everyone can tell me what he's saying.
Got both bathrooms clean, the entire inside of my car, took Thomas for a walk, did the vacuuming, packed the hospital bag, did all the rest of the laundry and the dishes, and cleaned the crayon off of Thomas' walls and rocking chair (he did that yesterday, I was so ticked that I chose to ignore it until today). On the bright side, I discovered that the rocking chair is about 6 shades lighter than I thought it was - I cleaned off literally decades of grime (it was mine when I was his age) that I didn't know was there. For anyone who doesn't know, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers were sent here from Heaven Above as God's Gift to Mommies - especially in regards to crayon. I ran the thing over the arm of the rocker where the coloring was, took one look at where I had taken the crayon off and took the whole thing into the bathroom so I could scrub down the entire chair. I am so impressed with it - over the years it's had a couple pieces replaced with unfinished wood, and now they surprisingly almost match. I swear nothing in our house is that gross, I just thought the icky feeling was because the finish was old on the chair - you know how some old wood finishes get grimy feeling over time? If I remember I'll take a picture of it and post it here tomorrow. Now I'm off to bed, since Clay fell asleep about a half hour ago and it's pretty sad to see a 6'4" guy curled up on a loveseat - he *so* does not fit.

Nightmares?

Thomas has been crazy-wild the last couple days, I thought it was just Clay being gone, but now I'm not so sure. I put him to bed tonight and he was all upset for me not understanding whatever he's been saying (still haven't been able to figure it out from the first time several nights ago). I left him to scream a bit because it wasn't going anywhere and I can tell a lot of it is a delaying device (he's good at those). Well, when I went back in and sat him down to rock, I asked him what was wrong. I didn't offer him ideas, no "Are you x? y? z?", which I would have thought I would have needed to in order to get an answer. He looked up at me, thought for a bit, and told me "Thomas scared." !!!!!!! Lots of mommy hugs at that, I held him and rocked and we talked a bit. I asked him what he was scared of, I gathered that he must have had a bad dream and is now scared of sleeping, which would explain the horrible nightmare lack of napping the last 2 days - no pun intended. That and he's scared that our cat will go into his room. Sometimes she pushes his doors open at naptime or when we're in there rocking before bed, though mostly that is fixed by shoving the "Nemo Pillow" in front of the doors before sitting down. I did some googling, this is around the age that nightmares start showing up as imagination really sets in (he started playacting with Bear a few weeks ago, so I know it's started kicking up). That and stress from things like potty training, switching to a "Big Boy Bed", other big life changes, etc. In the last 3 weeks we've ditched both sides of the crib in favor of bed rails, Clay's been gone for 2 1/2 days each week, I'm getting more pregnant (38 weeks today!), and we've been pushing the potty training. Poor guy. I think more than anything though it's the potty training - he was ok last week with Clay being gone; the baby is in fact not here yet and he doesn't really have a concept of what will change (everything) when the baby comes, or what the baby coming even means; we did the bed rails at different times and he wanted the second one, didn't really care or bat an eye. Which leaves potty training, which we've been sort-of doing for a while, but really started pushing hard on a few days ago. I'm going to wait and watch again tomorrow, see how he's doing once Clay is back, but if he's still a mess we are SO going to the pediatrician. Unfortunately, we've never seen this pediatrician, so they'll have no background idea of what he's normally like, but Clay's seen the same person (they have specialties in peds and ?allergies?, I think it is) and they sound like they're the listening/comprehending type that's not making sudden/unfounded assumptions. So right now I'm in a holding pattern but am not willing to wait long to get out of it - it really rips your heart in two to have your toddler son tell you he's scared. Out of nowhere. Anyway, now off for a big hot fudge sundae. Pregnancy heartburn sucks.

