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[Quinalla]

Pretty busy this weekend, some posts to start us out:

Originally Posted by jacquelinej 

So if you can believe this....

The rental agent emailed DH again yesterday saying that the plans for moving this tenant out had been altered yet again.

Oh, I am sure you know what happened at this point.

I came home from running to do 2 miserable errands I did not want to do.  The stress of this situation has really drained me and depressed me.  DH tells me "Come in, sit down, there's been a change with the move."  My blood pressure starting climbing immediately.  It's been too low most of this pregnancy until this move problem started.  The rental agent said that the tenant has a dr appointment on Wednesday so the movers couldn't come until Thursday morning and the cleaning people would come Thursday afternoon and we would get the key Friday morning at 8 am.  Right.


With the 'new plan', we were supposed to have keys on Wednesday at 8 am.  But the lease we have is already broken because we didn't get keys yesterday to move in as our lease states.  If we let them have their way again, we wouldn't be moving next weekend and we are flat out of time.  If we agreed to this, and there were any changes, we wouldn't have any time to notify our friends, or cancel the truck for moving.  Which means it would start costing us money.  As of next week, if DS comes early like DD did, I have 4 weeks before birth.  DH explained this situation in detail to the rental agent and his response was a brief: "I'm not happy with it either."  Not happy?  Not happy??  

I said No.  No way.  No how.  Not playing this game another minute.

I got on my laptop and believe it or not, found a great apartment near the area where we want to be in a good school district and close to the commuter train stations.  We had avoided apartments before because of the problem of waiting for a top floor apartment plus the added cost of a top floor apartment.  I called them, the prices were right in our range, with the square footage we needed.  I told DH, we immediately left to see it.  And good thing we did.  Right time, right place, right price.

They had 2 apartments, one on the 2nd floor, not ideal.  They had one apartment that was on the 3rd floor of a building with no elevator.  Not great.  But no neighbors above us.  And a good layout.  It was discounted monthly rent and had 6 weeks of free rent.  We signed the lease today and started moving in.  Finally, a break for us.  We move furniture this Friday.  I hope we still have friends left to help.

The rental agent is gaping at us as we tell him we expect our deposits back in 3 business days.  He says "I think this plan will work." - obviously he is delusional if he expects us to trust him.  To which we say "And?  What should we do?  We have signed a lease, and we are moving to a different place tomorrow.  Good luck and good riddance."

Whew.  I am so looking forward to sleeping in my bed after abandoning it 10 months ago.

Originally Posted by jacquelinej 

Originally Posted by nstewart 

Ya, I am one of those mammas that leaks a TON too.  I have very heavy let down and my milk would sometimes let down at the drop of a hat.  When he nursed on one side, I'd be leaking like mad on the other.  So I have purchased some bamboobies to try and fingers crossed they absorb enough. I leaked through all the re-usable nursing pads I tried last go-round.  I actually liked the Johnson's disposable nursing pads best, just personal preference.

Again, with the nursing pillows, I  think that it's very personal if you need/like one at all and as to what works best.  A really good friend of mine gave me a breast friend because she LOVED hers.  It did not work for me at all!  I had to lean way forward, and it was just awkward and uncomfortable.  I loved my "boppy style" pillow.  The brand is "Baby Buddy" and they're locally made so I don't know how they compare to others.  My friend is short (5'4") and has big breasts.  I am tall, 5'9" and I have a small chest.  

I am not tall, just 5'5", but I found I had to lean WAY over to BF and it really aggravated my back.  I have a long torso, so this is apparently the cause.  I don't know if I tried the Johnson and Johnson ones but I tried everything on the block, and I always had to have 2 pads on each side.  I went through them so fast and I want to avoid the cost and waste of it if I can.  

nstewart did your baby have problems with latch on due to too much milk?  This is how I ended up pumping and BFing in the first week and stock piling milk. I had so much milk, DD couldn't latch on correctly.  We had this problem almost the whole time after I stopped pumping with the hospital grade pump (big mistake, won't make that one again).  I had to pump a bit first, then BF her, then give her the beginning of the milk a little later.

