Chit Chat- August - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[Thyme Mama]

I've been so super busy with our house and garden I haven't had time to post anything for awhile. This past week we bought flooring and I am SO excited to get that installed. We've been on concrete floors since November. We scored some Greenguard Certified flooring made in Germany for $0.68/sq ft! Still a million projects going on here. Remodeling, sewing, and homeschool starting up anytime now. Midwifery school is back in full swing too.

I finally broke down and let DH hook up our air conditioning last week. And guess what? Keeping the house at 74 degrees has given me my appetite back and even some energy. Go figure! I was trying to stick out the Northern Cali Valley heat because I'm too frugal cheap to pay the energy bill. I feel like a new person with a cool house! I've come to the conclusion that I just CANNOT handle the heat like I did when I was younger. I swear I've felt like I want to die lately, I've felt so crappy, and I do believe the heat is to blame for that.

Originally Posted by sunmamma Anyone else find themselves in a fury over apparently nothing? I know alllll about hormones as this is my third pregnancy, yet it is always so shocking and kinda upsetting when I suddenly turn into dragon lady about something so trivial like my four year old "doing dishes" and using too much soap. And then my oldest asking me for a snack while I am in the midst of having said dragon lady panic attack about the wasting away dish soap,

This was me the other day about BBQ sauce. My 4 yo poured himself about 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce. I ranted for 10 minutes *at least* about wasting and blah blah blah and then I ridiculously demanded he eat the BBQ sauce with a spoon. Of course I didn't make him eat it and I apologized for being lame, but geez, not my finest mama moment.

RE: baby showers. It is fascinating to me to hear about differing baby shower customs! In my huge-ish social and family circle, you get a baby shower for every baby, whether you have 1 or 12 kids. People are actually surprised/insulted if you try to refuse a shower.

kparker - It would be so lovely to give her a little shindig!!! Especially classy if you invited her to lunch to "thank her" and surprised her with a little gathering and some gifts.

All this to say, I can't believe I have only 12 more weeks to go! AH!

[sunmamma]

Haha! Good to know I'm not alone in the crazy prego lady world over here!
Thanks for sharing mamas.
Re: baby showers for #2 or more: I didn't have one for #2, but by then had enough mama friends to get everything I needed handed down. I did have a birth blessing which was awesome and more what I needed. A night of good food, foot rubs and tons of laughing!
A couple weeks ago my close friends had a little "celebrate the goddess belly" gathering for me. They made yummy food and gave me foot massages and fed me chocolate zucchini cake. And then they gifted me a certificate for a haircut and pedi. Baby stuff is practical, but sometimes I think it's nice just to honor and nurture mama! My gf's apologized for not even mentioning the baby all night, but they really wanted to focus on nurturing me. I didn't mind that at all! ; )

[fayebond]

kparker - my friends do a shower for every baby / adoptee in the group.  First babies get the same fuss as eighth babies (okay, the first of each gender in a family does get a wee bit more attention, I think).   It seems only fair to the mom, I mean, its not like you went through more effort for any particular child.  And the gifts aren't the same for each kid but that's okay, its the party part that matters.  Besides, you wear through certain things, and diapers are ALWAYS needed....

[abouttobe5]

Originally Posted by Sheri R 

Andrea - Thanks much for the words of encouragement!  I just have to step back and regain perspective:)   We hardly need anything for this little one so the fact that I am getting a surprise shower is really cool.  And it's true, of course I know how much we will all love this little girl.  As for MIL, she hasn't opened her mouth again about it!  She has 3 granddaughters and I think she just wanted a boy... which DH says is amusing because as a mother she always wanted daughters and had 2 boys!:)

=

Thanks for the love ladies!

Oh my....that MIL of yours is crazy!  I hope you come up with something tactful to say to her (or put her in her place).  Maybe a conversation with your DH to explain your feelings and then he can say something to her?  It is his mom...and good grief, I can't believe she keeps saying something.  

