T Minus 1 Month

In a month, we will be officially a family of four. That is hard to believe...
I am due in 4 weeks. The c-section is scheduled for 30 days from today...
And it doesn't feel like September was that long ago...

Things I am looking forward to:

• My hands returning to normal size. They aren't huge, but they tingle periodically and are definitely larger than before.
• Not having to pee so often.
• The end to nausea.
• The instant loss of at least 10 pounds.
• Holding an infant. I got to hold a 4 month old last Friday night, and it was so nice!

Things I wonder about:

• How AJU5 will take to being a big sister.
• How AJU5 will take to me not being home for a few days.
• How labor and delivery will go.
• How well this little one will sleep (I am praying for a good sleeper of course).
• When the baby will actually come!

Oh, and as most of you would guess - no NaBloPoMo for me this year! I would love to do it again, but the likelihood I would be successful is about 0. Especially if this little one arrives before Nov. 30...

Toddler Days...

AJU5 is having one of those days. Or let me put it this way - one of those 24 hours...

It started yesterday afternoon when she wanted to go outside. I was totally cool with this, but I insisted on shoes and a jacket (it was int he 40s here). I was "nice" and let her wear her fake crocs, but I drew the line at no jacket. I offered her three options downstairs,a nda ll were met with screams and fits. I even managed to get one on her and open the door and take her diaper out, but she stayed on the floor screaming and trying to remove the jacket. Before too long, she asked for night-night, so I put her in bed but didn't shut her door (it was 4:00). I did some laundry and around 4:30 went in to put some baby things away (nesting has minimally started). She was out!

So, I continued to put away things and at almost 5 I woke her up. AJU1 walked in within minutes, so I passed her off to him so I could make dinner. She waled until eventually he got her to calm down with Curious George on the TV (and it took about 2-3 minutes into the show for her to calm down). We decided not to force the dinner issue and ate ourselves while she finished her show. Eventually, she did eat some cheese and tortilla, so she didn't go to bed hungry at all. The rest of the evening was uneventful, and she even laid down without a peep for diaper/pajama change!

This morning started off normal. Y^es, she was unhappy when her shows were over, but she took it just fine. She relaxed in bad while I took a bath and then I gave her a bath (since she had decided not to nap like she said she wanted to). After bath, she took a nap (her request accompanied by yawns and rubbings of the eyes). So, we ended up missing storytime today.

After the nap, she played for a little bit happily, I tried to get socks on her, but she refused in a cute manner. I thought she was just playing. It is now 2 hours later -and we are still sockless... Once she went and got a pair of socks happily - they were brown. She is wearing red and black today. So, I took her back to her room, pulled out her drawer, set it ont he floor, and let her pick out a pair of socks that wouldnt' clash with her outfit. This did not work! She wanted the brown socks. So, I let her play for a little bit and tried another pair or two of socks. Eventually, I was willing to give into brown socks. But, at this point socks were completely being refused (i.e she pulls them off when I put them on). In the mix of all of this, there were also arguments about emptying the drawer in the bathroom. I let her have one item out of the drawer, but apparently that was not enough. She ended up in her bed a few times until she calmed down (she was screaming and nothing would make her happy other than letting her destroy the bathroom).

Now she is downstairs eating a banana and watching Word World. Hopefully, at the end of the show she will be willing to put on socks, shoes, and a jacket so we can run an errand! I might just have to force the issue, but I hate going to a store with a screaming toddler... But I have to go in the next few hours one way or the other...

LIttle Helper

AJU5 has become a good little helper when she wants to be. She is now taking an interest in helping make food, which is a mixed blessing. Last week she helped make breakfast burritos. She got to crack one egg and wanted to open it. Luckily I was able to catch the insides and put them in the pan before making a huge mess. Then she got to add some cheese to the pan before I served the food. Yesterday she helped make mac n' cheese. She poured the noodles and cheese powder and then got to do a couple of stirs for the final product. I thinking baking with her will be fun, but we don't bake much. It isn't that we don't like sweets. It is that if there are sweets in the house they are normally eaten at a not-so-healthy rate that we just avoid them most of the time.

