The midwife I'm seeing was kind of freaked out that I"m overweight, (I'm not supposed to gain any weight during the pregnancy, and if I lose at the beginning that's fine too.) So I have been weighing myself weekly just to see how I'm doing. This week I lost 5 pounds. Not bad. LOL If only I could lose weight that easily when I'm not pregnant. I feel like I'm eating constantly. Although since the morning sickness seems to have passed, I'm able to eat much healthier.

My body shape is definitely changing more quickly with this pregnancy. I'm 12 weeks and already growing out of most of my regular pants. That didn't happen until 4 months or so with Amelia. I went to Motherhood Maternity's site this morning and ordered some pants. I don't seem to have as many maternity pants as I remember having. Although I know last time I got a lot farther before I had to wear maternity stuff.

I got these (isn't that waist band flattering? I just LOVE maternity clothes.) Especially since I think they are rediculously overpriced, and ebay has gotten a lot more expensive as well.



I'm sure these ones have just as cute of a waist band as the ones above.


I did get some cute tops, thank goodness a bunch of my newer shirts from Old Navy are long, I can probably wear them most of the way through the pregnancy. I'm hoping for another miracle with this baby. With Amelia I lost 33 pounds from the day I had her to my 6 week check up. I weighed less than I did when I got pregnant.

I think I will like this shirt, I will have to wait until it gets here before I decide for sure.


There was something else I was going to blog about, but I can't remember what it was...

Amelia's new favorite toy.

I don't think she's every going to come back in the house again...I still have to get some sand so right now, both sides have water in them.

These are for Grandma Cindy... LOL

Before...




After ( This is the best one I have, her hair is pretty messy. And her bangs really aren't that crooked. LOL)

One man's trash is another's treasure...

Ooh and I have I mentioned lately how much I love Craigslist and Freecycle? If you haven't used either one you should check them out. Especially Freecycle. It's so simple, and works so well for us. First you join an email group on yahoo. Then when you want to get rid of something you just post an offer for it, as well as where you're located. People respond saying they are interested, and when they can come pick it up. We have gotten plants, gardening supplies, baby clothes, Amelias crib and a ton of other things on Freecycle. We have also given away a couch, excess Christmas stuff, baby clothes, and a washer and dryer.

I have gotten so much great stuff for my kid on freecycle and craigslist. Oh and I have gotten rid of so much krap (krap that people come to my house to get, and are excited to take home with them. Amazing.) Anything I can't sell on craigslist or I got for free goes on Freecycle. I love that I'm helping other people out, we got so much stuff given to us after Amelia was born, I like to pass it on when I'm done with it. And I love that I'm keeping things from going in the garbage.



This is my latest aquisition. It's a sand and water table for Amelia. At the store it costs around $70, if I bought it online it would be even more with shipping. I have been thinking about buying her one for the last year or so, but I refuse to pay that much. So I found one on craigslist.

I got it for $20.

And when we're done with it, it will get passed on to someone else.

I love the morning...

When it's quiet, and Jeff and Amelia are still asleep. I wish they'd sleep in more often. Especially Amelia. :-)

Oops she's awake now. I just heard that sweet little voice yelling, "Mommy... Daddy..." Now she's in there hollering "mommy mommy mommy" over and over again. I guess I better go get her...

We had a great day today. I love spring in Southern California. It's not too hot, but it's warm and nice to be outside. We went to a new park today with my nanny group. Amelia loved this park, it is amazing. It was built for a child who has special needs, so it's pretty accessible, there are ramps going up the play structures, not stairs, so kids in wheel chairs can go right up to the slides. Amelia had so much fun running around like a crazy girl. :-)

And this is a tandem swing, if you swing one swing, it makes the other go. The swing on the left is made for a handicapped child to sit in and swing with the other kids. Pretty cool.



Tomorrow is a baby shower for my friend Jenn. I love baby showers. Especially the part where I get to go shopping for cute baby stuff. :-)

So much for no eating in the new car. Amelia really needed a hair cut, and Kathy was going to get Aunica's done too, so today we took all the kids to Rainbow Haircutters. We all went in one car, and the first thing Amelia did was get a hold of her lunch box, and spread pirate booty all over the car. Then the kids all stepped in it and smooshed it into the carpet. I guess it's time for the new car's first trip to the car wash.

I am so sick of fighting with Amelia about doing her hair every morning, and her ripping her hair ties out, that we had the stylist give her bangs. Hopefully that will keep the hair out of her face a little better. No matter how hard I tried, her hair would not stay out of her face. Maybe the bangs will help.

If not it should only take a few years to grow them out. :-)

99 questions.

