Author Archives: Rebecca

One month (or so) left

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Our official due date is February 27th. Exactly one month from today! We’re all getting more and more excited to meet this little one as the days go on. My midwife appointments have been every two weeks for a short while now and I suspect we’ll go to weekly very soon. Everything is still looking good- the cyst has been monitored via ultrasound and has not caused any trouble since December. I’ve been feeling about as well as can be expected. I’m pretty tired and sore and it takes me forever to walk anywhere! Luckily, I look very pregnant so I think that saves me from looking totally strange as I waddle through the parking lot at the library.

We’ve been working on a bunch of things as we prepare to be a family of four. Some things are specifically baby related and some are only tangentially related. You can see my ongoing “before the baby” to-do list below. [Catherine has made her own additions]

list

Specifically baby related activities include (but are not limited to)-
*Childbirth preparation reading– So far I’ve re-read Husband Coached Childbirth and have read for the first time Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and Birthing From Within. Peter and I were fairly pleased with the birthing experience that we had with Catherine and are hoping for a similar experience. The books are good as a refresher course and remind me that every birth is different and that it is important to keep an open mind to the possibilities.
*Baby Laundry– I have yet to get from the attic our gender neutral newborn clothes, but those and a ton of newborn cloth diapers will need a good wash before the babe arrives.

*Baby Set-up– Fortunately, babies don’t need a whole lot when they first arrive; milk, clothing, diapers and a cozy place to sleep will do for a while. But we’ve set up the rocker and footstool in our room, made a space for the bassinet next to my side of the bed and are trying to figure the best place to store diapers and clothes
*Crafts!– I’ve been doing a little creating for the little one. A little white, bunny hat is ready and waiting and will hopefully be joined by a little matching knit kimono. I’ve also made a baby wrap (just like a MobyWrap) for Peter and I to carry baby in. I’m so looking forward to a little snuggle!

Not so Baby Specific activities-
*General House Organization– We’ve been working room by room around the house cleaning up, paring down and organizing our possessions. It seems that every time we go through our things (clothes, toys, whatever) we are willing to part with more and more. It creates cleaner and clearer spaces in our home and allows us to free our minds to focus on other, more important things.
*Feeding the Freezer– I’m trying to double at least one recipe a week so that I can freeze the extra for use later. Soon I’ll be wishing we had a larger freezer, but I know the meals will come in handy when I’m really not feeling like cooking. It will help keep our budget in check as well since we won’t be as tempted to eat/order out.
*Resting– For a while Catherine had given up her one daily nap. I was okay with that because she would go to bed at night easier (and at a manageable hour). But I started noticing that she really did need a nap during the day- and so did I. So now we both try to take a short nap before lunch and we’re both feeling better in the afternoon.

Peter has been very busy at work, but is looking forward to a two week paternity leave in the near future. Catherine, baby and I are looking forward to having him home as well.

I’m sure there’s more to say. Feel free to send any questions my way or just leave a comment to say hi!

Christmas Crafting

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I was determined to make many of our Christmas presents this year. Besides the tangible benefits- less cost, less waste, etc.- it was nice for me to have little projects to keep my fingers busy during the days. And most of them I could do right on the couch while Catherine played! It was much more relaxing that walking the mall!

Now that the surprises are no longer surprises I thought I’d share the things I made.

cards

I was inspired by a photo online to try these Christmas cards this year. They weren’t difficult to make, but very time consuming. I definitely had fun making them and loved the way that they came out.

dishcloths

Knit dishcloths for my Mom and Mother-in-Law. They look really fancy, but were pretty simple to knit. I was glad to have these finished by the end of October. They set the crafting ball in motion for the rest of the season.

pincushion

Not a great picture, but you can see the little pincushion that I whipped up for my Mom. All the fabrics were scraps from my fabric box!

legwarmers

A pair of cozy leg warmers for Catherine. These come in handy since she doesn’t always love wearing pants. Or any clothes. Sometimes she won’t keep these on either 🙂

quilt

A Pink, Orange, Purple and White quilt for Catherine. While I was making it she would come up and say, “What’cha makin, Mama? A quilt to me?” and I’d say, “yup. but, shhh, it’s a surprise”. She’d get all sneaky looking and say okay and tiptoe away. Too cute! The quilt is machine pieced and hand quilted (for those that are curious about that sort of thing) I decided on funny T shirts for men this year.

frog1
frog2

Froggy Bean Bag Game for Catherine. (#3 seems to be missing). Frog bean bags that you toss onto the lily pads. Lots of possibilities for games to be invented. All frogs are from stash fabrics- old skirts, sheets, pj pants, etc 🙂

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New Geeky Onesies ‘for’ Peter. He’s already mentioned them. Click here for their gallery and bigger pics. I had fun coming up with cute logos and such that reflect Peter’s personality and interests.

