Spring Thunderstorm.

We had quite the storm come through the other day. It was gorgeous outside all day and then some big, dark, nasty clouds rolled in and brought wind, hail, and downpours. Erin thought it was great the ice was falling from the sky and Scott went and gathered some for her. We also got a beautiful rainbow in the middle of it all that seemed to end in our field. No, I did not run out there and look for a pot of gold. I didn't feel like getting beaned in the head with golfball size hail.

Erin is still doing really well with potty training. We have graduated from being naked to being able to have pants on without accidents. She still resists going poo poo on the potty and holds it for far too long and then has to run for the bathroom. But I am very proud of her progress.

We have cancelled our cable and our land line. It will save us about $65 a month! I was a little nervous about saying goodbye to the landline just because I know that it is the only way for you to be able to call 911 and have them know your location. However, we do have our cell phones and I know our address and hopefully we will never have to use it!

We cancelled the cable because it was only used for Erin and she was getting bored with the same shows every day anyway. We subscribe to Netflix and with a certain level of subscription ($8.99 miniumun I believe) you can watch lots of movies and shows instantly over the internet. So I connected my laptop to our flat screen and we watch on there.

I am now 28 weeks pregnant and our last appointment went well. I got tested for Gestational Diabetes, did our birth plan with the maternity counselor, and a follow-up ultrasound to get better pictures of baby's spine. Great news, it is still a girl and she looks great! They were also checking what my cervix looked like because of going into pre-term labor last time. My cervix is still closed but it has shortened a bit. My midwife called me on Friday to give me this information and explain that when mom's come in because of contractions they are using cervical length a lot more to judge when they need to intervene. Their cutoff is 3cm and I am now at 2.9cm. . . so I need to be careful. She cautioned me about paying attention to the contractions and back off exercising if I need to. I really can't afford to spend a week in the hospital for pre-term labor this time with a toddler at home. Maybe gnomes will plant my garden??

We also got the garden tilled up. We ended up hiring someone with a tractor to come out and do it. It cost us $70, but with the size of it we felt it was worth it. Now this rain needs to stop so I can get my cold weather veggies in the ground!

Easter and Stuff.

We had a fun Easter this year. Erin was at a much more fun age to do things. We colored eggs, went to a communtiy egg hunt, and had a little Easter basket for her. She loved putting the stickers on the eggs, and then taking them off, and putting them back on. The Easter egg hunt was a crazy mess of kids where she almost got trampled by the bigger kids, but she found two eggs and then got to play on the slide, so she was happy. She was very excited to go through her Easter basket, but she is kind of particular about the chocolate she likes. She likes Hershy's plain chocolate. . . and that's about it.

We didn't do any family visiting for Easter this year. We decided to have a nice quiet holiday here at home. I baked a ham with a pineapple glaze on it. I also did some creamy Rosemary Au Gratin potatoes that turned out really well. I made a roux and did the cream sauce before baking it so that it turned out really creamy and not chunky. It was a great dinner.

Pregnancy stuff is still going well. I'm still walking on my treadmill most days for about an hour. I get a little bit of heartburn once in awhile, which I'm sure will increase as baby Izzy gets bigger in there. I go in for Gestational Diabetes testing on Wednesday. They also want to do a quick ultrasound to get a better picture of baby's spine because they didn't get a very good one the last time. They will also check on the ultrasound that my cervix is still long and closed. No pre-term labor this time please! On top of all that I meet with the Maternity Counselor to set up my birth plan and meet with my midwife. Whew. It will be a long morning.

I have noticed that stress affects me a lot more this pregnancy. I just can't handle much of it at all. So it doesn't help that things have been stressful with my mom. Hopefully over time they will get better.