1. What is the best way to get over someone?
Spend time getting to know yourself. ;)

2. What makeup do you wear on a daily basis?
not much. Sometimes mascara eyeliner and lip gloss

4. If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life, what?
hmm right now it would be pasta and mashed potatoes. Not pregnant would be totally different.

5. What curse word do you use the most?
krap. Is that a curseword?

6. Do you own an igloo?
No

8. What time is your alarm clock set for?
Our alarm clock is named Amelia, the "oh mommy, oh daddy" starts around 630.

9. Have you ever bid for something on ebay? Yes



10. Do you wear flip-flops even when its cold outside?
what is cold? This is Southern California. I wear flip flops year round.

11. Where do you buy your groceries from?
Albertsons or Ralphs

12. Do you like to take the picture or be in the picture?
Both.

13. What was the last movie you watched?
Don't remember


14. Do any of your friends have children?
A lot of them do.

15. If you won the lottery, whats the first thing you would buy?
A house.

16. Has anyone ever called you lazy?
I'm sure they have.

17. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster?
nope

18. What CD is currently in your CD player?
a mixed cd.

19. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk?
i guess chocolate. i'm not much of a milk person

20. Has anyone told you a secret this week?
Don't think so.
21. Do you have a crush on anyone?
My hubbie. :-)

22. What did you have for dinner?
organic macaroni and cheese. :-)

23. What is your biggest fear?
Not being there for my children when they need me most.

24. What color is your car?
which one? van is silver, honda is red, truck is maroon.

25. Can you whistle ?
Yuppers

27. Do you make your own jewelry?
no

28. Have you ever participated in a protest?
Yes. Tara and I ended up in an anti war march in San Francisco. I think there were like 100,000 people there. It was crazy! :-)

29. Who was the last person to call you?
Jeff

30. What is your favorite ride at an amusement park?
Probably Indiana Jones at disneyland. Not that I'll be on any rides in the next 6 months...

31. What is something you must do every day?
make my bed.

32. Donde esta numero 32?
It's right here.

33. What area code are you in right now ?
714

34. Did you watch cartoons as a child?
Still do daily

35. How big is your local mall?
We have lots of malls. Most are pretty big.

36. What is your job title?
Mommy, pregnant lady,

37. What do you miss most?
people

38. Would you ever sky dive?
Hell no!

39. What are you allergic to?
cat hair, pollen

40. What are your biggest regrets?
I don't have many.

41. Have you ever had Jamba Juice?
yup

42. When was the last time you laughed so hard your sides hurt?
Watching a show with Jeff one night.

43. What movies do you know every line to?
The princess bride.

44. Do you own any band t-shirts?
Aerosmith I think.

45. What is your favorite candle scent?
sweet ones.

46. How many aunts and uncles do you have?
Still alive? I had 4 aunts and 3 uncles. Now I have 1 aunt, and 2 uncles still living.

47. When was your last plane ride?
From Portland to OC at Christmas.

48. Do you crack your knuckles?
No.

49. How many chairs are at your dining room table?
Depends, between 4 and 8

50. What is your favorite salad dressing?
balsamic vinaigrette.

51. Do you read for fun?
All the time.

53. Where is your cell phone?
In the van

54. Do you do your own dishes?
Yes.

55. What color is your bedroom painted?
purple.

56. Are your parents divorced?
Yes

57. Have you ever cried in public?
Oh yes.

58. Favorite eye color?
Brown

59. Which do you make: wishes or plans?
Planner who has many wishes

60. Toilet paper: over the front or around the back?
Over the front of the roll

61. Left or Right handed?
Right.

62. What posters do you have in your room?
No posters. Have some framed paintings though...

63. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos?
I want a tattoo.

64. Do you believe that the guy should pay on the first date?
I don't know.

65. Do you have a brain?
I think so.

66. Do you own a camera phone?
Yes

67. Have you ever been to Jamaica?
No

68. What do you like to snack on at the movie theatre?
Diet coke and milk duds.

69. What messenger programs do you have?
Msn, iChat, yahoo...does Warcraft count?

70. What is the weather like?
sunny and cool high 60's I think

71. What were you doing at 9pm last night?
Watching Planet Earth with Jeff.

72. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos?
Yup

73. Do you have an online journal?
Yup

74. Did you ever play Capture the Flag in school?
Not in School but at camp we did.

75. What was your favorite class in high school?
Calculus. Yup I'm a geek.

76. Do you sleep on your side, tummy, or back?
usually left side.

77. What personality trait is a must have in the opposite sex?
sense of humor

78. Have you ever been attracted to someone physically unattractive?
Ya

79. When was the last time you slept on the floor?
I don't know.

80. What is your favorite alcoholic drink?
red wine.

81. If you were born the opposite sex, what would your name have been?
Not sure.

82. Do you like your living arrangement?
Yes, we could use a bigger yard and another bedroom.

83. Has anyone ever called you spoiled?
Yes, but it is just because they don't understand me. ;)

84. What is your mother and father's hometowns?
Mom is from Portland Oregon, and Dad was mostly from portland. He moved around a lot.