Dry Run

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I realize that I have been particularly quiet regarding this second pregnancy. Honestly, I’ve been fairly reclusive both in real life and online since the summer. Part of it has been that Catherine keeps me very busy and part of it has been that this pregnancy has me very, very tired. I am only recently starting to feel like my old self, and am very thankful for it!

But those things aside the pregnancy has been going very well. Our babe is growing and developing right on schedule and I haven’t had any major complications. Catherine has been mildly interested in this mythical “baby” but I’m not sure she truly understands what’s happening. She will occasionally tickle the baby or say hello, and she has liked seeing the little one on ultrasound. It is pretty cute.

We’ve chosen to see a midwife this time around. She is part of the OB practice I went to with Catherine and her patients birth at the same hospital, but her style of care during prenatal visits is much more in tune with my own preferences. I’ve been happy with the change.

When I was pregnant with Catherine, the ultrasound showed that I had a cyst on my right ovary. It never caused me any trouble, but continued growing after her birth. At four months post partum I had a quick surgery from my Surgeon’s Advisor to have it removed. A similar (but larger) cyst was discovered at our first ultrasound scan this time around (at 20weeks). We’ve been monitoring its size via ultrasound for the past couple months adn it has been behaving. Until this weekend.

Sunday night I was awake all night with considerable pain. At 4am on Monday I woke Peter up and called the midwife and decided to head to Labor and Delivery and get checked out. Throughout Monday morning I had a series of tests and ultrasound scans run. They all came back with normal results (phew!) and I actually started feeling a bit better. Even so, it was decided that I should stay overnight for observation, just in case. The general consensus is that the cyst torsed (twisted) and that is was was causing the pain. Most likely it untwisted itself and the pain subsided. But we’re still not exactly sure.

All’s well that ends well, though and by 1pm on Tuesday I was home and feeling much better. A hospital stay is not something I had planned for this week, and certainly not the way I had planned my first night away from Catherine, but there were a few good outcomes. Catherine had a chance to see both the Labor and Delivery floor and the Maternity ward. Theoretically that will help her feel more comfortable there come the baby’s arrival. She also got to spend some quality time with just Papa. And she got lots of positive attention at the hospital- what cute kid in pink footsie pjs wouldn’t?

For me: I got IV hydration which I think I was in need of and a whole night of quiet rest. I was also able to take care of some routine lab work there instead of having to bring Catherine along with me to my lab appointment later in the week. And, frustrating as it was not to have a real ‘diagnosis’, it was comforting to hear that everything is looking good and though I was in pain the baby is doing just fine.

Thank you for all of your warm wishes via phone, email, facebook, twitter, etc. And thank you to Corey and Vicky who stepped up to babysit at the last minute- and early in the morning! And, of course, thank you to Peter and Catherine who stepped up and dealt graciously with an unexpected, non-routine, couple of days!

Long Overdue Ohio Trip Report (LOOTR)

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We’ve been home a couple weeks now and have yet to report on our excursion westward to Ohio. In hopes of inspiring some of you to visit Central OH, here is a photographic look at our week in the Buckeye State.

Thursday and Friday: Go West, Young Woods!




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Saturday: Lehman’s and Orrville Jumpin’ Punkin’ Train Ride




Sunday: Catherine’s New Dress and the Children’s Garden




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Monday: Columbus Zoo!



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Wednesday: Playground, Leatherlips, Corn and Friends


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Friday: Visiting the Lyttles



Saturday: Heading Home

Tambourine Surgery

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Catherine got a great little music set for her birthday. She loves making music and the instruments have been well loved and used over the last few months. Most of them have held up very well, the exception being the skin on the tambourine. I think she punched through it in the first week.

punched

I made a couple attempts to repair the poor thing, mostly using clear packing tape. But, sadly, they were only stopgap measures and didn’t hold up. I brainstormed for a while and finally came up with a new solution.

tape

First, I needed to remove the old skin. The glue holding it on was extremely good. I was really only able to remove the ‘loose’ portion. The bit around the edges would have to stay.