My baby brother Ben graduated from Le Cordon Bleu cooking school this past Saturday! Scott and I were able to leave Erin with his mom and drive up for that. We also got to go to the restaurant that he works at after graduation and he cooked some amazing food for us! It was also the first time that my mom and dad had been in the same room since my wedding. They did fine, but it did not help my stress problems. =) We had a great time and I am so proud of him! Here is a link to the restaurant he works at http://www.inonnirestaurant.com/

My garden plans are in the works. We picked up a tiller from Scott's brother yesterday so as soon as the ground dries out a little bit we can get the ground worked up. It is a previously unworked area so there will be a lot of roots and such to get out of the ground, but I couldn't be more excited about it! My seedlings are still doing very well and I should be able to plant cold tolerant things like potatoes, onions and cabbage by the end of this month. I can't wait to see my little plants in the ground!

A Whole Lot of Nakedness Going On!

I am on another potty training adventure. I really did think that Erin would just take to it a lot better. She has always loved doing things on her own and accomplishing new tasks. So when after a week of her going poo poo in the potty every day she suddenly decided that going in the potty was not for her, I wasn't sure what to do. I guess I just decided she must not be ready and waited for another day.

We talked about it all the time and she would use the potty on occasion, but nothing consistent. I made her a potty book all about the process and the M & M rewards, but it was still sporadic. My next plan was to really tackle it once we moved to the new house. My pregnancy sickness got the best of me there. Then a few weeks ago I thought it was time for another go and told her when the box of diapers was gone, there would be no more and all the pee pee and poo poo would go in the potty. I set myself up for changing training underwear all day long and lots of accidents. So when she started asking for the underwear one day I obliged and put them on her. She wet two pair in the matter of 10 minutes. I was using the treadmill at the moment so she took off the second pair herself and remained naked from the waist down for the remainder of my walk. She used the potty chair several times while I walked so I decided to let her stay naked until bedtime and see what happened. She did not have one single accident.

As long as she is naked, she uses the potty. Thankfully most of our house has hard surface floors, so any accidents that might have happened would be easily cleaned up. But she does not have any. I guess we will go with this for awhile and work our way up to underwear. I shall keep my fingers crossed.

The pregnancy is going well. I am ashamed to admit that at my last midwife appointment I believe I had gained 10 pounds. I had grown accustomed to having to eat every 3 hours and eating what I wanted that even when I didn't need to eat that much I did anyway. I was quite disappointed with myself. So I resolved to start using my treadmill everyday. Surprisingly, it was not and has not been hard to do. My lower back pain that I was having is almost non-existent as well! Erin and I go downstairs after her nap and she watches a movie on the TV while I watch one on the computer. We subscribe to Netflix so I can watch movies instantly on there. I feel so much better physically and emotionally. Exercise is my prozac. My hormones have been much more unpredictable this pregnancy and exercise gives me a boost of the good ones and I feel like my happy normal self. On top of all that I do some stretching afterwards and I have not had a migraine since I started exercising regularly!

I have made some very budget friendly purchases for the new baby so far. I love finding a good deal, so I check Craigslist every morning for things that I need. Since we are having another girl, and at the same time of year, I don't need clothes. I have so far purchased an infant car seat with two bases $40, a double stroller $25, and a changing table/dresser for $30!

My knitting has been coming along as well. I have finally finally finished the sweater that I started for my brother quite awhile ago. He just came over for a visit the other weekend and it fit so nicely. I was so worried, but it really looks great. I had a bunch of yarn that I got for $1 a skein and decided that I would knit a blanket with it since we keep this house a bit colder than the last one. The blanket knit up pretty quickly and is so warm. I was spending a lot of time on the couch, not quite feeling that good, so it was a nice activity to occupy me while Erin watched cartoons. Now I am working on a blanket for Izzy (our new baby girl to come). It is coming along slower than I thought, but I have been so busy around the house and with Erin that I don't sit down a lot anymore. I do have a few months to finish it, so I'm not too worried. . . yet.

Gardening season is almost here and I have my seeds started. I can't even begin to relate how exceedingly excited I am about starting a garden at this new house. I could have a garden as big as my yard was at the old one! I have the spot all picked out and even checked what the soil is like the other day and it looks great. So now I just need Scott to go borrow his brother's tiller and till the crap out of the site. I can't wait! Also a picture of some friends running through our yard.