Hope you're feeling better overall.  I am feeling pretty upbeat in general but I think the overwhelming sensation of "omigod, we have a third child arriving in 10ish weeks" is setting in.  I had a panic attack last week in the middle of the night as I couldn't think straight and figure out a way to have my other kids handled if I went into a third section.  Who would take care of them when DH is at work? Who would get our DD to school and pick up from the bus after school? etc. etc.  And then once I woke up and was thinking clearly I realized that my mom could probably help out....I just hate asking for help or relying on other people due to our crazy schedule at work/home.  :(  So I totally feel for you with regards to everything!

[faithsstuff]

Ack- anyone here a dentist?  At 31 am I too old for my wisdom teeth to be coming in?  Any opinions?  Behind my lower back molars (on one side only) I woke up with the gum super swollen.  If dh wasn't out of town I'd be looking for dentist, I don't even know how to find a good dentist.  I think I remember this happening a couple years ago and the swelling magically went away.  I can't close my mouth and it  aches, and I'm drooling.  I don't even know what kind of dental coverage we have.  I haven't been to the dentist in years....I'd rather go to any other medical appt then there.  

Other then that things are going pretty well with dh out of town.  Ds has developed one those super intense summer colds so he's extra whiny, snotty and miserable. It's been a good excuse to stay home and  just chill.  We have played legos for hours.  It blows my mind that these are my last few months as a mama of one so I'm kinda enjoying it all (tears and all)

[Simonsez2u]

Man, I don't really need anything for this baby but good food and foot massages sound heavenly.

abouttobe5- I've had mild freak outs here and there thinking about having three kids after this one, and all three and under .  After this one I am going to stay at home and I pray I do not lose my mind.  I have always worked and it will be quite the adjustment for me and them.  My DS loves his dayschool and the friends he has made there.  I kind of feel guilty taking him away from the relationships he has with some of those little guys.  DD I have no doubt will love being home with me, she is such a Mama's girl.  I worry the adjustment is going to be really tough for me mentally, suddenly home with not one, not two, but three!  I'm sure we will all adjust eventually but I am sure it is gonna be an adventure.

faithstuff- that stinks about your teeth.  I would ask for dentist recommendations from friends.  I recently had a repair to a filling that turned into a root canal because I got an infection.  Then the root canal caused an infection in my sinus area which made the left side of my face swell up and hurt.  He prescribed Amoxil and wouldn't you know I am allergic.  I threw up violently for two days.  It's miserable to be pregnant and have other discomforts.

I had an appointment today and I passed the glucose test!  I am so stoked!  I was really worried about it this time since I had a sugar in my urine at 13 weeks.  I celebrated with a handful of Robin Eggs leftover from Easter and two snickerdoodle cookies .

I CAN NOT believe I am to the point already where my appointments are now every two weeks.  Time is just flying by.  On one hand I am glad and excited to welcome this new little member to our family (and have a holiday cocktail or two...or three), but on the other I am a little sad that I will be closing this chapter of my life.  A little sad, not a lot sad, not sad enough to want to go for four...although if I won the lottery I might consider it.  Anyway I am so rambling.  Hope everyone is well!
 

[faithsstuff]

Simonsez- congrats with no GD!

After reading your post I realized it's Monday.  I took my GD test on Thursday, they told me 'no news is good news' and that I'd know by Monday at the latest.  I will give them one more day, but I may have passed!  I may not be a 'high risk' pregnancy!  woot woot 

[fayebond]

faithsstuff - I would get out my insurance card and look at thier website.  To find my dentist, I used a search feature on the United Healthcare site and found a list of several in my area, then bing-ed all the ones I liked.  I ended up with the one closest to me.  Most insurances either cover the entire dental appt. 2x a year (plus any times they specifically say to come back), or, will cover 80% of everything after you hit the top of the out of pocket payment line.  Most also allow you to choose any dentist you like but may charge you 20% of any fees that go over a certain dollar limit if you go out of network.  I used an OON dentist once and it cost about $35, instead of being free, but that's not exactly the end of the world when your teeth hurt that bad!

 And congrats on not being GD!

[faithsstuff]

Thanks!  i have to figure out who our dental is through, but that's not hard :) 

I cut my hair the other day, I was going to shave it but did an assymetrical thing instead.  Unfortunately I also colored it and it ended up really dark.  Maybe I'll start hennaing again.  I'll probably just finish shaving it.  