85. Did you ever go to the same school as your parents?
College.

86. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
7 is a must but 8 to be bubbly

87. How much is gas where you are at right now?
3.30. EEP

88. What was the last thing to scare you?
A spider.

89. Do you own a Playstation?
nope

90. What color are your bedsheets?
Cream.

91. What is your favorite "reality competition" program?
project runway.

92. What album did you buy last?
I don't buy albums. I buy songs on Itunes.

93. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
A bunch.

94. Are your days full and fast-paced?
LOL! Yup.

95. Did you ever get in trouble for talking too much in class?
Yes, every year that is the one thing my teacher talked to my parents about.

96. Is there carpet, wood or tile in the room you're currently in?
Hardwood.

97. Were you a " planned " child?
Yes

98. What is your mom's name?
Cindy

99. What is your dad's name?
Duane

What the hell

is wrong with people??

One more thing about the car

it has built in car seats.

This is the seat normally.


This is what it looks like when the car seat is opened, it folds down out of the seat.

New van pics

Here's my new ride.




And look, Amelia can actually sit behind Jeff, when he has the seat all the way back!! It's a miracle. LOL







That's not where her seat is going to stay, but I cant put her on the other side until we get the garage a little more cleaned out.

We got a new car last night. I feel like I am officially a mom now. I went from the Honda Civic coupe to a mini van. Really, I'm not bitter, the new van is wonderful. There is plenty of room for Amelia and the new baby, and all of their friends. And it drives so nicely. It's a Chrysler Town and Country. It has a 5 disc changer, neato little built in car seats, and it's much more practical than a 2 door civic. I am going to miss driving my little car, (and parking it, the van is huge compared to the civic) but this is much better for us. For now we are keeping the Honda too, until we find the right vehicle for Jeff. It's krappy timeing the we both need new vehicles now but oh well.

Interesting...

I borrowed this from Mom of three's blog. It's definitely worth taking a look at.

Pictures

We got Amelia's pictures done today, here are a couple of the ones we chose.

The grocery shopping was great. The guy was so nice, carried everything into the kitchen for me, and everything was in great shape. Best $9 I spent all week. :-)

I had my first check up yesterday. It was with a midwife. She said they'd (the insurance company) would like me to try for a VBAC. (Vaginal birth after c section.) I am pretty scared about the whole thing, so that's a big decision. My doctor with Amelia told me I have a small pelvis and the chances of me pushing out a baby over 6 lbs was slim to none. Once I had my c section, she also said I would have a csection for any other kids I had. So anyway.

Oh and the midwife said she didn't want me to gain any weight and if I lost weight at the beginning thats fine. Which is funny since I weigh less now than I did when I got pregnant with Amelia. I did okay with her though, I gained 20 lbs or so, and had lost 35 by my 6 week check up.

Groceries

So, I have tried 3 times this week to go grocery shopping. Every time I either am too busy vomiting to leave the house or end up vomiting on the way to the store and have to turn around and come back home. We are quickly running out of food, so I decided yesterday to give Albertsons.com a try. It's only 9.95 and it will all be delivered this afternoon.

I'm crossing my fingers that it all goes well. :-)

Meme

Meme
I stole this one from Brianna

One Word, One Word Only
Yourself: tired
Your partner: working
Your hair: up
Your Mother: birthday
Your Father: deceased
Your Favorite Item: laptop
Your dream last night: weird
Your Favorite Drink: dietcoke
Your Dream Car: unsure
Your Dream Home: expensive
The Room You Are In: Living
Your Ex: far
Your fear: heights
Where you Want to be in Ten Years? happy
Who you hung out with last night: family
What You’re Not: tall
Muffins: blueberry
One of Your Wish List Items: book
Time: fast
The Last Thing You Did: emailed
What You Are Wearing: clothes
Your favorite weather: cool
Your Favorite Book: good
Last thing you ate: chicken
Your Life: good
Your mood: irritable
Your Best Friend: Jeff
What are you thinking about right now: sleep
Your car: Honda
What are you doing at the moment: meme
Your summer: soon
Relationship status: Married
What is on your tv: backyardigans
What is the weather like: Cold
When is the last time you laughed: yesterday

If it's on Snopes, it must be true!

I love Snopes. You can find info on just about every forward you get in your inbox. When I bought my car (a red Honda) so many people gave me grief that I was going to have expensive insurance and get more tickets. Well fortunately they were all wrong, I have not had a ticket since buying this car. Anyway, today I again heard this story and decided to see what Snopes had to say. And the answer is...