She also helped outside on Saturday. First, she picked up roof shingles that AJU1 had thrown down (broken ones he had replaced). I was very grateful for this because I didn't have to bend down! Then, she helped move the big trashcan over to where AJU1 was trimming a bush and helped clean up the debris from that as well (and helped returnt he trash can to its "home").

So, I am hopeful that once Junior arrives she will continue to be a help! AJU1 will have a week off for paternity leave (and possibly more for vacation), so she should get attention. Plus, my MIL will be here for 2 weeks (and FIL for one of those weeks), so more attention for her! But, I know she will have her jealous moments. Luckily, she is already good at playing by herself!

Does your little one(s) help with chores?

Hmmm...

So, I know I had a post on my mind yesterday. But, it is gone. I blame it on being woken at 4:30 this morning by a certain toddler. And, since AJU1 is traveling for work again (left yesterday afternoon), I had to get up and watch George for an hour with her before we went back to bed. I think she was just stuffed up and needed to be upright. She napped for 2 hours, so I think we may or may not have an afternoon nap....

Oh yeah, church yesterday... Well, her friends have a case of flu in the house, so her class did not exist for Sunday School. But, she stayed in the big kid room (with me) the whole time and only asked to leave once or twice! I guess a supply of colors, PlayDoh, and a few toys was magic. Then, during service (which has been a HUGE fight the past few weeks because she wants to go up to the sound room where Daddy is or go home), she fell asleep in the pew! I could tell she was tired, but I didn't expect her to go from sitting up to laying down and asleep during one song. She did wake near the end of the sermon, but she was happy to go play in the nursery by herself until church was over. She didn't nap at all at home, so by evening service she was tired again. But, she was fairly well behaved there too! She went back and forth from the playroom a few times, but each time she was quiet about it. And, she only required me to go back there once (the VCR needed to be restarted - her music was off). So, it was a very nice day because I could actually listen at church!

Now to just make it through today and the next five weeks. Junior is doing a number on my stomach these days, so I relaly need the morning rests to prevent throwing up - which is no fun!

Mini Houdini

No, AJU5 cannot escape her crib. She doesn't even try - thank goodness! But, her left arm is very Houdini these days! She has figured out how to get it out of shirts without much effort. My question is why does she do it... And it is almost always the left arm (right arm occasionally will follow the left though).

Last night she did it with her pajamas - the footed, one-piece type that zip up and have a snap at the top. I didn't realize it until she was in bed with us for about 15 minutes and not going to sleep. Then, when I went to get her out of bed and put her back in hers, I discovered what may have been causing all the fuss! She did it again today with one of her shirts...

We can't go smaller on the shirts because many of them barely fit over her head. So, I just have to watch for naked arms periodically...

Three in the Bed...

So, AJU5 either has a cold or allergies. She is stuffed up for sure, but that is the only symptom really (other than toddler moodiness and a refusal to sleep like normal). Her temp was just slightly above normal yesterday (99.5), and she feels cool today, so I am hoping it is just allergies. But, we are staying in today for sure just to be safe!

Yesterday she napped for maybe an hour. She took about 30 minutes in the morning and then snuggled with me while watching Toy Story in the afternoon (and dozed). She asked for night-night multiple other times, but she never stayed in bed for more than 20 minutes (i.e. no napping). So, I was hoping she would be exhausted enough to sleep through the night. But no. She went down at 6;30ish and was up just before 8. We watched another episode of Curious George (I think she thought it was morning already) and she went back down before 8:30. But then she was up before 10. AJU1 was still up (had gotten home less than 30 mintues earlier from his trip), so he got her and eventually brought her to me in bed. Within minutes she was OUT - enough for me to move her over to the middle without waking her. I didn't want to move her back to bed because I had a feeling I would be up an hour later if I did. All was good until about 1:30. She had woken up some, but she just snuggled in more and would crash. At 1:30 she wanted her juice (which was in her crib), so we went and got it and returned to bed. After chugging that down, she decided it was poke mommy in the face time. After about 30 minutes of this, I hauled her to her bed! I was tired and didn't want to deal with her any more. I was prepared for some cries, but she settled right down and didn't get up until 6:30ish this morning.