I had fun with ds yesterday.  We went out to feed the hens and pick up eggs and ended up playing with them for nearly an hour.  We were totally eaten by mosquitos, but we had fun.  Chickens are so funny.  The two we have give us more then enough eggs but I'd like a few more just for fun.  I wish like heck we could let them free range the yard again, that was the best.  Then ds had a major meltdown.  The worst I've ever seen, he knocked over a table, a chair and kicked me.  He was so overwhelmed you could see the panic, broke my heart. But other then that :)

[kparker]

So apparently I had an episode of vasovagal syncope today. Long story short I passed out somewhere between the toilet and the bed. Both kid and I are fine (I fell pretty perfectly, I've gathered) but man, I never knew about these sorts of things before being pregnant :\

[tekcez]

Originally Posted by kparker 

So apparently I had an episode of vasovagal syncope today. Long story short I passed out somewhere between the toilet and the bed. Both kid and I are fine (I fell pretty perfectly, I've gathered) but man, I never knew about these sorts of things before being pregnant :\

Yikes!  Glad to hear you are both okay!  My mom tells stories of passing out in public when she was pregnant with me.  Scary, but we always came out of it fine.  Stay alert around stairs, ok?

[kparker]

Yeah no kidding. I've been carefully hovering between the desk, the bed, and the potty when my husband isn't home. I've been nervous to even walk to the kitchen because of all the walls and harder flooring along the way. Definitely won't be making any store runs by myself for a while.

[faithsstuff]

kparker- that sucks!  Is this something you can expect to continue happening?

I am so excited, I got a new phone!  My first i-device, it's a lot of fun but I can already see that ds is going to have a problem with moderation.  Heck I'm 10 times his age and have the same problem.  It's been a lot of fun to pick out apps, but kinda creepy to feel like apple *owns* my ass now.  

Can I say that I am so tired of politics/politicians right now?  I have worked in social justice, poverty issues, and community organizing since my early twenties, so have been passionate about politics.  But man, I just cannot handle listening to any of it right now.  I think that perhaps hormones aren't helping, so many things make me close to tears.  Enough on that, I'm not looking for debate, so I hope I haven't offended anyone.

We also picked up an internal t.v. antenna thing.  We don't have cable and get about 9 channels.  3 we watch, the others are either religious or in another language.  I love this thing!  We get PBS again!  I am stoked.  Last night I was playing with my iphone while dh was sitting on the couch with the remote (which we also just bought) watching PBS and I had this surreal moment.  Like suddenly we became the typical middle class American fam.  It's a very strange feeling.

So dh and I are taking part in a homeschool coop for the first time this September.  We have committed to teach a class 'Exploring the Natural World' to 3 1/2 and 4 year olds.  WHo wants to help me brainstorm.  The classes meet at a rec center at an awesome park.  It's only a 50 min class, so I thought we try to include a story, hands on activity/craft and nature walk each week focused on our topic.  We've come up with things like: plants (how they grow), bugs, rain, dirt, sunshine.  I need 8 weeks, are there any ideas for topics/books/acitivities?  When we signed up  6 weeks ago I wasn't feeling so pregnant :)

I know this post is all over the place, sorry!

[fayebond]

kparker - *HUGS*  That's hard.  DH had those awhile ago (except it was from not sleeping enough and then exercising too much at the same time, which, is kinda what pregnancy IS).

faithsstuff - :) you can talk about politics without debating, even on the internet I hope.  Like your plan for the co-op class!  I love herb books and local plant lists, so I would add a class on poisonous plants (how they produce poison and why), plant history (ie, in Oregon, the blackberry is not a native plant, there's a cute little story behind it), and cloud formation/ID just because kids love to look at clouds.  For the dirt class, I would see about making sand art in those little plastic bottles (you can buy the sand from a decorating store like peir 1 for less, at least here).  For the bug class, see if anyone in the co-op has some of those exotic bugs in display cases (my dad has a leaf bug that seriously looks like a leaf, and a giant beetle that would make anyone think twice about those stories of bugs sneaking into bananna boxes!  Kids love his creation lessons on bugs).  Whatever you do, if you are happy, the kids will love it.  Ahh to be four years old!