False!

Taken from the Snopes website.

I continuously hear the rumor that statistics "prove" that red cars are stolen more than any other color, even to the extent that insurance companies are wary with red cars due to the increased theft factor. Red car owners thus have higher rates. The idea is that the color red attracts car thieves, I guess like hummingbirds.

Those in the automobile insurance business deny they're charging more to insure red cars than comparable vehicles of other colors and this would not be the case if red cars were more likely to be stolen or involved in accidents. Regarding the belief that a vehicle's color drives up it's insurance premiums, says Jeanne Salvatore, vice president of consumer affairs for the Insurance Information Institute in New York City: "It's not the color, it's your driving record." She's never heard of any insurance company charging more for red cars.

Ramblings...

I think I was off the first time I tried to figure out my due date. I just put the dates in again on baby center and it says I'm 8 weeks pregnant. I guess we'll see what the doctor says Monday, I'm not sure how it works, Kaiser doesn't usually do more than one U/S so I'm not sure how they will figure out how far along I am. Maybe I will get an extra ultrasound.

In other news I have figured out how to dodge the puking for now... eating! Constantly. If I don't let myself get hungry I'm fine. That totally didn't work with Amelia, but so far it's working okay with this kid. I'm still exhausted though. Although apparently if I get out of the house, I feel better. Amelia and I went to AAA today to get new tags for my car. They expired while I was in Oregon. OOPS.

Every time I walk in Amelia's room, I see all the stuff I need to get done to have a baby in there. Did I mention our house only has two bedrooms? it's perfect for us in every other way, has enough bathrooms, the bedrooms are good sized, the living area is huge, we have a huge two car garage, but we only have two bedrooms. SO Amelia and peanut will have to share a room at some point. Cross your fingers this one is a girl, so we don't have to move. LOL

Oh and one more thing. My mom turned 50 today.

Happy Birthday Mom! Amelia sent her Gree-Ma flowers, wasn't that nice of her? :-)

My poor mom, she has had a rough time the last few years. Both of her sisters passed away before they reached 50 and I think mom was pretty scared that she wouldn't make it there either. Her life however is completely different, my aunts left this world because of choices they made. Other than smoking my mom is pretty darn healthy. She goes to the doctor and gets check ups. She is not overweight. She is on a low sodium, and low fat diet. I wish she'd stop worrying and just enjoy her life. She struggles so hard with the fact that she smokes and can't seem to stop. I think it also got to her that my dad died last year. They hadn't been married in a long time but they still had some bond between the two of them. Probably the fact that they had kids together. And I don't think she ever stopped loving him, she just couldn't live with him and his choices. Anyway, I hope you have a great birthday mom!

7 weeks

I am already starting to notice ways this pregnancy will be different. First off, I think it's going to be harder on Jeff. His job is a lot more stressful now than it used to be. At least it seems that way to me. Anyway, before I got pregnant with Amelia, I was working so at that point jeff was used to doing more around the house. He did laundry here and there, he helped more with cooking and cleaning. Since I started staying home with Amelia, he doesn't do much. Usually that's fine with me. I kind of see taking care of the house and Amelia as my job, while he goes to work every day. I do all the laundry and cooking, and cleaning. I'm already asking for more help, and I think it will be harder on him this time around.

The other thing is I just can't sleep as much as I would like to. LOL I am tired all the time (which has me a little worried since that was the first real sign of the Preeclampsia with the last pregnancy, I'm hoping it's just the normal beginning of pregnancy exhaustion and not anything else)While Amelia was sick she was up and down all night, and I'm definitely noticing the tiredness more this time. That or I have just forgotten! LOL

It has begun...

I was really hoping to skip the morning sickness this time. I had a few bouts here and there on our trip, but mostly I was fine. Well the last week or so have been awful. I am nauseas constantly. If I get too hungry, I get nauseas. If I eat I get nauseas, nothing sounds appetizing except for carbs. I just want to eat bread and muffins. LOL But that's really not helping my *ahem* digestion. I am trying to make myself eat more salad and veggies but they seem to be harder on my tummy.

I'm also really grouchy and whiney. SOOO whiney. My poor husband. I'm sure he is sick of me already. I am also sick, and so is Amelia, which means we are all sleep deprived, which I'm sure is not helping my whineyness.

Will someone just knock me out for a few months?? K, thanks.

Aww

I was on the computer making my menu for next week, and making a grocery list, and all of the sudden I noticed the house was awfully quiet.









I just want to know how she sleeps in such uncomfortable looking positions!

Huh

So Jeff and I have some news. It is completely unexpected, but now that it's happened, we're happy.

