9 Months

This is my 36 week photo. I'm finally 9 months pregnant - and I certainly feel it. Today was my ultrasound to determine baby's approximate weight. Our "big boy" is definitely big. He's already 8 lbs 1 oz - inside the womb! (This is a 1/2 lb heavier than my daughter was at this stage. She was 9 lbs 11 oz at birth.) So, he's on track to be 10 lbs by my due date. (The doc doesn't want us to wait that long, so a c-section is on the books about a week early.)

Even though most of my time is spent lying down in bed... In the last couple of weeks, my husband and I have put our house on the market, held an open house, accepted an offer, held a moving sale, started packing boxes and celebrated our 5th anniversary. (I went and gussied myself up by removing the Breathe Right strip from my nose before our picnic dinner in front of the fireplace. Why is it so hard to breathe during pregnancy??) My dear H never complains... he even told me that I looked nice.

Here we are saying our "I do's" 5 years ago. Just thinking about this moment makes me feel the same overwhelming joy that I felt that day. (H, you really are the best!)

Over our anniversary dinner/picnic, we talked about how we would never have thought we'd have (nearly) two children, be selling our house and moving out of state (say it like George H.W. Bush here) at this juncture. We may feel a little overwhelmed, but we're happy.

We've also decided to forego being apart in December. We're all making the trek up to Seattle together. We'll be on the road December 10th. The countdown has begun...

The Honeymooners

Today, my husband accepted a job transfer (out of state) to Seattle, Washington.

We are excited about the change that God is bringing in our lives. We are also feeling a bit overwhelmed due to the timing of our move.

December will be a long transition month for us. We have to sell our house, pack everything in boxes, oh, and have a baby. Our second child is due December 9th and my husband must report to work, in Seattle, on December 14th. We will likely be separated for several weeks until I am able to travel up with our children. This may be the hardest part of our journey as we are always together. Since the day we started dating, we've seen each other everyday, except one.

We are especially happy about the city we're moving to, as we honeymooned in Seattle nearly 5 years ago. We're really not beach people... we're more forest-y people. It's a good fit. Now we just have to convince all the grandparents the same thing :)

32 Weeks

Can you hear the sound of my tin cup raking back and forth across the steel bars?? Only 55 days left of this pregnancy - where I feel like I'm doing time. Ok, maybe not San Quentin kind of time, but definitely some kind of county lock up. I'm hoping there will be time off for good behavior.

Due to a mild kind of chiropractic care, nutritional support, epsom salt baths, a pregnancy support belt, nightly back massages from my dear H and lots and lots of prayer, I've been able to get about 6 hours of sleep a night - on average. It is making a world of difference.

When I'm pregnant, I never feel like I'm really in my own body. It sort of feels like one of those giant sumo wrestling suits people put on. See it here. Only you have to add nausea, heartburn, sleepless nights, muscle spasms and what feels like mild internal organ trauma. Yeah, that about covers it.

Even though "I hear the train a-comin', It's rolling 'round the bend..." is swirling through my head, I know this is all worth it in the end. (Johnny can be so therapeutic sometimes.)

* Side note - This week we had a severe wind and rain storm. I watched from my front window as a tree limb fell directly on top of my neighbor's car. Fortunately, no one was hurt. It was almost unbelievable!

Delicious Celery Soup Recipe

Ok, so I'm momentarily out of my slump and ready to post an amazing find... celery soup. I know, I know, it doesn't really sound that exciting, but this is truly delicious.

I'm not a celery girl, but my husband is a celery guy. So, after visiting the local farmer's market this weekend - and coming home with mounds of produce - I needed to utilitze a head of celery. (Can I just tell you first that I'm still giddy about buying 15 pounds of butternut squash for .50 cents a pound?!)

This recipe jumped out at me and I dove in. It was so good that I had seconds... then half of thirds. Here's what you'll need: celery, onions, apples, garlic, parsley, chicken or veggie stock, milk and olive oil. I followed the recipe exactly and can't recommend it enough.

My husband likes chunky soups and I prefer pureed soups, so I made both, at the same time. I just dished up his bowl, then fired up my new hand blender and pureed mine (thus the pic of two different bowls of the same soup.)

Here's my cost breakdown: We purchased two heads of celery for $1, a bag of onions for $2, five pounds of fuji apples for $2... So, for a family of three, this will feed us for two meals. Our per meal cost is roughly $1.75 - for two adults and a toddler!

Mega bonus: it's healthy. I'm positive that we'll be revisiting this recipe even after my strict diet comes to an end.

Some News at Week 28

Recently, I stood near two friendly couples. One of the husbands asked me, "How many weeks left?" I replied, "Not weeks,... months. I have 2 1/2 months left." The other three immediately turned around to join him in staring at me with their mouths open. One woman squeaked out, "Are you sure they haven't made a mistake??" Yes, I'm sure. And about 2 weeks ago, another woman asked me the same thing. My belly is big, but what do you expect?...I'm pregnant.

This past week has been rough. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. There were so many risk factors: I'm over 35, previously had a baby over 9 pounds, diabetes runs in my family, I'm hypoglycemic (pre-pregnancy) and I weighed less than 6 pounds when I was born. These factors all contribute to a diabetic cocktail.

Even before my diagnosis, I had put myself on a strict no-sugar diet. I wanted to prevent this sort of thing. It happened anyway. It's still tough to talk about.

