crafty mattie

For some reason, this summer I have had the desire to be more crafty than usual. I've wanted to make and bake a lot of things and ideas keep running amok in my head.

It started with G-unit's room and continued on with the "boys'" bathroom. (Which sounds strange to say - "boys" - plural.)

I actually started preparing the bathroom first because I had a better grasp of what I wanted to do. I had seen some cute ideas on Esty and really liked the "wash, brush, flush" items. We already had a toothbrush holder for E that had an underwater motif and I wanted to stick with it. While wandering around Hobby Lobby, my favorite crafty store, I saw a cute (and pre-painted) crab, whale, and octopus. I grabbed one of each, some wooden plaques, new paintbrushes, and white acrylic paint.
stencils created

laid out on painted wood

words painted from stencil

hubby taking photo of me workingtah-dah!Then I took on making canvas paintings of G-unit's name to put up in his room. I will show you ONE of the letters and will post photos of the rest once he's here.

stencil on canvas

finished painting on canvas

hung in his roomFinally, I'm working on another canvas painting for G-unit's room. I had a really hard time deciding what to do, so I just decided to work around the colors that are in the stripes of his bedding. I started by taking a vinyl wall art tree found on Etsy as the basis of my art. I created an outline of a tree with brown cardstock (although you could use anything, even newspaper) and traced it on the canvas. Then I made stencils for the leaves - one larger than the other - and traced them as well.
inspiration
tree stencil out of card stockleaf stencilspencil outlinestree painted, colored squares used for marking leaf colors

halfway there

photographer hubby while I'm at worktah-dah! (color is off, I'll post another when it is hung)

checklist

I'm not one for keeping lists or "to dos" around. But the past two weekends I've felt the need for them. Here is where I am:

Done-
Boys' bathroom redone
G-unit's name hanging up
Two load of infant laundry done
New washer/dryer purchased
Car seat installed
Closets reorganized with baby stuff
Bassinet moved into our room
Window valance hung

To do:
Pack hospital bags
Paint wall decoration/hanging for G-unit's room
Hang above mentioned decor
Buy newborn diapers
Set up diaper Genie
Wash about 4 more loads of laundry
Have new washer/dryer installed
Plan for the next few weeks at work
Make it at least another 2 weeks!

36...er, 37 weeks

I had an appointment today. My ob/gyn was on vacation, so another doctor in his practice saw me. I still weigh 165 lbs, G-unit's heart rate was great and I was tested for group B strep, as well as having a cervical exam. I'm 1 cm dilated and G-unit is occiput posterior, meaning he is face up, just like E was. I know that the dilation really doesn't mean much, but I'm excited that my body is taking matters into it's own hands this time. With E, each time I went to the doctor and was checked, all I heard was "no change". So 1 cm means that I only have 9 to go when the time comes!

While chatting and asking questions about if I was having contractions, I also asked to clarify my estimated due date because she said I was 37 weeks. When we first found out I was pregnant, the nurse said Aug. 18th. However, according to the first ultrasound, I was measuring a week behind and my doctor said Aug. 25th. When I would hear the doctor say how far along I was, it always seemed odd that he said a week higher than I thought. I figured that it was due to the timing of my appointments since they were usually the day before (i.e. - appointment on Wed., but on Thursday I would be 36 weeks). Well, I decided to ask what due date they had in my file...turns out they still have Aug. 18th. Guess that does make me 37 weeks!

As far as how I'm doing, I'm hanging in there. The past few weeks have been difficult due to the humidity more so than the heat. Being back at work has been nice since we are in the air conditioning. I have been assigned two student teachers for the entire year and it has been helpful having them around to help get things done for school.

The knuckles in my finger and toes still are rather achy, and the doctor said it's due to my body swelling. They typically hurt during the morning and evening the most. My feet are a little swollen, but it's not too bad.

I'm now on to researching how to get this baby turned around to have a more comfortable and easy delivery!

rough day for E

Morning: While I was getting ready for work and Paul was chilling in bed, E decided to get down from our bed which he does all the time safely. Today, however, we both heard a thump. E started to cry and Paul went to pick him up. Then I hear, "He's bleeding really badly." E is now screaming and I see a mouthful of blood. Paul ran to get a towel so we could rinse out his mouth. Once we were able to get a good look, there was a small cut on the inside of his right cheek, close to the corner of his mouth. I was amazed at how much blood was coming out of such a small cut. The outside of his right cheek also has a cut, but that wasn't bleeding much at all. I checked his teeth and gums to make sure they were all right and they seemed fine. Poor little guy was so sad and whimpering while he tried to regain his breath. Luckily for him, my mom feed him a homemade popsicle because she thought it would make his mouth feel better. Good thing he had already had breakfast.