I'm pregnant again. It's still really early ( why can't I be one of those chicks who wakes up and is 6 weeks pregnant?) No, I have to know before the test is even positive. Actually Jeff usually figures it out before I do. Anyway, I'm so not a good secret keeper, and I have other stuff I can't talk about in my blog right now, so this is a good topic.

I took a test over a week ago and it was negative. Then took one the next day and got one dark line, and one very faint line. So I took a few more tests, and each one had a very faint positive line. Then last Tuesday I got two dark lines.
According to babycenter, my due date is November 5th. Which means I'll probably have a kiddo the end of October, since I'll have another c section. All my mother had to say was why did you have to pick such a busy time of year? Three of my nieces have birthdays in October or early November. She also made some comment about already having lots of grandkids so I couldn't expect her to get to excited. I love my mother.

It's done!

Amelia's room is finally done. I put her curtains up today. The theme is surfer monkey, it's pretty cute.

This is some of the stuff she has ( my camera is at my friend's house.)
This is the bedding...

and one of the pillows...



and I got her this clock too. I love it because the monkey hulas.



I also bought her some cute things on ebay, some prints someone made that have hula monkeys as well. The thing that bothered me is there are no curtains that go with the set. So, I bought a set of sheets and made valances and a few other things out of them. i think I'm also going to make a pillow for the rocking chair. (I'll add more pictures later.)

I had the best birthday..

February is a busy month for me holiday wise. My anniversary is on Valentine's day, and my birthday is a few days later.

This year, Jeff amazed me with all he did.

He sent me a huge bouquet of pink gerbera daisies for our anniversary. They are beautiful. Then Friday I got the first part of my present. My mom and grandma flew in Friday night. I had no idea until that day, that they were coming. It was a great surprise!

Then Saturday I went shopping with mom and grandma, and got this.



I have never bought an expensive purse. The couple nice purses I've had, Grandma has bought me. LOL

It's so silly spend that much on a purse, but I love it. It feels wonderful to the touch. I probably won't get another purse for a very long time, but that's okay. Now I just have to keep Amelia from smearing crud all over it.

I got another huge bouquet of Gerbera daisies, these ones were all different colors.

Then my birthday got even better. We went to have dinner at Don Jose's. While we were getting out of the cars, I saw Kathy, and then Jenn, drive by. We walked in and there was a whole group of people.


Kathy came in with a cake and balloons. OH MY GOODNESS it was the yummiest strawberry filling in the cake. Fresh strawberries in cream cheese filling. It was heaven. I sent the leftovers home with other people, so I wouldn't eat any more of it. :-)




I got some really nice gifts, and we had a really nice time. There were probably about 30 people there. It was great. :-)

All in all, it was a great birthday.

Here's Amelia at Grandma's hotel.




(There are a bunch more pictures I"m trying to post but blogger won't let me. Stupid blogger.)

I made this last year for Jeff for Father's day. I just updated it with some new pictures.

Make video montages at onetruemedia.com

Three years! That's how long Jeff and I have been married. It seems like so much longer. In a good way. Sometimes I don't remember life before Jeff and Amelia. And I certainly wouldn't change anything.This picture is Jeff and I outside the "Little Chapel of the Flowers" in Vegas. Yep, we went to Vegas. We had a blast. Thirty of our best friends and family were there. No one showed up just for the food, it was just people who really wanted to be there. We had so much fun that weekend. That's my sister Sarah and my brother in law Christian in the picture with us.

While I was looking for a photo to add to this post, I found this one. It's my dad and my niece Dorothy. Even though he could be a pain, I miss him. It's been almost a year now since he died. It's still hard sometimes, even though we weren't always that close.

I got some candy for Valentine's day and Amelia found it.





Then, much to her dismay, I took the box away.


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This is a funny little video of Amelia with the box of chocolates. For some reason my videos show up so much darker on dropshots. I guess because the resolution is worse?

On turning 2...

Amelia is two now. She is doing amazing things. She can count to 13. She can sing most of the alphabet (She gets confused after qrst and goes back to the beginning.) She is almost completely potty trained. She is speaking in sentences. Over the weekend, Jeff heard her say "daddy please open the door" when she was done with her nap. She loves Dora the Explorer. She loves to sing and dance. She hates to be wet or poopy, and will usually change herself if she has an accident. She is so curious about everything. She has an amazing memory, and is great at repeating what we say. "Kitty get down!" is one of her favorite things to say. She can climb to the top of a huge playstructure and go down the slide. She loves the swings. She asks to go "bye bye in car please". She is so smart. She will move the dining room chairs around the house so she can reach what she wants. She knows where things go, and is starting to help put them back in their place. She says "Bless you" if someone sneezes. She asks "You okay?" if someone coughs. She is so independent. Sometimes when she gets mad she will hit mommy or daddy. But then she will pat us and say, "sorry". She loves her friends. She talks about Abbie often. Anytime she colors she looks for her. She also loves her friend Jack. She now knows when we turn on Jack's street, and starts yelling "Jack, where are you?"