Crazy Day

Clay left for another interview today, and I'm pretty sure the day would have been a total wash without the Superbowl. I know absolutely nothing about football (Me: "Are we rooting for the blue people or the red people?"; Everyone else: Laughs; Dave: "Uh, the blue ones, that's the Pats!") but getting to go hang out made the world an okay place to be again. Thomas woke up early today and was in a Mood (you know, one of *those*), then Clay left which didn't help either. Oh yeah, before that even, when we got up this morning Dandy had peed on the floor again . . . not a good way to start a day after yet another rotten night's sleep. Anyway, we went to church, came back home and I laid Thomas down right away, no later than 2:30 - he jabbered until 4:30 or later! I ended up waking him up at 6, I didn't want to get him up any earlier because I knew he'd be a serious mess. Thankfully Jenn had invited us over for Superbowl, or I don't know how we would have made it through the night. Even *with* the promise of going over to Henry's it took 2 screaming (I mean scary screaming, not just goofy or throwing a fit) fits out of Thomas just to get in the car. I've never heard him go like that, it was actually kind of frightening. Anyway, we managed to get over there and after about a half hour of laying on my lap Thomas cooled down enough to play. He and Henry had a blast, especially later - they were chasing each other around the kitchen/hallway/dining room. It was so funny, Henry would slow down for me to be able to tickle him as they passed by. Jenn and I played a few games of Mille Bornes while half paying attention to the game, which was great - she knows more about football than I do (btw, just heard on the radio that the Pats lost - sorry Dave!) though how much that says is not much (see note on conversation above).
Back to typing from an extended break of talking to DH . . . he just left this morning, but already wishing he was home! To give a bit of an anecdote, Thomas loves to play with Lite Brite pieces (remember those toys we all played with when we were little? Still around, in travel version here!) and has been obsessed with playing with them every morning this week. I kid you not, we were up in his room for an hour playing with them Friday morning before he would ever come down for breakfast. And he didn't get up until 10:30. Anyway, before we ever even got out the door for church (which is at noon) he had managed to get them taken away. For them to have been taken away . . . it was a rotten morning. Did I mention how extremely grateful I am that Jenn invited us to crash their Superbowl party? Ok, I know I did say it a couple times already, but I honestly don't know how we would have made it through the night.
Ok, so definitely bedtime, especially if tomorrow is in any way remotely like today.

Pictures!

This is the newborn-size stuff I've made thus far, plus a couple Baby Belly pictures. The placements are being annoying with the picture versus the words, so a description of what you see:

Pants to girl-ify some of the NB onesies from Thomas.
A cute little lavender dress, I'm all proud of my decorative stitching at the bottom!
Me in my cute shirt from my mom!
A gray jumper I made - can be worn with any of the onesies (even the boy-ish ones!), though unfortunately thinner (more see-through) than I had hoped. Can't tell in regular lighting though.
A pink onesie I did today, very cute also under the jumper, as well as any of the pants.
A green sweater I crocheted ages ago in preparation, and finally get to use!

Nesting

Ok, now I know the baby is coming soon . . . Clay has started nesting! He spent the evening moving around furniture (including a huge dresser!) getting it arranged for Beth's arrival. I don't remember this happening with Thomas, but maybe it was because I already had it all done . . .
I'm working on finishing a dress for Beth, thank you notes, dishes, and laundry - except not right now, while I'm taking a break and trying to remember a name for a thank you note I have yet to write. No luck. I was just browsing through the links on a friend's blog and found one to yet another blog - somebody I have no idea who they are, but they're apparently also due right around now. She's gone through all her nesting stuff too, and even planned out the clothes for Kid #1 to wear to visit Kid #2 in the hospital. I hate to admit it, but I hadn't even thought of that, in spite of my mom talking about how mortified she was at the condition of my brother and I when we went to visit my youngest brother - for the last 20 years. So now one other thing to add to the list of things to do - figure out Thomas' wardrobe for the length of our stay in the hospital. My rational brain says that this is a stupid thing to worry about, that it really is not difficult for any adult to figure out what to put on a 2-year-old. The mommy-and-wife part of my brain says I obviously need to worry about this because Clay goes into a bit of a panic when he has to dress Thomas and I *am* here to ask. I'm pretty sure the hospital stay will be the worst part of the whole experience - except that I wouldn't want to give birth at home (talk about a mess to clean up! Ugh, eew, and ick!) I'd have considered staying at home so as not to be trapped and be able to answer the infinite crises that erupt when I'm not available.
Time to get out the To Do list!

Day 3 and still running!