Half-way Through.

Here I am at 20 weeks. . . definitely bigger. It's a good thing, and I am trying not to spaz about the weight gain. Of course I should probably mention that we had our ultrasound and found out that we are having another girl!!!! I am very excited and happy to be having another girl. I wanted at least two girls and I was afraid that if we had a boy this time I would want to try for another girl and get another boy and never have my two girls. Hubby really wants a boy, but is still excited to have another girl. And even though the beginning of pregnancy is horrendous for me, we will probably try for another in a few years. Watch, we will end up with three girls. Is it bad if I secretly hope for that???? =)

Things are starting to warm up around here and we have been outside more and more. Sure it's wet and muddy right now, but kids love that. We take treks to to the mailbox, which is a significant distance. Plus we walk the deer trails and Erin like to collect pine cones. I got to buy seeds for this next gardening season and I am so excited. I can have as big as garden as I could possibly need here and bought every kind of seed that interested me! I even get to grow my own sweet corn this year (provided that the deer that frequent our property don't get to it first). I'm going to grow pumpkins, squash, melons, tomatoes, onions, peppers, artichokes, leeks, green beans, peas, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower. . . etc. I also need to reestablish my herb garden, there is nothing better than fresh herbs.

This is a picture of a recent sunset seen from our house. Such a great view up here!

I finished knitting the sweater for my brother, now all I need to do is sew the zipper on. It is a bit of a daunting task, but I know it will turn out great. So I just need to grab it and do it. I am also working on a blanket, almost done with that too. I'll post pics when I'm done.

Next project. . . look under couch cushions for money to re-roof the house. Wish me luck!

17 Week Belly!

I figured it was time for a belly picture. So here I am at 17 weeks. I feel and look big, at least I think so. However, it is my second so the belly has been here before and seems to have gotten the hang of it. Thankfully I found a big lot of maternity clothes on Craigslist for only $40. I got about 10 pairs of pants and 10 shirts, a cute dress and a swimsuit. Considering I had one pair that fit great and another pair that always had to be pulled up, this was an upgrade for sure. It was listed at the perfect time. . . I was quickly growing out of my regular jeans.

Now that I am feeling better I have gotten back to knitting and cooking. I am now almost finished with the sweater that I had started for my brother (over a year ago) from the Last Minute Knit Gifts book. I just need to finish up the collar, do the finishing and sew on a zipper. He better like it!

The other night I made pasta fagioli soup and homemade french bread. I was craving that soup from Olive Garden and found a great recipe by Rachel Ray that turned out as good, if not better. To be honest, I haven't been too impressed with Rachel's recipes, but this one was right on and so yummy! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pasta-and-beans-pasta-e-fagioli-recipe/index.html The crusty french bread was perfect with it.

Last night Scott decided to try Smores for the first time with Erin. He had built a fire in the upstairs fireplace and roasted marshmallows in it and put the smores together. As predicted Erin only ate the chocolate out of it. She loves her chocolate.

Other than that I have been slowly settling in more and more. Now that I am able to do more than just sit on the couch I am trying to move things around to where they make the most sense and look best.

Only a little over a week until the ultrasound!!!

Updates.

Yes it has been a long time since I have posted, but I have good reasons a few of them.

We did get moved okay although it was quite a long stressful day. The closing for the house we sold went very quickly as the buyers signed the paperwork the evening before. Then we drove to the new house to do the walk-through before we signed papers and we had a few unpleasant suprises. First there was a signifigant amount of stuff that was left by the owner. Not least of all a huge TV. The second more alarming suprise was that the heat didn't work and it was 42 degrees in the house. So we had to keep Erin all bundled up to keep her warm.