It seems like so long ago that she was the small fragile newborn that I was holding in the picture below. Now she's a person. This mom thing is the most amazing, hard, crazy, thing I have ever done. And I have a feeling it's just going to become more so.

Funky

I've been in a blogging funk lately. I was sick, then Amelia was sick, and now there isn't much going on to write about. Oh well, such is life.

The birthday party went really well, there were around 30 people there, it was basically playgroup on Saturday with a bouncer. We had the party at Kathy's house because her backyard is way bigger than mine. Amelia loved everything. I think her favorite gift though, was the box that Michelle and the boys' gift came in. She carries the box all over the house filled with all sorts of things. She even uses it as a chair! Silly girl.

I started going to the gym again. I've been going in the evening after Jeff is home and after we have dinner. It's so nice to get out of the house all by myself. The most wonderful part though, is I each machine has it's own tv. So I can watch whatever I want for half an hour. No Jack's big music show. No Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. No sports. Just random krap. I love it.

Look how small she was!

Disregard the blank look in my eyes, we had just got home from the hospital. She was only 6 days old.


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Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Sorry

If you've called or emailed me in the last week, and I haven't responded, I'm sorry. I've got some medical stuff going on. The doctor ran a bunch of tests but I won't go back for another week to see if they know anything. The worst symptom is I am dizzy and having vertigo all the time. I spend most of the day feeling like I just stepped off an amusement park ride. I have medicine I can take for it, but then I can't drive and it makes me pretty sleepy, so I won't take it when I'm home alone with Amelia. So anyway.

I'm hoping to be back posting more and reading all your blogs again soon.

We did have Amelias birthday party today, my baby is now 2. Where does the time go?

Tiki Man

Cousin Connie made this. Does the little giraffe look familiar??

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 26 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I think I forgot to post an update on the fruit leather. It turned out really good. It looks like the fruit leather that you'd buy in the store. It's just cheaper and probably a little healthier. Anyway, my friend's kid loved it, mine didn't. LOL Oh well, I guess I made some snacks for playgroup. Maybe I'll distribute them at her birthday party. LOL

I worked on one of the shopping cart covers last night. I gave my sister the one I originally made for me, so I am making one for myself now. When I first decided to make these, I bought a pattern. But, while it's functional, I don't like how it's made. So of course I have had to change it all around to how I want it to be. So apparently I'm not just making covers, I'm designing as well. So it's taking me longer to make. I'll post some pictures when I get done with it.

Okay I'm off to grocery shop now.

Mama and Yeah-yeah

Jeff took this of Amelia and I earlier today. I can't believe how quickly she's growing up. (If you click on the picture you can see it a little more clearly. I'm too lazy to upload and edit right now... )

Sewing again

I went to the fabric store today. I love the fabric store. It's filled with endless possibilities. I feel like I can make anything. Today the goal was to find fabric to make some shopping cart covers. -Yes the fabric covers for those anal mom's like me who are afraid their child might touch something dirty. Or in the case of my child, they might flop around and hit their heads. Yes that happened. That's why I make well padded shopping cart covers.-

So anyway, I found a few fabrics I really like, and I'm going to make a few covers and then decide what I want to do with them. Jeff thinks I should have an at home business making them, but right now it's fun. If I have to make 300 of them, it won't be fun anymore. Not to mention the fabric and stuff to make them was not cheap, I would have to sell them for a lot to make any money. I think I'd rather make them here and there for friends or whatever. We'll see.

The dragonfly fabric aboce is one I bought today. It's so much prettier in person though.

Oops

I tried to put a couple of Google ads up on my page, I thought I'd have that be one of my good things, and then I could send whatever I made to a charity.

Well apparently my content is questionable, and I have been denied. HA HA.

Maybe it's my posts about potty training and poop?


On another note, today Amelia has gone in the potty twice. No accidents so far. Could potty training really be this easy???

She is hilarious though, she has to get a book before she will sit. I think she has been watching daddy too much.


Edited to Add: While I was writing this she tried to go poop on her potty by herself. Maybe diapers aren't such a bad thing??? LOL

Do something good

I used to be so good at doing good things. I volunteered, I gave blood, I did stuff at the food bank. Then I got married, had a kid and a lot of those things are harder to do now. I don't have a babysitter, and a lot of those things are inappropriate to take a toddler to. I was so excited when I heard about Small Change. Beth at Diary of a Playgroup Dropout started Small Change, you can see her blog for more details. Basically it's a bunch of people who read her bog who are going to try and do something little every month to help someone else. Amelia and I are going to make some cards to send to sick kids through Make A Child Smile.