Evening: We were about to get E out of the bathtub and brush his teeth when he decided to grab one of his boats (that he has been attached to lately). As he stood up, he lost his balance, fell, and hit his left cheek on the edge of the tub. Again, more tears and a pack of ice on his cheek.

Rough day...poor guy.

over

It's official. After today, my summer vacation is over.

As I was putting E down for his nap it hit me that this would be the last week day I have off until G-unit decides to make his arrival. It's the last Monday that we'll have together - just the two of us. When I started to think about this, the tears began streaming down my face. It makes me sad to think that our one-on-one time is winding down. It won't be just E any longer. As happy as I am to meet G and have him join our family, it makes me sad for E.

I keep telling Paul that we can't forget the little things that make E who he is as a person. How he likes to retell moments when he has been injured by using sound effects and fake crying. How he loves to run up behind you while you're sitting down and jump on your back and hug your neck and give you kisses. How when he's tired and you ask him if he wants to go to sleep, he says "Dis" (yes). How he flirts with an open mouth with women. How he gives kisses as though he's European - one kiss on each cheek. How he loves to sing "Wheels on the Bus, 1-2-3-4, Milkshake" and watch freight trains on You Tube. How he loves to be swung by his dad and play in his tent when P gets home from work. How when he sees me getting ready to shower, his face lights up and he yells "Mama!" while signing for milk and pointing at my chest. How his little hands feel so soft and gentle when he plays with my hair and rests his head on my shoulders. How he will will squeal with delight when he goes swimming and tries to drink the water instead of blowing bubbles. How he likes to hold his plastic screwdriver or plastic golf club or wire whisk when he takes a nap. There's so many more...

I'm afraid that I will forget these little things when I have another little guy to look after.

always amazed

...at the things my little guy learns each and every day. For example, today at my parents' house.he figured out how to get ice from the refrigerator dispenser into his cup. The other day is was doing somersaults. Lately he has been so affectionate, giving kisses and hugs all the time. In fact, he seems to be rather "European" about it, giving a kiss to you on each cheek. My favorite is when he runs up behind you and jumps on you back, throws his arms around tour neck, and squeals with happiness as he kisses you.

photo shoot

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had an ultrasound on Tuesday. Here are some images from that ultrasound...


Apparently, he likes to rest his hand on his chin and use my placenta as a pillow.

Tumbler and 34 weeks - part dos

E and I went down to my parents' house today to spend the day with them while Paul was at work. We were all sitting around playing with E and I was flipping him backwards. A few minutes later he puts his hands down in front of his feet, lifts one leg, puts it down, tucks his head and BAM! He does a somersault all on his own! Guess watching those other kids in class the past four weeks has taught him something. We've helped him do it a few times before, but this was completing surprising. Yet another "first" I am glad I was home to see!

Last night, Paul and I were able to do an orientation/hospital tour where I plan on having baby G. It was nice to get myself oriented with a the hospital, preregister, and get to see the rooms. We were able to see the "ancillary" rooms that contain bath tubs in them. I need to make sure that when we arrive at the hospital that I request one of those rooms since I plan on laboring in water.

I previously spoke to my ob/gyn about the option of allowing me to deliver in any position that suits me at the time and he was rather open. I also asked if he would consider a water birth and he said yes. If I want to deliver in water, I have to bring my own tub since the hospital doesn't permit births in theirs. Now it's on to researching tubs and supplies! (I plan on talking to my doctor about it again at my next appointment, too.)

skinny

I was looking at my FB photos and came across this one. Ah...how I used to be skinny...without a baby pooch. Maybe someday soon...

New Name

Since we will soon have a family of four, I had to think of a new name for our family website. I simply couldn't name it Tales of Four Tomasiks. That's just wouldn't do. It doesn't even fit in with the alliteration with which I was going.

So far I've come up with this...

Or maybe I'll just rename it Tessera. (The number 4 in Greek is tessera.)

Any other ideas?

34 weeks

And my countdown has begun. I have 4-8 weeks left of being pregnant and meeting my little man! Hopefully.

Tuesday morning I had an ultrasound to check G-unit's growth. Everything looked ok. There's still a lot of fluid surrounding him, head was down, and according to his measurements he weighs approximately 5 pounds 10 ounces. Looks to me as though he is on his way to being about the same size as E was at birth.

Wednesday morning I had an appointment with my ob/gyn. I now weigh a "whopping" 165 lbs. Yes, I did just post that! I have reached the 30 lb. weight gain mark. Ugh. On a good note, Dr. said that I'm measuring just fine. In fact, I was measuring at about 33 weeks, not 34. I mentioned to him some of the comments that people were making and he told me that they should mind their own business and that I'm not looking big at all. What a great Dr.!