Originally Posted by nstewart 

Originally Posted by jacquelinej 

nstewart did your baby have problems with latch on due to too much milk?  This is how I ended up pumping and BFing in the first week and stock piling milk. I had so much milk, DD couldn't latch on correctly.  We had this problem almost the whole time after I stopped pumping with the hospital grade pump (big mistake, won't make that one again).  I had to pump a bit first, then BF her, then give her the beginning of the milk a little later.

DS didn't have a hard time latching, but as soon as my milk let down I'd have to unlatch him, and let it just "pour" (for lack of a better word!) into a face cloth.  When the flow slowed down I would re-latch him and he would nurse no problem.  Of course, he was mad at being unlatched but chocked otherwise.  I also only nursed one side per feeding, otherwise he would get too much fore milk, not enough hind milk due to over production, and one side was always worse for having a heavy let down than the other, so he did prefer nursing off one side more than the other.

Originally Posted by Paceman 

Originally Posted by nstewart 

DS didn't have a hard time latching, but as soon as my milk let down I'd have to unlatch him, and let it just "pour" (for lack of a better word!) into a face cloth.  When the flow slowed down I would re-latch him and he would nurse no problem.  Of course, he was mad at being unlatched but chocked otherwise.  I also only nursed one side per feeding, otherwise he would get too much fore milk, not enough hind milk due to over production, and one side was always worse for having a heavy let down than the other, so he did prefer nursing off one side more than the other.

This EXACTLY!  I had a big stack of dollar store face clothes and never went anywhere without them.  I think I had to wear nursing pads for a year (my milk took that long to regulate) to help with the leaking especially on the side I wasn't nursing on.  Although if I had to have a breastfeeding "issue" I am glad it was one of over supply.  This time I am really interested in trying more laid back nursing.  If you haven't read about it check out this link. http://www.biologicalnurturing.com/video/bn3clip.html 

Originally Posted by CoBabyMaker 

Jac,   So glad you found a place!  I'm sorry you had so much hassle with the last one but I am so glad you found a new place that sounds like it will suit your needs well.

Re: Bamboobies,   I have a few pairs to try also.  A friend of mine said they were NOT absorbent enough for her so I am curious to see how they work for you ladies.  I don't leak much so I am thinking I will be ok but I am not sure how it would go if I leaked more. 

Bailey, Are you doing ok? 

Well, I feel like it was a productive weekend.  We have tile on the bathroom floor!  My brother is doing the tile and he is one who is pretty driven so I am hoping progress will happen a little faster now.  He is hoping to grout tomorrow and then start on the shower once that is set!  We could even have the toilet and vanity in this week!  I am so excited about having the toilet in there again!  Walking the extra 12 feet to the other bathroom in the middle of the night (times two) is inconvenient.    <

---

first world problem.
I got some sewing done too.  I finished making some zippered pouches to help organize the diaper bag and embroidered a tag with baby's name for the diaper bag.  I don't usually leave my babies much  though so i joked with DH that in 18 months when I try to leave baby in the church nursery the bag will be labeled and ready.    I am trying to use up scrap fabric so I started another quilt top but it's all pink fabrics and everyone I know is having boys so I guess I'll save it for a while.  At least it will be out of my scrap baskets.  Anyone need a pink quilt?

I am a bit relieved that DH has decided not to go on a mission trip to Mexico that was scheduled for the week after Easter.  They go down and build houses for people and it's a really neat thing but just hard timing this year.  I was excited for him to have the opportunity to do it but he was just uneasy about leaving us all right now.  With how tired I have been the last few evenings I am glad that he will be here.

[Quinalla]

jacquelinej, I'm so happy you found an apartment last minute that will work! I'm so sorry the house didn't work out, but I would have done the same thing. Who knows when the heck that other renter is going to get out of there, that landlord sounds a bit delusional!

CoBaby, nice progress on your bathroom!

Regarding BFing pillows, yeah I think my long torso is what made the Boppy pillow not work for me. It just put the baby way too low even with my arms between the pillow and baby! I'm hoping the breastfriend will be better and I figure I can slide some pillows underneath to make it higher if I need to, but I think having the huge flat surface will help for positioning 2 wiggly newborns as I am hoping to make tandem feeding work at least most of the time.