Go check out her blog, the more people who join the better.

What's for breakfast Part II

Thanks for responding to my first question guys. But I think I should rephrase the question, what are your kids having for breakfast? I don't think Amelia will do coffee yet. HA HA

Today she had apple cinnamon pancakes.

Trying something new

I did it! I finally switched over to the new blogger. So far so good.


Breakfast and lunch today were not very exciting. Amelia had oatmeal, applesauce and bananas for breakfast and the second meal of the day was toast with peanut butter, pear yogurt and some peaches and carrots.

But we are making something new today, fruit leather. I have a couple of books that tell how to make baby food. I made almost all of Amelia's baby food, not only because they tend to put unnecessary junk in jarred baby food, but also because it was so much cheaper. The price difference is amazing. And it was actually really simple. Anyway, I have rediscovered these two books since I quit working. They have great recipes for toddler and adult food as well. I've been trying out different recipes here and there. The project today was strawberry and applesauce fruit leather.

The only problem, is I am THE MOST inpatient person in the world. The fruit leather is supposed cook for 1-2 days. And I'm only supposed to open the oven every few hours to check on the progress and let the moisture out. That's going to make me crazy over the course of the day, since I don't even have a working over light so I can peer in on it.

Here's what it looked like when we first put it in the oven.
The strawberries smell wonderful.


The fruit leather was great. :-)

This is an interesting video that a few people have sent me about schools.

Animal School

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/ is the website it comes from if you want more information.

What's for breakfast...

So I'm curious blog readers,( I say that like I think I have a plethora of readers :-) ) what's for breakfast at your house today?

In the our house we had egg beaters with cheese,strawberries, oranges and grapes, and Amelia and Jeff also had whole wheat toast.

I'm trying to get back in the habit of making breakfast for all of us before DH leaves for work. It's nice for us to sit down together for a meal, and that way if Jeff doesn't make it home for dinner at least we had some time together in the morning. And since Amelia is generally up at the crack of dawn, it should not be difficult to have breakfast ready by the time Jeff is out of the shower.

But I'm running out of ideas for healthy breakfasts. I'd love to hear what you all have for breakfast.

So far all I can come up with is Oatmeal, French Toast, Apple Pancakes, and eggs. On the days I make something a little higher in calories than I need, I just have a veggie burger on whole wheat toast, which is actually my favorite breakfast. :-)

Aww

Jeff sent me flowers. I wonder if he read my blog this morning?? lol

Some days...

I just wanna go back to work.** I want to put my kid in day care, with 30 other kids who are probably all sick, I want to leave me house early in the morning, and come home to find it still picked up. I want to feel like I accomplish something every day (besides laundry and dishes and errands and cleaning up and cooking and playing with the kid)I want to come home to dinner made for me. I want to have the joy of making my own money, and having the extra money a job would bring. I want to have a cleaning crew again. I miss having a life outside of my kid and husband and house. I miss the person i was before I was just mommy. Sometimes I think I've lost myself a little. Like I'm just Mommy, wife, cook, cleaner etc, I'm not Steph anymore.

I know I'm totally delusional, and working would probably suck, since Jeff isn't into the whole we both work full time and both have to do half the house hold stuff. That's a big part of why I quit working the last time. I couldn't work 12 hour days and do all the laundry and cooking and clean up after him too. But still. Some day's I miss working.









** This does not mean I totally love my daughter and my husband, and I know I'm lucky I can stay home with her, and still have a pretty nice life. I just need to find some balance and do some things I enjoy.

Conversations with yeah yeah...

If you ask Amelia to say her name, she says "yeah-yeah".

I was finishing breakfast this morning when Amelia noticed that I had food and she didn't.

Amelia- I'm hunree Mama. (While trying to take food out of my hands)

Me- You're hungry?

Amelia- Nope. Is it goo?

Me- Yes it's good. Do you want some?

Amelia- Nope. Wanna bite? Yummy. (Now she has climbed into my lap and is again trying to take food out of my hands. I give her a bite of my veggie burger and some corn.)
Amelia- Tankoo mama. Is Yummy. ( Gives me a hug and takes off to go play.)


I love my "job".

I'll be back...

later to do an actual post, for now I leave you with Amelia's first ride on the teeter totter.

I've calmed down now. I don't think Kaiser is evil anymore. ( Well maybe a little bit. LOL) I just have to get better at navigating the big system. I guess I got spoiled having a small doctors office group in Aliso Viejo.

They're evil I tell ya!