I go back and see him in two more weeks and then every week after that appointment. Next time I go in, he will not be there so one of the other doctors in his practice will do a cervical exam and test for Group B Strep. Hopefully everything turn out ok. I was GBS+ with E and it would be great if I didn't have to do the same meds with G. I remember how much the penicillin burns running through your veins...YUCK! My doctor also said that after this initial cervical exam, I will not have to have any more if I choose. It's a good thing he mentioned not checking me because I was going to ask him about it anyway! He also put a note in my chart for the other doctor to not mention scheduling a c-section. Phew! This little (big) guy WILL come out the way I want him to. Enough said.

*Speaking of c-sections, I saw this on one of my favorite website's FB page and thought I would share. In the event that I do end up needing a c-section, I'm going to put what I have seen in this video in my birth plan.*

small successes

1.) I'm enjoying a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a tall glass of milk. Yummy!

2.) My feet have reduced in swelling the past few days. E and I are staying in much more than we were last week.

3.) E's first swim class through the local parks & rec was a blast! He had so much fun singing and swimming in the water. We still have to work on floating on his back, getting splashed in the face, and closing his mouth under the water (he likes to drink it instead). We get to go again tonight and I'm rather excited!

4.) It seems as though 4th time is the charm for tumble class. E participated in so much more this time! The one thing he didn't do was the actual "tumbling" part of somersaults. I'm so proud of him! In fact, he even started going up to other kids and touching them. One little girl fell down and E went up and pat her on the back. It was sweet. He went up to another little boy pat him twice and the boy told him "no hitting". Let me just say, he did not hit this other child. This other child is the rambunctious one in the class and does what ever he wants. His name is called out by his parents nonstop during the class session. Drives me nuts. Anywho... I'm proud that he is going up to other kids instead of grabbing a hold of my leg and trying to climb me.

5.) We met with the one of the co-directors for the early intervention program what will be working with E. We set up his IFSP which consists of family goals to help improve his speech. The next step is to set up weekly sessions that will begin in August. E was very fond of the woman that came to our house. He kept bringing her different toys and showing off his flirtatious smile. When she was leaving, E waved goodbye and then stretched his arms out to hug her. :-) We have such a sweet boy.

6.) Yesterday morning, E and I went to visit my coworker/friend that just had her baby boy on June 15th. She had a home birth and was also taking the HypnoBirthing classes with me. She looks so great and little baby H is adorable! It's so hard to believe how small babies are when they're newborns. I was so lucky to hold him, too. E did a great job while I held H. I was a bit nervous because I didn't know if E would become jealous. But he very sweetly touched H all over - his head, nose, tummy, legs, and feet. He'd point to different body parts and lean in to look at him carefully. E even gave him a couple kisses on his legs and head. Once I handed H back to his mama, E wanted him back in my hands. He kept whining and point to the baby and back to my hands. I tried to explain that the baby was with his mommy, but it would make E even more upset. My friend let me hold him again and E was happy. I'm sure hoping that this corresponds with how he will be with his baby brother. I just wonder how long it will last!

Independence Day

I must start off by saying that this was probably my favorite 4th of July in many years. It wasn't anything extravagant or spectacular, but it was full of some great time with my son and hubby.

We started off the morning by making Belgian waffles and then headed to the grocery store. (Remember, I said it's wasn't anything special!) Paul then let me head off alone to Target to buy a new swimsuit. It was a bit depressing when I put on a medium top and it didn't cover my belly. It barely even covered my belly button. Ugh! But I was able to find a new suit that fits and it's pretty cute.

After E's nap, we all went to Pottery Barn Kids (posh, right?!) and purchased E's new bedroom set. We will be moving his furniture into G's room, so he needed something more "big kidish". We were able to purchase a twin bed, dresser, and bookshelf for him.

There was some time that we needed to waste before heading to the club with Paul's family, so Paul suggested we head to Bahama Bucks - THE BEST shaved ice place. (What a smart idea!)
Since they only take cash, P had to walk to the Circle K and get some cash back. While we were waiting, E kept pointing to a table of people enjoying their Bahama Bucks and then pointing to himself. I had to remind him that when Daddy came back, he would have some too. Paul selected the Hurricane flavor, I had a Sun Devil with cream, and E had sugar-free watermelon. He LOVED it. Surprisingly, he let us put a napkin in the collar of his white shirt since we didn't bring a change of clothes. E stayed pretty clean and we were off to the club after finishing our treats.

The country club had a cute 4th of July celebration. They had some games for the kids in the pools, such as a belly flop contest. For the little ones, they had two fun games in the kiddie pool. One was a coin toss where the kids tried to collect as many coins as they could. E caught himself $.11 (a penny and a dime). The second was a goldfish catch. The lifeguards poured live goldfish into the pool and the kids tried to get as many as they could. I showed E what to do and then he gave it a go. It's was adorable to see him trying to get the fish, but those little guys are fast! We were able to catch him one fish and that was good enough! His cousin's Mara and Ben each caught 4, although each one has a fish go "belly up" before the evening was over.