Today all my in-laws are coming over and I am trying not to stress.  The house looks okay but not great... you know, when its "clean" but not tidy, just messy enough to look bad but not so messy you can easily identify what is wrong.  So here I am chatting online instead of cleaning.  Must. clean.

[faithsstuff]

fayebond- don't clean, invite your in laws to clean ;)  My house is neither clean nor neat right now.

thanks for the ideas, I would love to find some cool bugs.

We went to the summer shade fest and had a great time today.  I want to play outside so badly!  My hips and pelvis are so painful though, I don't know how to help them.  I'd love to get some good hikes in this Fall, but I probably can't walk even a 1/4 mile right now without having to stop.  I tried to convince dh into doing some luxury camping before the baby gets here.  You know, in a cabin with beds and a kitchen, or affordable hotel.  Of course he was like 'what's the point then', no surprise there :)

Anyone think they're going to be affected by the hurricane coming through?  They think it could hit Atlanta straight  on THursday, a lot can happen in that many days though.

[kparker]

Not sure if it will happen again or if it was a fluke :\  I'm going to see if I can get a referral to a cardiologist as I have other symptoms (that I thought were normal/just how I was) that could indicate a heart condition. Interesting!

faithsstuff - re: cable - we don't even have TV or smartphones! I mean we have a television set, but it's for use with the dvd player and stuff. My phone only makes calls and texts. You sound so high-tech to me right now ;P Wish I had PBS haha

[faithsstuff]

Kparker- you make me feel like a lush :) Come watch PBS with me, I'm loving the UK Antiques Roadshow.

I started my wipes today!  O.k. so I only finished ten, but I was juggling a toddler at the same time, I;m just glad I got started.  I also washed/stripped/went through my diaper stash.  I am very excited about this!  I need to see if we have a diaper thread started, I have questions to ask.

Ds and I are at ends.  He has started squealing.  He has a Mickey Mouse on helium voice anyway and his looking at me and *squealing* out of the blue is about to break me.  I have this visceral reaction, it's like somone's hit me and I actually tense up.  It mentally exhausts me.  Kids these days 

[Simonsez2u]

Originally Posted by faithsstuff 

Anyone think they're going to be affected by the hurricane coming through? 

It looks like it is going to hit us fairly directly.  I live in Louisiana but fortunately we live North about 3.5 hours from the Gulf Coast.  DH is getting off work early today to buy a few supplies and gas for the generator.  The big issue we may have here is loss of power and some flooding if it does in fact bring a ton of rain.  Hopefully it will not get above a category 1, then I think we will be fine. 

[kparker]

mmmm antiques.... I'm so tired of having to find TV online to watch that I don't have to pay for (or get by other, less scrupulous means).

We probably won't even see a sprinkle from the storm. So sad.

[faithsstuff]

So I set up a picture schedule for ds.  It's more a sequence of the days events , each activity has an icon, we used magnets to stick them on the side of the fridge.  He does a bit better with a schedule, but I am the one who hates it!  I thought 'this is great, he'll love it'.  We start with breakfast, then move on to chores (feed cats, feed chickens and collect eggs, help put away clean dishes), then outside time, tech time (t.v., computer), lunch, quiet time, tech time (Iput these all in a row so I would have some time to rest), mommy one on one time, daddy time, dinner, bed time stuff.  So we purposefully didn't set times and left broad catagories.  He doesn't love it.  First off, we used a picture of a bowl of cereal for breakfast, he freaks out b/c now he can only have cereal at breakfast.  We explain he can any breakfast then, he explains that we need a picture then or the schedule is wrong.  We then move onto 'outside time', it's a picture of a tree.  We talk about how outside time can be the playground, backyard, playing with friends, running errands.  For example today we need to go to the library and we can do that during outside time.  Huge mistake.  In the end dh has to draw a picture of a library so that days we go to the library the schedule can be right.  OMG, I am so over this thing!  THen we had a major issue.  For outside time we were going to play with the hose outside.  But it's raining, and I think it's unreasonble to make me stand outside in the rain and spray him with a hose.  I tell him we can puddle jump, we can run in the rain, etc....huge meltdown.  This child is so literal, how do I set a schedule with a kid who does not like flexability?  

Maybe this should go in the parenting forum, in fact I think I'll post there too.  I'm just having one of those days where I feel like a parenting failure.