Renovations are going to kick in high gear this week. We should have granite countertops today, then our sink, backsplash tile started and doors and trim started tomorrow, backsplash tile grouted on Wednesday and the doors and trim probably done, hood up on Thursday or Friday and the outlets and lights switched out sometime during the week too. Carpet should go in next Monday if all goes as planned which works out well as we'll have next weekend to get things in good shape for them to be able to move the furniture (clear off breakables/electronics from on top of things, get small things off the floor, etc.) and then we'll be done! The carpet is all in apparently except one color.

We got the office all cleaned off of drywall dust finally this weekend, DH blew out our PCs and then we dusted everything and vacuumed really well so it's better in there again. We're going to cover everything tomorrow as the backsplash tile & grout will likely kick up some more dust, but nothing like when they drywalled! DH also got his new server put together, but is going to switch the fans out as they are really loud even with the door shut in the basement it is pretty loud in the playroom, but he found some that were about 75% discounted, so that was nice. He also got all the servers and whatnot in his basement rack (yes he has a rack in the basement, he's a geek, we both are, but I'm not as much in that area) and then got it all put back together differently. I helped him screw stuff in, but he had to do all the heavy lifting of course, so he'll be sore today! I got started on moving stuff to the center of the room for the trim work in the baby room and our bedroom, but we'll just do the rest tonight. It doesn't have to move the far, just a few inches so they can slid in the new trim behind stuff. I couldn't do a ton, but at least I got a start on it while DH was busy with his computers

I am definitely getting more tired more easily, I had to lay down during the day on both Saturday and Sunday in the afternoon and just rest/doze. I can't figure out what position the babies are in now, but they definitely moved again! I'm not sweating it too much yet as they seem to have plenty of room, but I hope they get head down for me!
Edited by Quinalla - 3/20/13 at 5:30am

[amlikam]

Sounds like everyone's life is sooooo full and busy and possibly living in a house which is in a state of chaos?!!! Goodness, I hope everyone gets a chance to settle in and rest before the nesting instinct sets in . I am happy to read of your successes and the places where you were set back but then had a nice unexpected turn of events!

I had a lovely weekend. Yesterday I had a song circle with 3 other pregnant mamas, my midwife and a prenatal movement therapist.  We sang lots of songs to bless our wombs, babies, souls, each other, family... it was sooo nice and a few of my chants/songs were included in the day. We recorded the session with the hopes of us each getting a CD to listen to while in labor.

I was also at a Red Tent on Saturday which is always lovely.

[Kate&Joey]

Yes, everyone seems really busy!  Good luck with all the projects, etc. 

jacquelinej - Really hope things go well with the move after all the landlord drama.  Moving is not fun under the best possible circumstances...I can't imagine doing it while PG!

cobaby and quinalla - I'm so impressed you're doing these renovations now.  But I know how nice it will be to have everything done before the babies arrive.

BFing pillows - I used a My Breast Friend with DS.  I do remember it being hard on my back.  I still have it, but maybe I should get a Boppy as well this time and see if I like it better?  Like other PPs have said, you can use the Boppy to prop up the baby for other purposes so it wouldn't be a total waste.

Nursing pads - I did leak for a while (maybe first 2 months or so?) even though I didn't have an oversupply or anything.  IIRC, I had both disposable and reusable on hand and preferred the disposable.  I definitely need to put those on my list of things to buy.

AFM - We did decide to keep the dreaded drop-side crib.  DH ordered the replacement parts that were missing and locked the drop-side in place.  Then he drilled wood screws into each end; basically turning it into a fixed-side crib.  We both pulled and tugged on it and it's not budging so we're pretty confident in the safety. 

I've started my twice weekly appointments already...eeek!  On Mondays, I go to the perinatologist for an ultrasound and on Thursdays/Fridays, I go to the GYN for a NST.  Baby Girl was looking good yesterday.  Right above the 50% percentile...approximately 5.5 pounds (although I know how inaccurate the ultrasound can be at this point).  Still head down...please stay there!!!

Starting back with prenatal yoga tonight.  Breastfeeding class on Saturday AM.  Labor and delivery class (yoga version) with DH on Saturday PM.

I think we need to start doing baby laundry and getting serious about buying remaining baby gear, etc.  Getting closer to the point of "if labor starts now, we're not doing anything to stop it."