The funny thing is my husband had no clue she was up for 30 minutes attacking me! He slept through the whole thing. I think he has decided the king bed was definitely worth it after last night!

Settling In

I have less than 6 weeks left of this pregnancy. And I think my body is settling into this fact. My hands a slightly swollen this time around, and the wedding ring has taken a place on the necklace until Junior arrives. I can still get it on and off, but it is snug and not always comfortable. So, I thought I would be safe and not risk ever getting it stuck.

Other than that, the only annoyances I am having are periodic nausea and waking every 2-3 hours at night to roll over. I guess I am lucky that I don't have other issues like many pregnant women do. But, yeah, I didn't think Iw ould still have to take Zofran occasionally during the 3rd trimester.

AJU5 seems to be realizing something is up too. First, she still prefers me for most things, but she wants to be with Daddy if she knows he is around (i.e. not at work). Half of the time, I am required to be in the room as well for her antics. The only time this is a problem is church on Sunday mornings. AJU1 teaches the adult Sunday school class, so I would prefer she stayed in her class instead of playing in the room where Daddy teaches. Then, during service, he runs the AV equipment. She is not allowed up there for obvious reasons, and this can be a big fight. Some days I can distract her in the nursery (although I can't leave without a long period of screams); other days I have to take her outside and try to explain that (a) we can't go home yet, and (b) Daddy is working. Unfortunately, I don't think she is listening :)

But, she is definitely seeking out my lap more often these days. She wants to snuggle up and sit with me if I am watching the TV. She wants to play "night night" and rest her head on mine at least once a day. And, starting yesterday, she is seeking out kisses. I think she had associated kisses with bedtime/naptime and therefore didn't want them when she was awake. But, now she wants them throughout the day. It is funny that some times she just leans in a asks for a kiss. Other times she tries to make the kissy lips. Either way, I am happy to oblige.

Product Review Friday - Bed!

So, we have had our new king sized bed for over a week now. Sleep still isn't perfect for either of us, but we feel that we are sleeping better than we did on the old one. Of course, being very pregnant doesn't help me sleep in the least! And AJU1 is learning to sleep on his side more than his stomach, so that is resulting in him waking more at night we think. But, all in all, it was a good purchase.

Now for the details. We looked at a lot of beds. We had test runs on Sleep Number beds and Denver Mattress beds. We laid on a few other beds at Sears. Then we looked at the numbers. A good Denver Mattress bed was more than half the price of a lower-end Sleep Number bed. The other brands really ranged in price between these two mostly. Online reviews for beds area ll over the place, so you can't get answers there (some people love the beds, others hate them). So, in the end price was the deciding factor.

We went with the Denver Mattress Doctor's Choice bed. We can buy two of these for the price of many other king beds, and the life span is supposed to be about the same. We already have one Denver Mattress bed (guest bed that used to be ours), and it wasn't bad. It was a lower end one, and we slept okay on it for about 3-4 years. And, it is still in good shape (hence why it is the guest bed - we didn't stop sleeping on it until we moved tot he master bedroom in this house and decided not to move it because we knew we wanted a king bed soon). We considered spending a little more for the one with the individually wrapped springs, but we decided against it. We don't wake too much because the other is moving (unless we get hit), so we didn't think it would be worth it.

What brand bed do you sleep on? Is it comfortable? Would you recommend it or not?

