Picture of a Starving Child....

Since Matthew was about 6 months old he has been between the 4th and 10th percentiles for weight and the 40th and 50th for height. Every once in awhile we run across a Doctor or Nurse who uses that as a reason to question everything that we do. Now I understand that they are concerned because he doesn't weigh a ton, he is small. However the boy is Learning, Healthy, and Active! 
I felt like I was being treated like I don't know what I am doing. I kept calm and explained his eating habits, his activity level, and everything feeling like I had to plead my case. I hate feeling the need to defend myself as a parent because I do not feel inadequate and if I was concerned about his weight I would bring it up.
At the end she simply said it sounds like you know what your doing so I will just make a note that he is petite. Seriously, what were you going to do otherwise? Really I am not sure about some people. Maybe it is how she said it, maybe it came out wrong, maybe I'm being a grumpy pregnant lady and interpreting and remembering it all worse than it was?
I'm still shaking my head at the whole situation... RiDIcUloUS!

Cloth Success

We have successfully made the switch to cloth!

I am not overwhelmed, it is not hard,

and has been working very well.

We use the flip diapers

with Flip Inserts, flats, or prefolds

(usually just inserts or flats)

Matthew doesn't like Thirsties covers- they don't fit him well

I wash a load of diapers every 2 days

sometimes I can push it further

I try not to though because if I wash every 2 days 

we don't have a stink problem

Not buying disposable diapers is great!

(although we still put him in a disposable at night - 1 a day is not much though)

Next is switching to cloth wipes,

just a matter of changing our habits.

Sleep Anyone?

I have found Matthew sleeping like this the last couple of nights so I decided I should take a picture of it this time. Doesn't look comfortable to me, but he seems to be just fine :) Maybe it should be how we all sleep at night?

After I took the picture I put him back up on his bed, luckily he has not woke up either night, but I just can't leave him sleeping like that all night.

Organization For the Next House

So I have been trying to figure out a better way to set up our house when we move. Ways to make it run more efficiently and easily, while decreasing clutter and piles which tend to accumulate.With two kids I need my plan to be manageable and relatively simple. I have been scanning Pinterest and various other blogs about home organization. This has helped me so far as I am cleaning and organizing this house, and I plan on setting up the house with these idea's enacted from the beginning.

1. Bedding- I saw an idea on pinterest where you put sheet sets together and then place them in their pillow case and stack them in the linen closet. I am going to do that but take it one step further. I am planning on hanging each sheet set with a pant or skirt hanger in the closet where the bed that they go to is. For baby girl she will get one of the pillow cases that doesn't go into a set to hang her sheets from. This way there is not a big stack of sheets anywhere and it will be easy to change the sheets.

2. Towels... I am not sure about this plan yet, I am still mulling it around. However as of right now I want to put a hook or hooks in each bedroom for the used but still clean bath towels. That way they are not piling up in the bathroom, getting mixed up, or falling on the floor and having to be washed extra times. I have contemplated storing towels in each room also, but I don't think that is as practical as storing the sheets in each room. It is just as easy to store them all together.

3. Laundry- Right now the washer and dryer are in the bathroom, which is in the middle of our house. This means it is easy to walk by and throw clothes on the washer, when we have enough for a load I start it, so we have been just doing that. Well in the new house we will have a laundry room that is on the far side of the house. This is awesome, however I can see piles of clothes, towels, and sheets piling up because they don't get walked to the laundry room. So each room will have a laundry basket, might put one in the bathroom we will have to see how the space looks. Then I will alternate diaper laundry and regular laundry like I do now. I am able to keep up on the laundry for the most part with that system (ignore the huge pile of laundry waiting to be folded on the couch right now).

4. Dishes- These have been the most frustrating part of this house. Next house we have a dishwasher! The plan, rinse any dish that can be ran through the dishwasher and then put it in the dishwasher. If it cannot be ran through the dishwasher then wash it right then or they will all get washed mid-day after lunch. There is no reason for dishes to be piling up on the counters.

5. Kitchen- Clean constantly, pick up the mess from each meal and wipe down the counters. It only takes a few minutes to clean up from one meal, it seems much more intimidating when it is a whole day worth of messes.

6. Floors- I have lived with hardwood floors for a little while in my life, here is what I know. There is lots of sweeping involved. I am going to get a swiffer and make washable pads for it, that way I can go through the house at least once a day and clean the floor. Once a week I will mop the floors (or as needed). Area rugs will be vacuumed as needed or at least twice a week like I try to do here.

7. Toys- Pick up constantly, make sure they all have a home. Work with Matthew on putting toys away as he is done with them.

