Sunday, October 30, 2011

Bit of a break?

Maybe I should have told you guys before I took a break- but I have a feeling this is the middle, so don't be surprised if posting is scarce for a while.

I'll still do my "jade grows up" and "35 weeks" post this week, but that might be it. I'm exhausted and have so much to do and the blog has become a source of stress, which is not what I want it to be.

So until I feel more like myself, I'll leave you with a few iPhone photos of Jade as Pebbles at our churches fall festival last night :)







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Pregnancy- 34 weeks

Pregnancy: 34 weeks



Weight Gain: 24 pounds at my last appointment... we'll see what they say when I go back on Friday!

Sleep: I wake up approximately 5,000 times a night to shift and/or go to the bathroom. I'm tired.

Gender: Still a girl... we think :)

Name: We have chosen. We are not sharing.

Feeling: Tired and overwhelmed. We STILL have not finished the nursery (seems to be a trend to do things last minute around here) and just have a lot in general to get done. Chuck is working really late hours and his grad school class is taking up a good bit of his time as well. I'm trying to plug along one day at a time and still enjoy my days and not just survive them. Relying on the Lord's strength for that one.

Movement: Still kicking... a lot. Shouldn't she be running out of room?

Next Appointment: Friday. Went to the 3rd trimester class last week and was reminded of how much preparation and reading I did before Jade came and how much I HAVEN'T done this time. I thought that I remembered everything. I was wrong :) Luckily, I took it early enough that I can refresh myself before the baby comes!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Pumpkin patch

Last year, we "found" a pumpkin patch near Williamsburg. This weekend, the weather was gorgeous so we got together with some friends and took Jade and Olivia (their little girl) for a little mini trip. Jade was certainly more impressed with everything than she was last year.

I realized right as we were leaving the house that the battery was about to die. And then realized that I had no idea where the charger was. So these pictures are a mixture of photos from the "real" camera and my cell. Because of that, we didn't get a picture of the 3 of us or very many in general. But the charger has now been found!

"What? You put me in this thing and just expect me to smile?"

No, that is not Chuck. Olivia is trying to escape from my wagon.

Olivia succeeded in her escape so I am now pulling an empty wagon.

Apparently she just wanted to sit with Jade. Happy girl.

Jade was enjoying herself :)

Pumpkins are very exciting.

Looking at the tractor pulling us for the hay ride.

The corn maze... one of them was going the wrong way :)

She rounded the corner and Chuck was there and she got SO excited!

All in all, it was a great day. Jade had a really good time and I love that we have family traditions now. We debated over whether or not to go because we have SO much that we need to get done at the house, but I know we made the right decision. This is the stuff we're going to remember in 10 years... not the fact that the floors needed to be cleaned and the nursery wasn't finished.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Pregnancy- 33 weeks

Pregnancy: 33 weeks- photo taken on the iPhone because the camera charger is currently lost in the disaster that is my house



Weight Gain: 24 pounds at my last appointment... but I'm just waiting for them to give me a huge number next time. Either way, I think I'm doing good :)

Sleep: Ok. Jade hasn't been sleeping well, which means that I haven't either, but I suppose that's life with a toddler :)

Gender: Still a girl. 

Name: We have chosen. We are not sharing.

Feeling: My allergies are still doing better, but I'm just exhausted. I don't know if it's because I'm 33 weeks pregnant and that's just the way it's gonna be or if I'm coming down with something (else). Who knows. I'm really trying to enjoy these last few weeks where it's just me and Jade but it's been hard because I don't seem to have the energy to keep up with her.

Movement: Still kicking. 

Next Appointment: October 28th. Tomorrow is the "Third Trimester Class" that I'm required to go to. I have no idea what it's about... I'm assuming "this is when we want you to come to the hospital" type stuff but I dunno. Should be interesting :)

*Still need more comments on this post.


** If you leave an anonymous comment and you want me to know who you are, sign your name at the end! It would be nice to know who is reading!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Laundry detergent follow up

A while back, I posted on how I was going to make my own laundry detergent. Sorry it's taken me a while to let you guys know how it went, but the detergent we had lasted longer than I thought it would so I just started using the homemade stuff this weekend.

I used the Duggar's recipe for liquid detergent. I thought with my HE frontloader that it would dissolve better than using a powdered mix. It took a bit longer to make because I had to melt the soap on the stove, but it wasn't bad. Overall, it took me about 30 minutes to make. It would have been a lot faster if I had used the food processor to grate the soap, but I was a doofus and used the hand grater.