Wordless Wednesday - Random

Wordless Wednesday - Labor Day Weekend Trip

Asleep on a hotel bed

Playing with "cousins"

Playing with a big "cousin" before Great-Grandma's Memorial Service

Playing with a bunch of "cousins" after the service

Finances

So, a lot of you who comment on my blog have talked about finances lately - okay, maybe it is only two of you, but still... There are only 3-4 of you who comment regularly :)

AJU1 and I were talking on our way home from a meeting with a mortgage broker to refinance our home. We currently are at 6.15%, so when we were able to lock at 4.875% we jumped. Then the question became whether we wanted to pay the closing costs or roll them into the loan. This is where the conversation was interesting. We are not normal people. We freak out when our savings accounts are less than $1000 each (we have two of them). Right now we are building them back up after all of the home remodeling. Our closing costs will be about $5000, and we were willing to pay that up front so we aren't paying for that until we sell this house. It took us a little bit to realize that we aren't normal. Most people don't have that much in savings. Most people don't have that option.

Then, on our way to church yesterday, AJU1 mentioned the number of SUVs on the road. We have been looking at cars a little bit as mine is in need of replacement (1997 economy car). We want something bigger so we aren't trying to find space to stuff everything when we travel to visit family. So, SUVs are on the list (as are crossovers and a few station wagon-type vehicles). The price of some of them is shocking. He was wondering how people afford them. Then I reminded him that most people are up to their ears in debt. They pay the minimum on their cars and houses and credit cards. They are the ones that can't afford to refinance because they don't even have $1000 in savings needed to close most of the time.

This is why I make my students do an amortization schedule in my liberal arts math class. They actually make quite a few of them - 6 for a car and 6 for a house. They look at the effects of interest rates and paying extra. On cars, it isn't a huge deal. But on a house - wow! If you only pay $25 extra a month, you end up saving thousands over the life of the loan!

Okay, so I rambled a lot there... Hopefully it makes some sense... Feel free to share any thoughts on home finances if you would like...

MIsh Mash

• AJU5 is back on schedule and sleeping well. Well, today she refused a morning nap, but one big nap instead shouldn't be an issue. She has been down for almost 3 hours, but she was disturbed at least twice (one was the doorbell ringing). So, I think it will be a wash today!
• I had my 32 week check-up yesterday. All is good. I am gaining weight like crazy, but I can handle that. I have had a huge sweet tooth lately, so I know that is to blame! This little one might be smaller than AJU5, or so my doctor thinks. AJU5 was 8lbs 3.4oz at birth, so a little smaller isn't bad. But, my shirts don't fit well from her pregnancy and other people say I look bigger... Who knows... As my doctor said - we will see before too long :)
• The new bed is working fine. I like the extra room - I don't worry about waking AJU1 when I roll over at night! AJU5 has also determined that all three of us can lay in the bed comfortably. Luckily, she has not demanded to sleep with us yet (just play night-night). As for quality of sleep, it seems a little better. I seem a little more well rested in the morning, but I don't know for sure. There are so many things that make me at night these days...
• Story time has been funny the last two days. Yesterday, AJU5 stayed with the group most of the time, but she wasn't about to join in the walking in a circle. Instead, she sat at the corner and was a constant obstacle for other kids and parents to avoid. I tried moving her to the middle of the circle, but she just moved back to her corner! She did have to periodically get up and get a new book off of the bookshelf, but other than that she stayed and listened. Today I could tell she was tired (but had refused a nap twice in the morning). She laid down for some of it, but after 4-5 attempts at running out of the room, we gave up. Another mom/toddler pair had given up a few minutes earlier and another pair gave up shortly after we did. Something must have been in the air...
• I have been terrible at commenting on other blogs. Then I realize I have 10 or so posts open and start commenting. But, I often don't get back to the first ones I have opened. It is bad... I have things to say, but putting words down isn't always easy (i.e. brain not working)... So, if I am not commenting on your posts - that is why. I have 6 open right now...
  