Next, I opened up a Tyvek mailing envelope from the USPS and cut a circle just larger than the diameter of the tambourine. A bead of Elmer’s glue on the top rim was used to affix the Tyvek. I put a couple books on top and left it to dry.

Once the top was dry I tacked down the edges. Got a little gluey and messy, but most good projects do!

Hopefully this new skin will be a bit more durable than the first, but probably won’t be worse. And if it gets broken again I know I can always repair it!

Frugal Haircut

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Sometimes you have to spend a little money to save a little money. This week I spent $15 on an electric hair clipper set. We’ve talked about it several times in the past, but had never actually laid down the money.

So, today, for the same as it would cost for Peter to go to the cheapo haircut place, I cut his hair for him. Luckily he sports a really basic hairstyle so it wasn’t too hard! Even still, taking the first swipe was a bit nerve wracking for me. I think it came out pretty well.


The best part is that we broke even on the clippers with just one haircut and all the following cuts/trims will be 100% free. I wonder when it will be my turn to try another hair removal procedure, though. With summer coming, coolsculpting sounds like a good investment.

Thirty things to like about Peter

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1. He’s a hard worker.
2. When he reads stories he always does the voices. *
3. He’s got great taste in music.
4. And knows all the words.
5. And sings along loud in the car.
6. He is very patient.
7. He likes having nice clean spaces.
8. He is always up for an adventure.
9. He’ll make dinner if I don’t feel like it.
10. He keeps up to date on the news.
11. He’s a great source of interesting websites.
12. He always puts his family first.
13. He does his research to get a good deal.
14. He’s learning to ‘do ponytails’.*
15. He’s always willing to try something new.
16. He’s good at planning trips. Even if we don’t really get to go.
17. He’s always working on improvement.
18. He’s a great tower builder.*
19. And never minds them being kicked over.*
20. He’s generous.
21. He’s fun to have on road trips.
22. He takes awesome photos.
23. He always takes the time to sing “Fancy Pants” *
24. He’s very quiet in the morning while getting ready.
25. He thinks George is funny. *
26. His spelling is impeccable.
27. He always fixes my computer!
28. He’s always ready to ‘Run for the Border”
29. He keeps our website ship shape.
30. He is truly a man of God.
*Submitted by Catherine

papa

Happy, Happy 30th Birthday to Peter. The best husband and Papa around!

First Winter Preparation…

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Have you heard that the Old Farmers Almanac is predicting a particularly cold winter this year? OFA forecasts are prepared two years in advance, which leaves a lot of room for error. In our neck of the woods, however, winter can usually be counted on to be cold.

With the cost of heating the way it is, we’re already planning for the chilly weather. I finished up a little project this weekend to help keep Catherine toasty at night: flannel sheets! Flannel sheets are always a little nicer to climb into on frosty winter nights.

I’ve mentioned before that I like to find a second hand source for the things I need/want whenever possible. This project was no different, so I paid a visit to a new store in my grocery plaza- Savers. I’ve heard tell of Savers from friends in other parts of the country, but this is the first one around here. It is sort of a nicer, more organized Thrift Shop.

I quickly came across what I needed, a queen sized flannel sheet for the low, low price of $3.99. I snatched it up and ran it through the wash. Then, using this tutorial, and some too-wide (but all I had) elastic, I set to work. I was able to get on crib sized fitted sheet and an average sized pillowcase out of the one sheet. Had I planned better and wasn’t so set on reusing the manufacturer’s hems I might have been able to get a second sheet. Next time around I think I could make due with just a full sized sheet to start out with.

sheets

All told, the cutting and sewing probably took me 2 hours. The sheets fit her little bed perfectly and I can’t wait for her to snuggle in this winter.

Modern Archaeology

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I was bushwacking and cutting some brush on the far side of our driveway today. As I kicked around some branches on the ground I dislodged an historic artifact. Brushing off the dirt with my shirt I discovered it to be a Motorola i1000plus cellular phone; circa 2001.

phone
open phone

It’s huge, doesn’t turn on, has moisture in the screen and has become Catherine’s favorite plaything. She’s been calling all her friends on it for the past several hours!

cPhone