So far, it seems to be working really well. I always throw a scoop of oxy clean in with our laundry and I'm still doing that, so I don't know how well it would work without that, but I don't think the store-bought stuff worked very well without it either.


So I would call my little experiment a success. And I now have a 5-gallon bucket of laundry detergent. Pretty sure I'm good for about a year. That'll definitely save us some money!

Note: when making said detergent, just because you have to fill up the bucket halfway with water does NOT mean you need to do it in the kitchen sink. That bucket sat there until Chuck got home at 8:00 that night. Oops :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Pregnancy- 32 weeks

Pregnancy: 32 weeks
     *No photo this week- between Jade being sick and me being sick, we just kept forgetting and now it's really too late considering I'll be 33 weeks Friday

Weight Gain: 24 at my last appointment

Sleep: Better! I mentioned my allergies to my chiropractor and she convinced me to try a new supplement and it's helping. I was skeptical because nothing has been helping, but it really seems to have made a difference. So I'm no longer waking up at 4 am after the Benadryl wears off and just staying up for the day. It's nice.

Gender: Baby Sister on the way!

Name: Still not telling :)

Feeling: Huge. I seem to have reached that point where just standing and sitting are hard. I can't remember the last time I was in the gym, and I'm sure that contributes to that. But other parents don't appreciate you taking a sick baby to childcare :) So just doing the best I can...

Movement: Still kicking. 

Next Appointment: October 28th.


*Please read the post below this one and comment! I'm planning to change the title in the next couple weeks.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

New blog title

*warning: this post contains rambling. Possibly more than usual.

I'm not sure if you guys have noticed, but I'm a little pregnant. And the title at the top of the screen still says "Life with Jade". I think the pregnancy might warrant a change to said blog title.

With that said, I'm not going to change the URL. If I ever have a large readership (doubtful), maybe I'll get around to that. But right now, I don't really think it matters.

I've given a lot of thought about what I should change the title to. One of the things I said a while ago is that I want my blog to start covering more topics that are important to me. I haven't changed a whole lot around here since then, but I've thought about it. Honestly, right now I'm focusing on surviving the pregnancy with a teething toddler, but that's a post for another day.

Anyways, my point is that I would probably be changing the title soon even if I wasn't pregnant because my life does actually involve some things that aren't about Jade. *gasp* So even though changing the title to "life with two under two" or "my crazy pathetic excuse for a life with two under two" is tempting, I think I'll be going another direction.

Last year around Christmas, my pastor preached a sermon series on tending to your garden. Now, at risk of butchering what he said very eloquently, I will attempt to explain the concept. God might not have given each of us a literal garden like he gave to Adam and Eve, but He gave us each a metaphorical one.  We all have things that God has placed us in charge (as stewards) of. In my case, I have a home, a family, a desire for learning and reading, etc. Some people (a lot of people) have a job. These are all things that we should be using to serve the Lord.

Now, I fall short of this a lot. My garden is sometimes withering. But I am constantly striving to be better. Striving to be a good gardener of the blessings God has given me. So, in an effort to have a title that reflects more of my life, I thought about naming the blog "My little garden" or "My garden patch" or something along those lines.

The problem, of course, is that some people might think that I'm actually talking about gardening. As in plants and things. Anyone that knows me knows that gardening is not my thing (sorry mom!). (I would just like to share that I did manage to keep some marigolds alive the ENTIRE summer. That's never happened before). I could solve that by adding an "about the blog" tab at the top of the blog to explain the whole concept. I could maybe even explain it more eloquently than this. I know I have the sermon notes somewhere that surely are more accurate than my memory.

Ok... so what do you guys think? Good idea? Bad idea? I do have some other ideas, but I like this one the best. So let me know. Seriously. Click on the "comments" link and tell me what you think. Now.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Book review: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

This is my first book review for the blog. Honestly, it might be my only book review. But it might not. I have no idea. I just knew that I had to share about this book because I think more people should read it. So I don't know that this is really a book review... it's more of a "go read this book if you're pregnant" post.



As I was reading, I kept thinking "I need to buy this for every pregnant woman I know". Not because I think everyone would have an intervention-free birth if they read the book, but because I think more people need to be exposed to intervention-free births. American media inundates us with scary images of labor. Women's water breaks, she screams the whole way to the hospital, then gets the amazing epidural that fixes all her problems and healthy baby is born. 

We, as a culture, have no idea what a natural birth looks like. The only people we've seen give birth in any position except on their back are on the National Geographic channel, if we've even seen that.