We closed on the house anyway, as we had nowhere to go, and the guy we bought the house from had a furnace guy come out and get it fixed for us. The furnace is fuel oil heat so we also had to have someone deliver that since it was nearly gone, more than likely the reason the heat wouldn't work. To top all that off the well pump was in worse condition than we were led to believe by the realtor and it had to be replaced . . . at a $3600 price tag! So we got off to a bumpy start, but we have the house on the land that we wanted.

Another signifigant update is that we are pregnant and expecting a baby in July!!!! I was horribly sick with Erin, but it didn't start until I was 6 weeks along. We were moving on the day that I would have been 6 weeks so I thought we would be good. I got sick this time a week earlier, very bad timing for moving. I was not very much help with the packing and cleaning, but thankfully my mom was there to help. I felt wretched and didn't move very far from the couch for two months. I'm 16 weeks today and feeling tons better, I just hope it lasts.

We have had a few prenatal appointments and got to hear the baby's heartbeat each time which is always reassuring. Our next appointment we will get to see our baby by ultrasound. And if baby cooperates we will find out if it is a boy or girl. I'm thinking it is a boy this time.

I think that provides a decent update for now. Now that I'm feeling better I should be able to post more.

Moving Day is Coming!

We are well on our way with the new house. We have all the paperwork done until closing day. Now we just need to save money for all the closing costs and moving costs. Plus find some muscle to get stuff moved on moving day.

Moving day is November 24th. We discontinued our storage unit and put all that stuff in the corner of the garage. The garage is no longer for cars, but for stuff that is packed up. That way we can just back the moving van in and load her up.

Today I did the first official packing. I did a bunch of packing when we put our house on the market to get rid of all the clutter, so I'd say half of what needed to be packed is already done. That's a load off my shoulders. I pack more aggressively staring in November, but if I'm not using it then I might as well pack it. So I went through Erin's clothes and sorted out what was too small, what is out of season, and stuff I don't like. I stuffed it all into garbage bags and ended up with three full ones. I may go through her toys and just leave a few to play with.

Our new house is amazing. We are out in the country on 8 acres. The house is almost 3000 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There is also a loft above the garages that is huge. There is a living room on the main floor as well as one in the walkout basement, both with wood burning fireplaces. Much of the home has been built with materials from historic Rochester buildings which is really unique. Not all of it is very pleasing to the eye, and that stuff will have to be re purposed. For example the pink plastic tile in the bathroom.

I also just put together a resume for a part time job that is being offered where we are moving. The hours are M-F 10am - 3pm. They would be perfect because I would still have plenty of time with Erin.

Lots of changes happening, but I am so excited and ready for them!

Guess What!

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I am more than a little excited. Let's just say I have not slept well since we got the call that an offer was coming in. The offer was okay, but not enough, so we counter-offered and they accepted it. All in all we feel really good about it. A soon to be wed couple is buying the house and they seem very excited and we are happy to have people buying the house that will love it. They must have really loved our pergola because they wrote into the purchase agreement that it had to stay. hehehe I'm not about to dig up the posts that are cemented into the ground, dismantle all the pieces and haul them an hour away. Their home inspector came yesterday and he turned out to be the same guy that inspected this house for us. Crazy. We hope to hear from them today that they found nothing and that we are in the clear!

We got that offer on Monday so we took off Wednesday to look for houses. I have to say that it is much more enjoyable when you can look at houses and know that you can buy it! Turns out that the first one we looked at is "The One" It is a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with nearly 3000 sq ft, 2 car garage, and another huge garage that you could literally park a semi in. What seals the deal for us is the 8+ acres that comes with it!!! The view from the small hill that overlooks Rochester is amazing.

The interior of the house suffers from a serious lack of updating. However, since we got our hands dirty with our first house I feel more than ready to take it on. I actually wouldn't be able to buy a house and not do anything to it. I have to make it my own. However, the walkout basement had been finished 3 years ago and looks great. There are also 2 wood burning fireplaces that are gorgeous. We are trying so hard not to fall deeply in love with the place until it is ours. But it is proving to be very difficult.