We went to a wedding on Saturday night and it was so much fun; beautiful weather also.  The weird thing was there were a million PG women there...seriously!  DH made a joke about it to one of the bartenders and she agreed she had never seen so many PG wedding guests ever! 

It was kind of depressing since the wedding was at a winery and I obviously couldn't take advantage of that.  But the food was delicious so I ate a lot more than I normally would at a wedding since I didn't have to account for alcohol calories. 

Oh, but then I made a Guinness Chocolate Cake for St. Patrick's Day.  I figure the one cup of beer in the whole cake isn't going to hurt me.  Didn't they use to prescribe Guinness for health ailments anyway ??? 

[nstewart]

Hi all,

I've had enough time to read, but not enough time to post until now! 

Co, it sounds like your renovation is coming along so well!  That's great!  Also, I love your idea about sewing the little bags for the diaper bag.  I have some PUL left over from when I made training pants for DS.  That would be a good use to put it to!  Do you have a particular pattern you are using?  I've never sewed anything with a zipper before.  Is it hard? 

Katie, wow, your renos are flying along too!!  I can't believe how quickly your contractor is getting the work done.  That is unbelievable!  I hope the remainder of the reno goes as smoothly as the first part has.

Aklikam, that sounds like a lovely ceremony/ritual.  Also, the CD will be such a beautiful memory for you to have from your pregnancy.

Kate, it sounds like you had a nice time at the wedding!  Too bad about not being able to enjoy the wines from the vinyard, but I'm glad the meal was so delicious.  Did you pick up any bottles to bring home for after the baby is born?  I have actually indulged in a glass of red wine here and there this pg.  I know not everyone feels comfortable doing so, but I find it such a relaxing, enjoyable treat once in a while.  And I definitely wouldn't worry about the guiness cake (which sounds delicious, btw), it's more food than beer, isn't it?   I have heard it is supposed to help your milk come in if you drink it after babe is born too. 

AFM - not too much to report.  We had a relatively quiet weekend and I slept for 12 hours on Saturday night!  I couldn't believe it!  We got a few more things off the "do before baby arrives" list, but I don't feel like there is much that is very pressing.  Work is busier this week, but not crazy or anything.  I have an appt with my Chiro tomorrow and I am hoping and praying that babe is heads down now.  At my appointment on Friday my Chiro had confirmed that he or she is heads up.  I have been doing one of the inversions from spinning babies every night, and I actually think that I felt babe flip back on Friday night, but am not sure.  So I don't want to do the breech tilt in case babe is heads down, but if babe is heads up I'll be wishing I'd done more I guess.  I dunno.  fingers crossed, and there is still time. I will be 34 weeks tomorrow, so it's not like I'm in uber danger yet of having a breech baby come delivery. 

[CoBabyMaker]

amlikam, Sounds like you had a great weekend!  I'm glad you were able to get the CD recorded.  I have never been to a red tent before.  It sounds interesting.  Is that common in your area?

Katie, I hope you'll post pictured when your renovation is done! 

NS, I used this tutorial:  http://tonicoward.blogspot.com/2010/05/zippered-pouch-tutorial.html

I am generally terrified of sewing zippers but it actually was actually pretty easy!  I made mine a little bigger than her dimensions but it didn't change any of the directions.  I sized mine to an 8.5x11 piece of paper and just used a longer zipper.

Kate, that wedding sounds lovely!  I'm glad you had fun!  Twice weekly appts?  Are you high risk?

Not too much to report here.  Grout is done on the floor I think.  My brother said he might want to go over it one more time.  The kids are being sassy today and I am feeling like bedtime is not coming quite soon enough.  I don't love those days.  I want to treasure these days as I know they pass quickly  but sometimes they are hard.

I went and helped a friend do some meal prep this morning- I should do it myself too but it gave me some ideas.  She just found out she is having twins but is still feeling sick.  She can eat as long as she doesn't have to cook it so we made her some good quick protein things to grab.  It's a little bit funny because I dated her husband about 10 years ago so every now and then she will say things about him or his family and I have to stop myself from replying, "I know, I remember that."  That would be so inappropriate! haha.

Is anyone else having a hard time drinking enough?  I have this weird thing that my ears get plugged if i am not drinking enough and it's been happening twice a day even though I am tRYING to drink!