The first 126 pages are birth stories. All about women who gave birth with no pain medication and no induction. Some of these women were in a hospital, but the vast majority were either at home or at The Farm, which is where Ina May and her fellow midwifes practice. These stories show the power of a woman's body when she works with it and isn't scared of what's happening. Some of these stories are 40 years old and some are 4 years old. They share what could be a new normal for childbirth.

The next section of the book talks about pregnancy and labor. She talks about how most women that give birth naturally wouldn't describe their birth as painful whereas most that use drugs do. She talks about the risks of the drugs on both mama and baby. She talks about how much different positions can help the progression of labor. She has an entire chapter on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and why they're completely safe given the right circumstances. 

A lot of this information used to be passed from mother to child. But in our culture, those things are (often) no longer passed down because so few have that kind of positive experience. Most people just think that labor is something to be feared and this book can help alleviate some of those fears.

I did not read this when I was pregnant with Jade, but I took an amazing birth class that shared much of the same information. Not every pregnant woman has access to a class like that. But everyone has access to this book and I seriously think it should be in every one's library just so that she will see the other side of the coin. I also think that husband's should read it because they're support will be crucial when the time comes.

Anyone else read this book? Anyone else want to now?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Pregnancy- 31 weeks

Pregnancy: 31 weeks




Weight Gain: 3 pounds in 3 weeks. Not bad. So 24 total.

Sleep: Horrible. Allergies, heartburn, a 20-pound basketball attached to my belly... these are not my favorite things.

Gender: Baby Sister on the way!

Name: Still not telling :)

Feeling: If I could get a handle on my allergies, I would be fine. As it is, I can't breathe and I'm tired all the time because I can't sleep because I can't breathe. I've also basically had to stop going to the gym because it's pretty hard to do cardio when you can't breathe. We bought a car (post on that to come), so now the major "to do" is the nursery, which we can focus on fully now since car shopping is done.

Movement: She is definitely there. All the time. I have no chance to forget that. So glad she's healthy :)

Next Appointment: October 28th.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Jade grows up- 17 months

Wednesday, Jade was 17 months old. I still can't quite believe it. For some reason, 18 months seems like a huge milestone age and I'm in disbelief that my baby girl is so close to that age.

Sadly, the main things I can remember about this month right now are the last couple weeks and those have been pretty rough with all the teething. At 9 months, she had 4 teeth. At 16 months, she had 4 teeth. She now has 8 and many more on the way.


On a playdate with a new friend

Every now and then I look at her and realize that she's starting to be more toddler and less baby. The last time I dropped her off at MMO, she no kidding ran down the hallway to the room. I almost cried. I mean, where did my baby go?

She's talking more and more. Some of her new words are "bible" (very exciting), "book", "bubble", "more", "papa", "down", and I'm sure many more that I'm just forgetting right now. She's slowly figuring out what the sign "all done" means and doing it in the right context, which is helpful at meal times.


Up until teething hit, her sleep was the same as it had been, but it's a bit rockier now. Some morning she wakes up freakishly early (5 am) and then needs a morning nap but won't really sleep in the afternoon and needs to go to bed early (which I try to discourage because of the 5 am wake ups). So it's been a balancing act lately and we're just doing the best we can to help her get the sleep she needs.

She loves storytime at the library. It's mainly a "lap sit" program. We just sit in a circle and the leader reads a book and we sing little songs in-between the stories. Jade has started to try to do some of the motions, but mostly just sits and smiles and watches everyone else do it. Her fascination with other kids is adorable.

Wants to be like daddy

She's getting to wear she wants to walk most places, which I have been encouraging due to baby sister coming soon. But it's nice to have my arms free, although it might take us 10 minutes to walk inside a store :) She's also finally going up and down the stairs inside the house with no assistance. I make sure to be there beside her, but she does it by herself no problem and it's great not to have to carry her up and down the stairs 5,000 times a day.

Playing with mama's old backpack

She's not quite as picky with her eating as she used to be, so that's nice. There are still days that she doesn't eat much, but most of the time I feel like she's putting away a "normal" amount of food so I don't worry about her "fasting" days.

She's just getting more and more independent every day (not counting the clingy teething days!) and it's such a joy to watch her grow up, although it's a bit bittersweet as well.

She does love tight places...

*There will probably be one more "Jade grows up" post and then I'll do them yearly. I thought 18 months was a good "cut off" but I still reserve the right to change my mind :)