Wow, I am so impressed with me . . . how pathetic is that? Anyway, today was a LONG day . . . fun and good but REALLY LONG. Woke up starving at 5:30, got up and made a peanut butter sandwich, still couldn't sleep, got a sinus blowup with headache, took drugs, still couldn't sleep, drugs took effect, still couldn't sleep, alarm went off to get ready for Dr. visit, got up and felt like I had been run over by a truck. Still haven't slept any more all day. Went to the OB, a nice quick tummy check and out! The fastest appointment yet, aside from last night's ultrasound (15 minutes and GONE!) so I was happy. They're apparently trying to speed up the check-in process by having people seeing the doctors go to the first window, midwives and ultrasound guy to the second . . . maybe a good thought, but when you get a line at the second window and the first window lady is just busyworking, perhaps you ought to relax the "procedure" in face of reality. Not to mention that the first window lady was uber-cranky, and annoying. Sigh. Thankfully I was actually seeing a midwife so I didn't have to talk to the first window lady pretty much at all, but she was pretty rude to the woman in front of me (and the one who arrived behind me) so just her being there was getting on my nerves. Which probably says more about my nerves than the lady at the desk. Anyway, got out of there and stopped at the grocery store - while I wasn't sleeping I was craving Oreos to the point that I gave half a serious thought to putting on my coat and going to the store. I was able to control that particular urge by reminding myself that having not slept I probably wouldn't be a very safe person to be driving . . . we'll not think about that I never slept after that either and still drove to the Dr.'s office. Got home and hung out doing my crossword, etc., finally had to wake Thomas up at 10:15, Jenn and Henry were coming at 10:30 for our much-awaited trip to Joann Fabrics. Thomas was still eating when they got here, but just an oatmeal bar, so he just left it for later.
The trip to Joann's was fabulous, I got some really cute patterns and fabrics (knits! I needed knits! Walmart - the only store close to here that carries fabric - doesn't regularly carry knits!) I already cut out the fabric for one dress, hopefully I'll get the dress done tomorrow, plus a couple cute onesies from another pattern I got . . . pink cotton knit. Thomas and Henry were real troopers while we traipsed all over the store, though every time we mommies would go to separate parts of the store each of the boys would be asking "Where did Henry/Thomas go?" Jenn got some great fabric for a totally cute shirt that she's going to make for herself . . . I haven't even thought of making something for myself recently, I'm waiting for the time when I'm not pregnant and I have an actual need for more clothes to coincide. That sentence just took about 5 minutes to get grammatically correct - it's late! Anyway, then to the mall for awesome Chinese food, the lemon chicken I got was SO good that I didn't mind tasting it for heartburn over the next several hours. TMI, sorry. Stopped in a couple stores on the way out looking for a doll for Thomas (for when Beth is born - I think it might help him to have a baby to take care of while I take care of Beth) and socks from Old Navy. Alas, no luck on either. Home to try to get Thomas down for a nap at 3:30 . . . also unsuccessful. He sat up in his crib chattering away and dumping all of his stuffed animals and blankets out of bed for the next 2 hours (nearly). At least he was resting, right? Clay got home in the meantime, but had a wicked headache and has been asleep for longer than Thomas has now.
Last weekend I got a bunch of chicken on sale at the grocery store (it NEVER goes on good sale here, plus I really want to have stuff easy and ready for when Beth is here) so I spent all evening getting it all cooked, packaged, and frozen. We now have enough for 6 chicken quaesadilla meals, 1-2 of chicken squares, 3-4 of anything requiring chicken chunks (soup, chicken & broccoli toss, stir fry, etc.), plus 6 whole chicken breasts baked with different Italian herbs, with wine in the bottom of the dish . . . can be eaten whole or cut however I need for whatever I want to make. Not bad for a couple hours (dinner was in there too, more chicken squares using a couple of the chicken breasts) and like $14. All good stuff, but remember I haven't slept since 5:30 this morning . . . I am SO TIRED. Which means I should stop typing here, but it's kind of fun to have an outlet for whatever went on during the day . . . the computer can be a better audience than a sleeping husband! Good thing or bad?
Off. to. bed.

Part 2, Day 2!