I have decided that Kaiser Permanente insurance is evil. When we switched companies, most things stayed the same except health insurance. We went from a wonderful enhanced PPO, to the worst kaiser plan there is. ( You know, $40 office visits, $200 a day co pays to be in the hospital) And we pay twice as much for this as we did the Cigna plan. I can deal with all that. Yeah it sucks to switch pediatricians but I can deal.

Then I tried to call and get an appointment. Do I get to call the office? No I call an 800 number and speak to someone who is probably not in this state or maybe the country, they make appointments for the OC. I am told for the kiddos 2 year check up, we don't get to see a doctor just a nurse. I requested a doctor and was told no. It took me about 45 minutes to make the appointment, the lady had to check 3 different facilities to finally find a nurse who was available for her 2 year check up, which is over a month away. That really bothered me that we couldn't see a doctor, so I called member services this morning. The lady was nice and she called the office for me, put me on hold for a half hour and told me all I had to do was ask if I wanted to see a doctor. ( The fact that I asked 3 or 4 times yesterday didn't matter.) She gave me the name and number of who to call to get an appointment with a doctor.

I called this local number and ended up being transferred to the same call center I called yesterday. I told the lady what I was told by the previous person at member services. She said "well there is no way I can help you. I'm in a call center. We don't have a direct line in, I have no way to know who that person is." So I'm back at square one, except my BP is a little higher and I want to scream. Poor DH, I called and yelled at his voicemail that he needs to find a new job with better insurance... I did call back and apologize and tell him to not listen to my message...



I'm sure part of the reason I'm so irritable today is because our neighbors alarm went off sometime during the night. It went off until the contractors working on the house got here at 830 this morning. Did I mention their condo is attached to ours?

Oh well at least my kid is cute. :-)

Double Trouble

Aren't they cute? They definitley got into some mischief together. Most of which involved Amelia clobbering Emma. I guess she was making up for the last trip where Emma got Amelia most of the time.

Brianna tagged everyone who reads her blog with the 2006 Meme!

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? Celebrated my child's first birthday.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?I don't do resolutions. If I had one it would be the same as last year, to get more healthy.


3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My sister. She lives far away but I was there when it happened. And my friend Stacy. There are lots of pregnant people around now though! 2007 will be a longer list. :-)

4. Did anyone close to you die? My dad. Jeff's friend Travis. My Grandpa Earl. Yup this year sucked.


5. What countries did you visit? Oregon is a seperate country right?? lol It's sure different than the OC. ha ha ha


6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? Better organization, less stressful stuff.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?I don't really like this one but I guess January 27th, Amelias first birthday and April 9th, the day my dad died.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Becoming a stay at home mom and surviving.


9. What was your biggest failure?I don't know.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?I'm sick right now. No inuries that I recall.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I'm not sure. New furniture I guess?


12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Everything Amelia does gets celebrated.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Britney Spears. Whats up with that chick?
14. Where did most of your money go? housing. Our biggest expenditure every month by far is housing.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Amelia turning one, all my trips to Portland, not having to drag my kid to work anymore

16. What song will always remind you of 2006? Dixie Chicks, not ready to make nice.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? about the same. I gotta lose more weight!
c) richer or poorer? I guess poorer. I'm not working. Although our expenditures went down drastically when I quit working ( Who knew cooking meals at home saved so much money lol!!) and i think we're doing better financially now.



18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Spending more time taking Amelia to see my dad.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Not paying attention to what I was eating.

20. How did you spend Christmas? With jeff and Amelia, and my mom, and my sister and brother in law and my nieces.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006? With my new niece Lilly. She is the happiest baby I have ever met.
22. How many one-night stands? None.

23. What was your favorite TV program? Grey's Anatomy, Bones, Numb3rs...

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope.

25. What was the best book you read? Your first quilt book (Or it should be!) Great instructional book, even if you already know some sewing quilting.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? IPOD. ( Thanks Jeff!!)

27. What did you want and get? Ipod, dvd burner, new hard drive...

28. What did you want and not get? can't think of anything

29. What was your favorite film of this year?I Don't know, I'm not much of a movie person. Ask Jeff. LOL

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 26 and it was last February. I don't remember what we did. Must not have been much I guess. LOL

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Not sure. I had a pretty good year. i guess not losing the people we lost?

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Fashion? I am a stay at home mom. Getting out of the house in clean clothes that the kid hasn't smeared food on is my concept! lol

33. What kept you sane?Jeff and Amelia. And my friends. :-)

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Not sure.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? The banning of gay marriages. I'm bothered that people spend so much time and energy on harassing other people.

36. Who did you miss? My dad.

I don't know who will read this and actually do it,(and hasn't already done it) so I'll tag Sarah and Kathy and Michelle as well as anyone else who reads this blog.