Weekend Round Up

Our weekend started on Friday because AJU1 actually* got it off! We spent the day being lazy until about 3. Then we headed out for some "window" bed shopping and to grab a pizza. AJU5 of course charmed the sales people...

Saturday we got up SUPER early to attend a big event in town. Our goal was to leave at 5, and we were out of the garage by 5:15. We got to the exit we thought would be best (three entrances to the event) at 5:30. At 7, we still hadn't made it a mile to the light/turn. And, everything was about to get started. AJU5 needless to say was DONE being in the car, especially since she had downed all of her juice already while we waited. So we gave up and went home. Result: Two wasted hours and a toddler totally off her schedule! We spent the rest of the morning just hanging out. Then, after nap time we headed out for more "window" shopping. We went to two bed places and a car dealership before heading home for a relaxing evening. The only issue was that AJU5 refused to go to bed until 9pm (we tried to put her down once at 7)...

Sunday started off a little later than normal because AJU5 slept until after 6. That meant she didn't nap before church. Result: Toddler who melts down repeatedly during Sunday School and service because she needs a nap but won't fall asleep in my arms. So, needless to say she crashed in the car on the way home and had a good nap (2+ hours) when we got home. The afternoon was spent eating, catching up on reading for a class we are taking, and watching the NASCAR race. Then, AJU1 asks how much it costs to rent a UHaul to carry a king bed. Shortly there after we purchased a king bed which is to be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully we will sleep better on it than on our queen "taco" bed... Then it was off to church, etc. AJU5 did go down at her normal hour and is back on schedule LUCKILY!

*AJU1 works a 9-80 schedule, so he should have every other Friday off. But, he has been working half days many Fridays (overtime) because he is so busy there.

Story Time!

Last year, we went to story time on Thursdays at the local library (about 1 mile away). This year, we are also going to another story time at a different library in town (about 10 minutes away) on Wednesdays. Thursday story time is fairly quiet and calm. There are ten or less kids normally, and it is a mixture of books, felt stories, and songs, all geared to 0-36 month olds. Wednesday story time is not calm! There are at least 20 kids each week, if not more. The actually story time is more theme oriented with songs and books. The last 5-10 minutes the kids get to play with noise makers while music is playing.

AJU5 is not sure about the Wednesday story time! It is in the kids section of the library, but not in a separate room. Instead of joining the group, she goes to the back and reads books at one of the tables or in one of the chairs. She is always keeping an eye on things in the group, and occasionally, we will join for an activity. But, normally she is only willing to stay with the group during the noise maker part. That part she is all about participating in! She gets a couple of noise makers, uses them, and then trades them in for more! If it wasn't for her love of that part and my desire for her to be around more kids, we would probably stop going...

Thursdays are hit and miss with her cooperation. Today she did great. She stayed near me and listened most of the time. The other kids did distract her some, but that is to be expected! Other days she doesn't want anything to do with being there. I think half of it has to do with how the morning has gone and the amount of energy she has. Normally I can get her to stay with me even if she wants to go run by "bribing" her with those activities AFTER story time.

Now to see how Sunday School goes this week... Two weeks ago was a complete FAIL because her friend was having none of it. Because her friend wanted to bolt (and wouldn't stop crying), AJU5 started to cry as well. Eventually it got to the point that neither of them would calm down, so their teacher brought them over to the adult class (where they sat with us nicely). Last week she was the only one in her class (the other two were sick), so the combined the two classes. She was fine for about the first 15 minutes, but then she realized I was gone and she didn't know some of the kids (missionary kids visiting). So, she started to ask for Mommy (and her teacher brought her over). She did play nicely during our class and during service, so I didn't complain too much. This week her friend's mom is going to stay with them (since the friend is refusing to stay with any of her class-type activities lately). Hopefully that will mean both of them will stay happily in class!

How are your kids in a class/group setting? Have you had issues getting them to adjust to groups?