8. Mail- Check the mail and walk in through the side door- throw all junk mail directly into garbage or recycling. It should never enter the house! Will keep a filing system that is easy and convenient to sort and store the rest of the mail.

 I think that covers the sources of most of my messes. Of course there is still cleaning and disinfecting the bathrooms ect... however I think if I can manage to set up and use the above methods that we will have an easily organized smooth running house. The key is consistency I think, and having a place for everything. I am excited to make our next house a home, a place where you feel welcome and safe, a place where people can just drop in and see us and I won't be embarrassed, a place where my kids will learn good habits so eventually when they go stay with friends the parents are happy to have them over. My goal is to figure out, how to maintain a house without cleaning all day every day, my kids are more important than a spotless house! I think these simple changes and habits will make that goal a possibility. 

37 Weeks!

Full Term!

Well I have now officially made it to full term, baby girl could come anytime and no one would complain.

Now is when my patience is really being tested.

I am ready to meet her and hold her!

 I am hoping that when we meet her we will be able to choose a name :)

We have decided that her middle name will be Joan.

She will be named after her Grandma Linda (middle name Joan), who is Chris's Mom.

Now we have to decide which first name is the best fit.

Patience

"Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter. Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Wrestling

I love watching Matthew and Chris play. As a mom knowing that my children have a Daddy who loves them and plays with them is a great feeling. 

I love that Matthew asks for his Daddy during the day,

I love that Chris genuinely seems to enjoy being a Dad, he looks for opportunities to bond with Matthew.

Here are some pictures of my boys playing tonight.

These make my heart happy!

 

Success!.. almost at least

The main goal of getting the cradle in our room is done! I will take some pictures tomorrow. I cleaned our room the right way this time which meant I had to start with the storage unit in our wall, big big project. However, we emptied and threw away the contents of about 3 boxes that were filled with all our college binders and class work. In addition we sorted through and seriously de-cluttered. If we have not used it, and it will have no use in the next house then it is gone. With the exception of a few keepsakes of course.

So currently the living room is a mess, the bedroom is almost done (still need to clear the top of the dresser, one pile of odds and ends from storage, and tackle the closet). It looks 1000 times better than it has basically the whole time we have lived here, I don't feel bad bringing a baby home to it :) 

In addition we still were able to all get a haircut, go grocery shopping, drop a few bags off at the local thrift store, and take a bunch into the consignment shop here in town.

All in all a successful day which feels good, not done by any means, however I am packing, cleaning, organizing, and sorting the right way which makes the process really long and tedious. Better now than when I am juggling a toddler and a newborn (and a preschooler 3 days a week) and trying to pack everything to move.

Boxes and Rambling

I have officially started the packing process. There are lots of items that can be packed up early, we are working on books, pictures, and artwork. I am also focusing on our bedroom because it has become the store-all room and currently we still need to make room for baby girl. I would really like to get the cradle in and all the bedding washed and ready to go, but in order to do this I need to make room.
I was worried that having the boxes around and starting to change things would disturb Matthew but so far he seems okay with it. I think he will be okay as long as we leave his room alone for now. Plus he really likes that we let him color the boxes after we pack and label them. It is a fun way to include him and to make the process fun. I figure they are just boxes so why not let him make them beautiful :)
I really like the idea of having lots of the odds and ends packed before baby girl comes, it will make moving much less stressful if we are organized and ready before she comes.
So there you have it, my goal before baby comes, pack, organize, and make a baby corner in our room. Baby corner is first priority though. I feel like I need to have that done this weekend, so I am working there first. unfortunately this may be the hardest task because it involves sorting through all the paperwork that is on the computer desk, organizing the piles of junk in our room, and moving the desk and desktop computer to storage. I have seriously considered getting rid of the desk and desktop computer but I think we will use them in the preschool room at the new house. So, as much as I want to toss them (give them away) I don't want to risk having to re-buy something later. Although I really would like a child size computer desk for it, we will have to wait for extra money to do that.
I am so excited that the new house will have a designated "preschool" room. The living room will be used as a preschool area and it is separate from the great room that is off the kitchen. So we will have a small living room that is our own set up and then the real "living room" will be for the business. No more living in a preschool 24/7 like we have been doing here. The house is set up so the living room is easy to close off from the rest of the house, there is a door on one side and a small entry way on the other where we can put our baby gate that is currently at the top of the stairs. There is also a half bath in the laundry/mud room that we can use for the daycare and we will not have to share the full bath.
Sorry this is a whole bunch of rambling about things I am planning. This is the exciting part of moving for me, getting to plan and set up a new house. This house we are excited to be setting up, and I think we can make it feel very home like for the kids. Knowing that we will be there for four years makes it easy to move in and make it our own. Matthew will be 6 before we possibly move so he will remember this house the best from his younger years, I want to make sure they are good memories. Having a park and elementary school across the street should help though :)