Edited by CoBabyMaker - 3/19/13 at 10:31pm

[Quinalla]

amlikam, the red tent sounds cool and I'm glad you got to make the CD

Kate, it's a bit hectic, but better now with 1 child than after with 3 children, no way am I dealing with losing the kitchen/dining/living room then! If you made the drop side not moveable, at this point it really isn't different from any other crib, so sounds like a plan to me! Hope your girl stays head down for you, I know with my first she got head down early and stayed there. She was always hiccuping, so I knew she was staying put too. Too funny about all the pregnant ladies at the wedding, especially at a winery Mmm, Guinness, I have so been craving beer. Every time I walk by some in the grocery store my mouth starts watering (and yeah, 1 cup in a whole cake, pshh, no worries.)

nstewart, they are pretty quick on the renovations, I can tell they know what they are doing since they are so fast at it. The only thing that has slowed them down at all is the tile/floor guy having to go to the hospital with his Mom last week, but they are still on track to finish.

CoBabyMaker, my DH got some photos up, I'll post them below. Glad the grout is done or nearly done! As far as drinking enough, I only have trouble when I get busy at work and forget to get refills. I do have to drink pretty much constantly to stay hydrated, much more than last time, but as long as I am not too busy at work I do fine.

Here are some pictures, this is the before picture:


Here is a section of backsplash tile, we're using grey grout:


Here is the new floor, it is so nice and soft feeling on the feet, but looks like tile (it's Congoleum):


Here is the cabinets & granite counter & the new green color on the wall on the side:


And the bay window after staining (they still need to take the tape down and clean up around the edges):


I'm really happy with everything so far, the counter is rounded now too which is awesome. I won't be bashing my hip into it and kids won't be running into those stupid sharp corners.

I think my babies may both be transverse again, /sigh, I have a regular OB appt next week where I might get a U/S if she can't find both HBs again and then for sure U/S to check growth the next week, so we'll see. They still have room, but they are making me nervous, really want to avoid a C/S if I can. Not stressing, but trying to stay hopeful while feeling a bit bummed. Sleep is just not comfortable, I wake up so much. And I am so sick of the cold weather, I want spring already! It doesn't have to be 70 F, but maybe 50-60. Is that too much to ask?

[amlikam]

WOW Quinalla!! it looks AMAZING!!!! I am drooling like crazy over here.

As for the babies, I really hope they turn into optimal positioning for you. Are you doing any chiropractic or such?

[Quinalla]

Thanks! We're really happy with everything so far As far as the babies turning, I've just been doing the inversion from spinningbabies (relaxes/stretches the ligaments holding your uterus to give the babies more room to turn) and trying to hands & knees as much as I can. I've looked into chiro and I don't think its for me, but there are some other things I might try if after my next U/S they are still not cooperating. There is still time, just you know my DD was head down forever at the end which really gives you peace of mind (even though they can turn on you at the end too!) and I don't have that this time. It's ok though, whatever happens it will all work out.

But yeah, I was getting kicks high on the right, low on the right and hiccups low on the left, so pretty sure my girl is transverse with her butt still in my pelvis and boy has move back to transverse above and apparently turned around? Not completely sure though and they are moving around more again now, they sure like to move around a lot. DD was mostly just about the kicks & hiccups, she didn't do all these crazy flips and whatnot like these two.

[Kate&Joey]

Quinalla - I love the colors!  I tend to gravitate towards all those earthy browns / greens myself.

CoBaby - Yes, I am high risk because of my age. 

NStewart - No, we didn't get any wine (we still have some from our trip to Napa that DH is saving for me). 

I had a sip of DH's red during dinner, but it wasn't anything super special.  If they had served champagne, I would have had a glass after dinner, but no.  I guess most people are firmly in the pro-champagne camp or anti-champagne camp for weddings.  I happen to love it for special ocassions. 

 

[TwilightJoy]

Thanks ladies for the advice regarding clothing, pillows, etc. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experience!

Kate&Joey- A cup in the cake is totally fine. But it was before cooking, so the alcohol would have cooked out, right? So definitely no need to worry.

nstewart- 12 hours of sleep! How lovely! I would do anything to get that much, but have been struggling with insomnia the past week or so.