Other than that news that has completely taken over every thought, we are going out of town to the Wisconsin Dells today for a week. It will be a beautiful fall trip. All the leaves are starting to turn now and everything looks so pretty. We are staying in a 2 bedroom cottage with a kitchen and a wood burning fireplace so we will be cozy and well fed.

Wish us luck with securing the purchase of our new home!

So Glad I'm Not Retiring Now.

I can't imagine being one of those people being a year or two away from retirement. Having to watch as your investments plummet in value in the course of a week. Then you would have to weigh either retiring on less money, not being able to do the things that you wanted in your retirement, and possibly running out of money. Or you could work longer, save more, and hope for economic rebound.

People like my husband and I who have money invested in retirement have seen our share of loss as well. Thankfully we are young and have 30 years to recover and surpass it. If we are really smart we will invest now while the market is down and make even more money. The knee-jerk response to this is to pull all our money out of the market and stuff it under our mattress. However, we have done our best to live and spend responsibly and not beyond our means. Plus Scott has significant job security thanks to the baby boomer generation being so large and entering the ages of needing more and more medical care. Selling our house would make it even easier on us financially. Saving $300 a month on gas would be a big plus (more money to invest?).

Other than the economy crumbling around our ears, things are well with the family. I think the total so far of my canning adventures is 26 jars of pickles and 15 jars of tomatoes. I got lots of Roma tomatoes this year and they are so yummy. I also found a great use for my eggplant. I tried out a Greek dish, Moussaka. It was so great and it was nice to actually be successful in cooking with eggplant. The bechamel sauce was so smooth and brought everything together. . mmmmm.

No tattoo so far. I don't feel strongly in any direction as to the design that I want to permanently etch into my arm, so I will wait. But Erin decided to do some decorating herself. Her favorite part was pulling the stickers off making me say Ow! The other picture is our grapes that grew on our pergola this year.

I am feeling the itch to knit again. I think it is the changing leaves and the appearance of fall even though the temperatures continue to climb into the 80's. I just need to pick a project, to a gauge swatch and dive in. I think my downfall has been that I don't do a gauge swatch. I'm not a person who likes to take my time and get my ducks in a row, I like to dive in and it has doomed too many projects for me. There is a great idea for a hat with an attached scarf for kids that would be wonderful for Erin this winter. That would be a nice small project to start with.

Scott's brother, sister-in-law and their son Ian came for a visit. Erin had a lot of fun with him. He is just crawling so their interaction was pretty limited. However, the other weekend we visited Scott's sister and their son Walker is 1 1/2 and they played so well together. It will be fun having cousins close to her age as they all get older. They had so much fun on Walker's toy train, it was hard to get them off it.

Projects.

I want to be done now.


It all started August 15th. Our realtor suggested that we do some sprucing up of the unfinished part of the basement to at least make it more presentable to potential buyers. So I took on the project of painting the walls and the floor. My mother helped me and we spent the weekend and a couple of days getting it done. It looked really good.


Our old utility tub was cast cement and one of the basins had cracked and would leak onto the floor so we decided to replace it. The dilemma was how to get the solid cement tub out of the basement. It had to weigh over 300lbs. I did not want my husband or anyone else crazy enough to attempt getting the sink up our steep cellar stairs and severely injuring themselves. All I could picture was whoever that was on the bottom having that monstrosity come crashing down on them and inevitably breaking a bone. My suggestion was to smash it up and carry it out in pieces.


Scott (my husband) decided for option one and got my brother to reluctantly agree to at least try to get the cement sink out. After a single attempt and both of them straining their backs, he opted for my suggestion.


I bought a sturdy plastic one and replaced it so our laundry had a place to drain. It was a single basin so it also takes up a lot less room.


After the walls and floor had been painted Scott got inspired and wanted to take down the drop ceiling and put up a pine planking ceiling like the one we have in our bedroom. Of course my mom and I got roped into this project as well. So we proceeded to stain and varnish 400 sq ft of boards. Thankfully with the three of us working it didn't take too long.