Baby Girl Update:
I am 36 weeks as of yesterday which makes me officially 9 months pregnant! So far no worries about blood sugar levels, I am monitoring with a glucose monitor twice a day per doctor request. 
The ultrasound had her measuring about 4 days small from my original due date (the 20 week ultrasound said the same thing I believe). So I am not sure what the doctor will say about that this time. I am hoping he doesn't move my due date but it is possible I guess :(
However, if she is due a little later that will be good to know because it would change when they start pushing being induced. I really would like to avoid that if possible so moving her due date would give her a few extra days to make her appearance if she needs them, however I am hoping she doesn't wait that long!

Some Projects

I went to the fabric store today to take advantage of the 1.99 a yard flannel sale, now I can make some more cloth wipes to go with the ones my friend Liz made for me.

When you use cloth diapers, cloth wipes are the only thing that make sense. We have been using disposable wipes, and cloth diapers, the logistics just don't make sense. What do you do with the nasty disposable wipe when you don't have a dirty diaper to wrap it in?

That is going to be my next sewing project. I may do it tomorrow because Chris is way to sick to go to church, and I am hoping I don't get what he has, but we probably shouldn't share the germs.

The other project I have been working on is a baby blanket I am crocheting! Amazing right? It is coming together nicely. I am a little over half way done already, it is just a simple pattern and one color but it is my first big crochet project so I figure simple is good. I have a few other blankets on the list that I want to crochet. One more for baby girl (white for her blessing), and then I have some friends having babies this summer, we will see if I can get fast enough to get them done... Having a new baby, a toddler, moving, and trying to start a business again may inhibit my crocheting progress though.

Pictures :)

The ultrasound went great. Fluid levels are really good, she is measuring behind where my due date should be, but I will find out her size estimate later today after the radiologist has a chance to compare this ultrasound with the other ones. 

The other good news is she is still very definitely a girl! The ultrasound tech was really nice and she said she always double checks gender for people. She also let us watch baby girls face for quite a while, it was a really clear picture and we could see her opening and closing her mouth and eyes, and moving her hands around her face. The tech also said she does have hair (don't know how much but there is hair).

So things look great and it was one of the coolest ultrasounds I have had because everything was so clear, it was very nice to watch my baby girl for awhile! Here are a couple of the pictures she took for us, these show her face so clearly, she is beautiful already :)

35 Weeks

Yesterday marked 35 weeks, I was gonna take a belly picture today but I am just kinda grouchy and not in the mood to have my picture taken, maybe tomorrow.

I had a doctors appointment this morning, we talked about my glucose numbers. He is having me monitor them twice a day (in the morning and 2 hours after dinner), this is because he feels it is a more accurate way to check my glucose levels since I have a family history of diabetes. So far they are nothing to be concerned about, if I get reading consistently above 90 in the morning or 120 two hours after a meal, they will treat for gestational diabetes. So far in a week I have only had one morning check over 90 and it was a 93, here is hoping that I do not meet the conditions for gestational diabetes.

My blood pressure and weight are still doing just fine, so no worries there.

He did ask that I get an ultrasound tomorrow so that they can check babies growth, and amniotic fluid levels. He is just concerned because I am consistently measuring small, and this time I actually measured a smaller than I did 2 weeks ago. I go in at 7:30am to have my ultrasound done, I am pretty excited to see her and trying to just trust that she is okay and we are just being cautious. I also figure we have made it to 35 weeks so hopefully even if she has to come early for some reason she will be okay, it will be better to know what is going on than be surprised with complications.

So all in all I think everything is okay at this point and if something is wrong we will know soon, I am glad I do not have to wait to get the ultrasound until next week.

Now I'm Excited!

I can't sleep tonight which stinks, I slept for maybe an hour so far and have spent much much longer trying to sleep. This has been a problem throughout this pregnancy, just another reason I am glad that today marks 35 weeks! Almost there :) I will be tired, I will ice and heat my neck and shoulder like crazy because that is part of what is keeping me up, it is so sore, and Tylenol just doesn't cut it.

On a better note I am now very excited for the move coming up. We have the house we wanted (99% sure, just getting details nailed down)! This is such a huge load off my mind, I have been super stressed and we have been trying to figure out how to go back to Forest Grove to look at houses and talk to people but we just don't have time. The places that we called about renting and running a business all said no without considering it, so this house is a huge blessing.