We forgot to bring "Alicia" home! She was left behind on our dinner table. Poor, Alicia. (She was named after an opera singer in one of the Thomas episodes.)

Around 6, we headed over to the dinner area where they had a buffet set up with BBQ type foods (hot dogs, corn dogs, burgers, chicken, etc.). They also had face painting, a train ride, spin art, cotton candy, snow cones, and some carnival games where you would win prizes. We decided to let E do the spin art because we thought he's really like it...and he did. He picked his colors while I helped him squeeze the bottle and P pushed the button to make it spin. Everything was going well and then I heard P say, "Don't put your hand in there." A second later, the machine stops spinning because E put his hand in there and the hysterical crying begins. P and I were afraid of broken or bleeding fingers. After looking at his hand, the tips of his fingers were red, but he was able to move his fingers around. I wiped off all the paint and gave him kisses galore, but he was still crying. Poor little guy.

He settled down and P took him on the train ride around the golf course. When they returned it was time for dinner. We were both really impressed with E and how well he was doing considering it was 7:00 and that's about the time we get him ready for bed. He wasn't crabby or grumpy, but was having a grand time and was being very social! We left around 7:45 and E stayed awake the whole ride home. After getting him into jammies, he fell asleep around 8:30.

P and I decided to go swimming and I'm so glad we did. It was rather nice out last night and my legs were in a bit of pain. The moment I entered the pool, I let out a huge sigh! I took the pool noodles, put one under my armpits and the other under my belly along my hips and floated on my belly pretty much the entire time I was in the water. It felt so good!

I'm so lucky to have had such a wonderful day with my boys!

Happy Birthday, America!

two weeks fly by

Half of my summer has already come and gone. Good news is that I have two weeks to go! They are going to be filled with some exciting events such as: MLB All Star Game, ultrasound, doctor appointment, swim classes, tumble class, school with E, story time, and E's IFSP meeting for speech. Phew!

As sad as I am to see that my summer is winding down, I must say that these past two weeks with E have been pretty incredible. We have had some really great Mommy/son time and only one really tough day. With Mr. G on the way, I'm so thankful that we were able to have this time together before the "craziness" beings.

I have been able to get him down for a nap without nursing before hand, unless we are at my parent's house. The thing is, I have to rock him in the play room holding on to his favorite toy screwdriver and listening to the music of his choosing - Raffi, nursery rhymes, whatever.

We have a large foam alphabet mat and I tested him on his letters and colors the other day. He was able to identify the letters D, G, M, L, I, T, O, and J. He also then pointed to the W and said "wawa" (water). He often points to the W for an M. Completely understandable since they are inversions of each other. Then I tested him on colors and he was able to find red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. He needed guidance on one or two, but I still think that's pretty awesome! Yeah, E!

Just within this last week, E has been on a vacuum kick. He pretend cleansthe house with his toy vacuum multiple times throughout the day. He will pick on trash off the floor and throw it in our trash can. I told Paul that I feel his room might be impeccable when he gets older. I hope his need for cleanliness lasts!

He must have also gone through a growth spurt because his 24 month/2T clothes are getting to small. We've had to clean the closet and go shopping for 3T items. This kid just keeps on growing!

Helping Daddy put G's crib together.

Relaxing in Grandpa's chair.

32 weeks

Thursday was my 32 week mark! Hoorah! Only 6-10 more weeks to go!

I'm feeling pretty great except for all the comments I keep hearing about my size. Sure doesn't make me feel that great. Someone today asked me if I was overdue. That was AWESOME.

This week has been sad for me. I can no longer wear my wedding rings. My feet are starting to swell and it's noticeable. In fact today they hurt too. I'm a bit concerned at how quickly they became swollen. Nothing else is, except my feed. My hips are in pain a lot, especially my left side.

On the upside, I can feel G-unit moving around quite furiously in my belly. There are times when I feel like I'm going to see a limb stick out of my body.

The closer we get to his arrival, the more concerned I become with E and how he will react to this big change in his life. Since it seems that weaning is not going to be happening prior to G's arrival (in fact, he wants to nurse MORE now that I'm home all the time), I have been talking to E about how he will have to share "mommy milk" with his brother. He doesn't seem to happy about it. When I ask if he will share, he tells me no. Great. I tell him that G can only eat mommy milk while he can eat other things like yogurt, fruit, cereal, and vitamins. (E loves his vitamins!)

I don't know any other mothers that tandem nursed, so I feel like I'm about to enter an area of life where I can't ask my friends/family for help. I'm rather nervous about it, too. Sometimes when I nurse E I think that he's too big to keep going. But then I think about how little he will look to me in another year and then that feeling goes away. Hopefully when I return to work, he will wean himself a bit more.

So here goes, my most recent belly shot.

17 weeks

24 weeks28 weeks

32 weeks