We just want a healthy baby. December can't come soon enough.

Thrifty Workspace

Recently, I came upon this oak sewing cabinet on craigslist. (I've been searching for a cabinet for my freearm machine for nearly 2 years!) The cabinets I found were never quite right... either they weren't made for a freearm machine, or they were just plain too expensive.

This cabinet (with an electric lift) was $50 and included a vintage Elna sewing machine! Since I prefer my trusty Singer machine, I enlisted my dear H's help. He fired up the power tools, removed the Elna machine and mounted the Singer. Isn't she lovely?

Now I have drawer space, spool racks and double the workspace. And we have our kitchen table back ;)

In recent days, I haven't been able to sew... but the projects are piling up and this workspace is so inviting! Thanks to my dear H for making it all possible.

Getting Clumsier

This is not an ancient caveman's drawing of a foot. It's my drawing of a foot. My smacked-by-a-wooden-chair left foot.

Many of you know that as pregnancy progresses, your dexterity and grace are lost. They've been replaced by bumbling, uncoordinated lumberings. Such was the case a few days ago when, as my daughter sat eating lunch in said wooden chair, my foot seemed turbo-propelled by some invisible super-magnet to collide with the corner of the chair leg. It stuck between my second and third toes (as the arrow indicates.) With the collision, there was a loud SNAP.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move.

My husband came running and helped me limp/hop to the sofa. My daughter helped by dropping a 2 pound ice pack directly on top of the toe. My middle toe turned a bit purple and is still uncomfortable to walk on, but doesn't seem to be broken. It's a miracle.

A day later, I tried, unsuccessfully, to drink from a glass. Doesn't seem difficult, does it? But when I started pouring before the beverage hit my mouth, I made a one-in-a-million shot. Straight down the neckhole of my shirt, I poured my juice all over my bra. Now, if I had tried to pour it there, I probably would have accidentally made it to my mouth.

In my last pregnancy, doorways suddenly seemed so narrow. By the time I delivered, my shoulders were black and blue from cutting every corner too short while walking through my own house. Sometimes I would even bounce off the corners a little bit - sort of like a bumper car crash.

I've never been a butterfingers, but holding on to anything seems an impossible task these days. Whatever it is, if I touch it, it will most certainly somehow end up on the floor. I've forbidden myself from carrying eggs, touching crystal lamps or bringing heirloom jewelry anywhere near the bathroom sink.

These pregnancy afflictions seem universal... why is that??

6 Month Pic - I Need To Sleep

This is my week 24 pose. For some reason, I look a lot smaller in the picture. Our boy is growing big, very fast. And he doesn't sit still. There are lots of karate chops, long elbow scrapes and bladder stomps. As of now, I consider him either a kung fu fighter or a hockey player. No one ever thinks of ninjas as babies. But, they were once... and I think I'm growing one.

Sleep eludes me. Aside from nausea and heartburn, my famous leg nerve and muscle twitches are back whenever I lay down. This first appeared in my previous pregnancy. If I stand up, no problems. If I lay down, pain, twitches, spasms and kicks. All mine. I sleep 3-4 hours a night. (Which is still better than the 1-2 hours every other night in my last pregnancy.) After losing so much sleep, you start to lose your marbles too.

The first time around, I remember "inventing" a sling-type contraption that hung from the ceiling and fit around my underarms to hold me in the standing position so I could sleep without spasms. I just didn't know what to do with my floppy neck, so the idea was left in my imagination. I should have invented this thing between my pregnancies - while I had my right mind. If I could physically kick my own hiney right now, I would.

Currently, I'm trying to come up with a way to sleep in the tub. With water. It keeps the weight off of my nerves and I don't experience spasms. Problem is, I get a huge kink in my neck after 10 minutes. I've looked for an giant inflatable bath pillow wedge, but I don't think anyone's invented it yet. I told my husband about wanting to sleep in the tub and he replied, "I have. Twice. Once, I woke up naked and cold in an empty tub." What?! Think those were his college days? Nope, he was 5. Just when you think you know a guy, you hear about his tub napping days...

If any of this is wandering or unclear, so sorry, but I'm sleep deprived. The horizon is in sight and baby is healthy. Enough said :)

A Birthday Dress Or Two

For my birthday, my husband ordered the japanese sewing book that I've been dreaming about. Isn't he the best?! Here are some highlights:

Tunics, pants, purses...

dresses...

scarves and skirts. This book has it all - except english. I'm hoping that the step-by-step photos speak the international language of "you can really do this."

The rest of my dear family gave me fabric store gift cards. Yay! I have been aching to sew. There are plenty of items in my queue, but without a doubt, some of these dresses now top the list. I'm trying to get prepared for the next whole hour that I feel well, so I can make it to the fabric store.

Thanks to all my loved ones for a very happy birthday :)

True Blue

(photo courtesy of flickr.com)

We are happy to announce that we are expecting a baby boy! There's a high probability that he'll be a fisherman like his papa.

Pregnancy diet update: Raisin Bran tops the menu for now. Also, I can't seem to eat/drink enough dairy products. Milk, milkshakes, cottage cheese, milk... you get the idea.

A boy. Oh boy. It's still sinking in. It will be interesting to see if he likes milkshakes as much as his mommy does :)