Wow, 2 days in a row and I'm still on top of it! Maybe I shouldn't sound SO surprised, but considering how bad I am at keeping up with stuff like this . . .
Thomas is down for a much-needed nap, we were going to go shopping with friends today but we had enough freezing rain that the area schools all canceled, so we've rescheduled for tomorrow. Thankfully, Jenn and Henry were able to come over just to play anyway . . . the first thing Thomas said when I got him up this morning was "Is Henry downstairs?" He was pretty excited when I told him last night that we were going to the store with Henry, so it would have been a really rotten morning if they hadn't been able to play. Jenn and I had fun playing this ancient card game (well, not ancient exactly, but my mom said she and her siblings would play it when they were sick growing up!), so I might just have to get one for us. It's called Mille Bornes, and it's a lot of luck and some skill, so not as frustrating as some games that are all one or the other. I also got to show off the dresses that I've made for Beth, which I am very excited about. We're going to Joann Fabrics tomorrow, and I can't wait to get some more fabric to make some more outfits for her! It's a lot more fun sewing girls' stuff than boys' stuff, I guess because you can't tell as much that it's homemade . . . if I were to make some jeans for Thomas, you would be able to tell that they aren't from Baby Gap or whatever. Plus I get to use all the trim - ribbon and rickrack and so forth, plus the fancy stitching that would just look weird on a boy's shirt. Maybe I'll make her a little top with some of the fabric that matches the one dress I made . . . too much fun! And relaxing . . . I find that my patience is below zero at the end of this pregnancy, so doing something like sewing keeps the peace with Thomas better than my goofing off with him would.
Clay is back in town safely, in spite of a winter storm that blew in and delayed his final flight for over an hour . . . and it's only a 45-minute flight! The plane was coming from Williamsport airport and headed to Philly (where he was) - supposed to leave at 11:40ish and arrive at 12:22, he boarded the flight at 12:18. Thankfully he already had someone covering his lab until he got back, so it didn't matter so much that it was 1:30 when he called to tell me he was on the ground and in his car (lab starts at 1!) My mom is flying out to spend the week in St. Louis with her mom and sisters, and her flight is managing to leave on time from Columbus (Ohio), but the storm from Minneapolis isn't supposed to hit there until around 7 tonight, so I guess it makes sense. Really though, that means that Clay was in 2 different winter storms today . . . and we'll be seeing the one from MN again in a couple days! Traveling seems so weird when you think about the weather and all, you get out of one storm just in time and it catches up with you a couple days later. I'm a little bit nervous right now because Clay is interviewing again next Monday, so is gone Sun. - Tues. next week too, and my mom isn't getting back to OH until Monday . . . she's coming out to help with the kids so if I go into labor next weekend . . . ugh! I really don't want to face labor alone! On the other hand, Jenn said she'd come in with me if it were to happen that way, which is wonderful of her, but I would still be really upset if Clay was gone. Anyway, I need to lay down for a bit while Thomas is napping or I'll never be rested for heading to the ultrasound later this evening. Not that it should require much rest, but it always seems like I'm out of energy way before I get to the Dr.'s office. Here's hoping for some cool pictures from the ultrasound!

Let's try this again!

So, it's been over a year since I posted anything - after just 2 posts (!), but I'm going to try posting a bit every day or thereabouts for a while - just a journal of the day I guess. Apologies for the long absence, Clay (DH) got seriously ill soon after the last posting, so we were in survival mode for a couple months after, then moving/graduation/new house & job for Clay . . . C'est la vie! Anyway, I've thought about getting back on here and trying for frequent postings, but was finally inspired into actually doing it by reading one of my friend's. Her blog is terrifically funny, which is to say she's very funny, but I really enjoy reading it anyway when I think about looking it up, so maybe somebody in the family (or even out of it!) would like reading about our life.
So, quick update on life: we're in a little town in Pennsylvania where Clay has a position as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry - just a 1-year thing, so as of May we're out of here. Well, May or whenever we actually move . . . Clay's off on another interview right now. He's in Minneapolis, and we're hoping that he'll beat the winter storm out of there to be back in time for the ultrasound tomorrow. Hoping.
Continuation of update: Thomas is nearing 2 1/2 (March!) and we're working on potty training - some days are LOTS better than others. Can I just say I DO NOT like potty training? I have done SO much laundry in the last week or so since we switched to "Big Boy Underpants"! On the other hand, those plastic covers that they make are AWESOME and save so much on the mess scale that I am so happy I found ones that fit him.
Beth (Elizabeth Rose) is due Feb. 18, we'll see when she actually shows up. I'm definitely in the "nesting" phase of pregnancy . . . I moved the changing table down into our room from the closet it's been living in, have all the clothes for her washed, folded, sorted, and in their baskets on the changing table shelf, all the blankets ready (folded on the bottom shelf), bassinet out and ready, then put on a shelf in our closet till needed, the swing and car seat covers washed and then put together, also in a closet till needed, floors vacuumed, laundry finished even to the blankets on our bed, half of the living room floor steam cleaned . . . all today, except most of the washing of Beth's clothes and blankets and car seat cover were all done earlier in the week. Not to mention the regular stuff, caring for Thomas and all. And of all things, I'm deciding to start posting to my blog again tonight, after a year.
We've got a cat (Annie, regular Domestic Short Hair) and a dog (Dandy, retired racing greyhound, new addition in August '07), and a nice Cape Cod style house that's 5 minutes by stroller to an awesome park. I mean really awesome, like drawing people from about 100 miles around on a good summer's day, about 7000 people on an average nice summer weekend day. Which means hopefully we'll be able to resell well and quickly this spring.
Ok, it's nearly 1 AM here, so off to bed . . . after I vacuum the kitchen rug, and sweep and swiffer in there. Not to mention that Thomas and I are going shopping tomorrow with friends, so I should really be asleep 2 hours ago. Oh, well . . . nesting!