Scott had a few days off and my brother also had some days free before he started school, so they got a decent start to the ceiling. I had taken down all the drop ceiling for them to get things moving along. The following weekend my mom watched Erin while Scott and I worked on the ceiling. Of course we hit snags along the way that slowed us down and were frustrating. I did all the cutting with the miter saw and jig saw. There were a few curves that threw me . . . well. . curves. I did all the cutting outside so I ran up and down the cellar stairs A LOT. Lets just say I have calves and buns of steel. =)


We also worked the next few days when Scott got home from work to get it done before our weekend away in Minneapolis. I really didn't want to have that looming over our heads while we were gone. Thankfully we got it done and the basement looks so nice.


I got Scott to finally help me bring our love seat and ottomans downstairs to put together a little TV area. It is so nice to have that downstairs for when Erin is napping or going to bed. I have my treadmill set up behind the love seat so I can watch TV while I am running. Which by the way I am still doing and it is still going well. I have lost 8 pounds so far and quite amazed at myself. I always anticipated it to much more painful and torturous. But I feel in great shape, which I want to be in since I am not getting any younger. I also want to be at a better starting weight when we decide to have another baby. I think I will in better shape for the next pregnancy than I was with Erin. Whew. . . another baby. . . I'm still a little nervous thinking about it.


Anyway. . . now that the ceiling is in it is about 3-4 inches higher than the drop ceiling was so there is that much of unpainted wall exposed as well as the venting downstairs. So now I have to go around the basement and re-edge everything. A project that I thought was finished. I also have to be more careful not to get paint on the new ceiling so I am taping everything. In case there was any doubt. . . painting above your head is zero fun. Hence, I am ready to be done. Thank you very much.
Here's a picture of our little TV area downstairs and you can see the new ceiling as well.

I want a tattoo.

So I've been scouring the Internet to get inspiration for a tattoo. I need it to mean something so I also want to take my time.

I might be ditching the idea of a tree or branch and going for something that signifies motherhood. I've been trying to find a picture or symbol that speaks to me and having a hard time.

There is the Celtic Motherhood Knot. Here is what I found on a website to explain what it means.

A heart within a heart - a mother's love encircling her child, giving it guidance, protection and encourage. This design reminds one of the ancient fertility symbols carved by prehistoric people - usually a symbol with large breast and a swollen belly."
Also on Celtic Lady "Add a dot around the outside or inside the Celtic knotwork for each child. Many designs found in the Book of Kells are enhanced with dot-work."

It looks like a nice design and I could add dots for subsequent children. However, I'm not sure that it does the best job of trying to portray how I feel about motherhood. Motherhood has changed me in every way. I feel things more deeply, cry more easily, and love my baby girl obsessively. I love being a mom and the woman I have become. I am doing exactly what I want to do by being home and raising my daughter. I am more creative and have more patience. All of who I am just makes sense since I became a mom.

I had wanted a dragon tattoo of some kind before I had Erin. I was excited to find this explanation of dragons.

The dragon is the ultimate source of female power and the symbol of magic, motherhood and divinity: a valiant defender. Dragons were perceived as powerful, protective, fearsome, and resolute. They were valued for their warlike qualities, but also for their intelligence, wisdom and ability to prophesise the future. Some dragons lived in lakes or water, whilst others made their homes on top of huge rocky mountains or inside caves. Some dragons could fly, whilst others could breath fire. This mastery of the elements, again emphasises the dragon’s magical prowess.

I also did a search for some moving pictures of moms and babies together. Here are a few that I liked.

I like the outline one and thing that it could transfer to being a tattoo pretty well. Although I am not sure how I feel about a naked breast being on my arm. The fantasy ones of the mother and daughter fairies are very nice and I like that they are in silhouette.

I just need to take my time and be sure of what I want. Perhaps I'll even get a henna tattoo done in the same spot to make sure that I want a tattoo there.