Not only are the owners awesome, they lowered the rent for us (for the first two years while tuition is sky high), they are holding the house for us, and they are just fine with our business plans. We know without a doubt that Heavenly Father is looking out for us. This is the hardest most stressful move we have had to plan, however each step of the way (after we sweat it out for a little while) we are being blessed.

A list of recent huge blessings:

1. Chris got into his first choice school, even after submitting his application after the priority deadline.
2. We don't have to move to Indiana!
3. Matthew is healthy, learning, and growing.
4. I am healthy and baby girl seems healthy.
5. We found a house in Forest Grove that will meet our needs and is really nice (bonus!)
6. We get to be closer to family soon.

I'm sure there are many many more but it is 3:30 in the morning, and I am hoping to be able to get some sleep soon. It is going to be a LONG day tomorrow with no sleep, oh well I have managed many times before.

I am excited to be making plans, thinking of what we will need and won't need. Right now we have talked about getting rid of our space heaters, and window air conditioner. I am sure there is going to be more though. We also need some different things though, like area rugs because it is all hardwood which is great but I think we need rugs for the kids rooms, and living room at least.
I am relieved and excited, now I can relax for the next little while, now I feel like we can start making real plans and be ready for the move!

Rainy Day

Yesterday was really rainy and stormy and we were getting ready to leave the house after work, to get much needed food. Well to do this we pulled out Matthew's yellow rain coat and his red boots that he loves so much. These were both hand-me-down items and we are so Thankful for all our hand-me-downs, so they have been hanging around the house and Matthew loves to wear one boot all around the house during the day. I always try to help him get the other boot on but he doesn't want it? I don't understand but it makes him happy. Anyways, I took a few pictures of him in his rain clothes because he was just so cute!

Baby Shower!

I have an awesome friend Janel here in Pullman who was so nice and threw me a baby shower on March 3rd. It turned out so cute and I really appreciated the time and effort she put into it to make is special for me. I again failed on the picture taking, but I did snap a few shots of the desert bar.

I took some time to lay out all the sweet gifts that were given to me for baby girl, I forgot to have someone take pictures while I was opening gifts so this will have to work :)

For the shower we did not do the traditional shower games, instead I opened gifts first and people snacked on all the yummy treats, and then everyone had the opportunity to make hair bows. Janel is very talented at bow making and shared her wisdom with the rest of us who had no idea where to start. Another friend Courtney who came and is also very creative and crafty was very nice and showed us how to make some other really cute flowers for the hair bows. Here are some pictures of the gifts and the finished hair bows.

Road Trip

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Forest Grove for Chris's interview at Pacific University. I have been really slacking on my picture taking the last few months and I really need to start documenting events better. We only took a few pictures on our way home, there was an old historic highway and I was feeling adventurous (we don't get to go on trips very often - we need a good excuse to spend the extra money) so we took a little detour. This was a lookout point on that road.

Love my little man!

Matthew 3 weeks

Matthew 18 months

I am so excited that he is going to be a big brother! He is such a sweet, fun, and kind little boy and I know he is going to make a great brother for this little girl. We have so many changes coming up but I am not as worried about his adjusting as I thought I would be. He is so adaptable to new situations, I know it will be hard at first and he will go through some rough patches I am sure. We know he is going to do great though!

I have a baby shower this weekend and am very excited. I have a friend in Pullman who always plans the best parties and she is throwing it! I am very excited and know that it is going to be lots of fun and I am excited to celebrate this little girl!

Yup...

So baby was super quiet yesterday, all day, I can't remember feeling her at all. It was kinda nice to not be sore I just figured she was sleepy. Then when it was time for bed I laid down and tried to do a kick count. Nothing, I actually fell asleep before I even felt one movement. Telling myself it was fine she would be awake in the middle of the night like she always is after I go to the bathroom. Nothing again. I could not get her to move.. and then I was done waiting. I called my doctor, Chris got Matthew out of bed.

We went and visited the nice people at Labor and Delivery for a non-stress test.

We got there and they put her on the monitor I immediately was relieved to hear the heartbeat, 130 beats per minute. They wanted to monitor for awhile, and eventually she finally started moving, and then she kept flipping so they had to keep moving the heart rate monitor. I was relieved to say the least.

I felt silly going because I figured it was probably nothing, however she would not move or wake up or do anything for me. I was all done waiting. I decided it was better to be safe at that point and just have them check on her. 

I still feel silly, but at least I know she is healthy! Another plus it got me out of my glucose test this morning :)