CoBabyMaker- I've been drinking less water since I've been increasing my cold RRL tea, but haven't noticed any issues. So weird about your ears getting plugged. A good reminder to keep drinking!

Quinalla- the kitchen looks amazing! I love it! Wow, must feel good to have so much done.

AFM- My manual breast pump arrived in the mail today, and I was so excited i tried it out right away. Got a little colostrum out of both sides- yay! Maybe 1/2 of a teaspoon full total. I was really surprised to see it was yellow-ish, and not clear.
The Ina May Breastfeeding book recommends pumping colostrum once you're full term, so in 3-4 weeks I plan on pumping for 10 minutes a day until I get about 4 oz stored up. Is anyone else pumping colostrum before birth?

Also- is snozzberry still out there? I was thinking about you again today. Hope everything is all right!

[amlikam]

Twilightjoy I might pump colostrum when I'm full term since I know how amazing that stuff is. I've never seen clear colostrum before and my own with dd was yellow as well. This time mine is a milky yellow white. (I hadn't thought to try for awhile to see and just checked! My body is changing)

[Quinalla]

Kate, thanks and yeah, I love earthy tones, they just feel so homey to me! I'm with you on champagne.

Twilightjoy, thanks and it is great to have it progressing so well. As far as pumping colostrum, I hadn't thought about it honestly, but maybe I will once I'm full term. I'm definitely producing it already as I have the telltale white dusting of my nipples. The color & consistancy of colostrum/BM is quite interesting when you do a lot of pumping, I didn't pump colostrum, but I pumped lots of BM and it is pretty amazing how much it changes even from pumping session to pumping session.

amilkam, I didn't pump it last time, so I'm not sure on the color of mine, but it certainly dries white

Well, both babies were definitely head down at one point last night, but baby girl is back to being transverse again this morning (head left, legs right). But yeah, could feel the hiccups in my cervix and her kicks under my belly button and could feel baby boy kicking my ribs super high on the right. He seems to still be there, but she's back out, at least I know she can get there so that's something. Hopefully she'll get back head down and stay there soon! It seems they don't fit as easily that way as everything felt really crowded to me, so I'm sure that's why she moved back, but hopefully they will get it figured out.

On the remodeling front, the guy who is doing the backsplash tile cut his finger yesterday (minorly, but still) so he won't be out until today. His Mom was i the hospital last week so this just hasn't been his month apparently, poor guy! Everything is getting pushed back a bit because of it, so they should be done next Tuesday now instead of Monday, but that's no biggie. We can start putting stuff back in our cabinets, so that's something. Might start on that tonight or just wait until the weekend, we'll see. Our carpet is confirmed to all be in, but they won't do it until Tuesday as the trim/doors are taking longer to dry (because of the cold) so they had to push back the trim install to Monday and they want that in before the carpet. That works out fine though as we can move stuff out over the weekend except for essentials and those can just go in the bathrooms upstairs, no biggie. They are moving all the big furniture, so just have to clear the tops off and get the small stuff off the floor. We've been working on that already, so it won't take too long to finish.

[adventuregirl]

Hey Ladies! Sounds like everyone is busy busy! 

Katie - the pics look great! So awesome that things are moving along quickly.

Jaq - so glad for you that things are getting settled, way to pull it together at the last minute! I hope your RA is chilled out and the move went well.

CBM - love the pouches!

I am very happy to be home again, but vacation was wonderful! I didn't swell at all on the flights, I was very good and drank a ton of water and got up lots. It was great to see my family, although I was drained from visiting and very ready to go home at the end. We did manage to get a little time to just the 3 of us, but I do dream of a real vacation where there is no visiting involved. I can't complain that my family lives in a fantastic tropical place where I get to stay on the water for free, but its hard when you feel obligated to have dinner/stop by/catch up with somebody constantly and its your vacation. I was happy to get home to my pillows and soft bed, I had a hard time sleeping elsewhere, after a certain amount of time, I just had to get up because laying down was too painful. Damn hips. Here we are on the beach, I had to get a pic with the belly out, 31 weeks.

We have our Birth Class tomorrow, so that is good. I think it will help get our heads in the game and get dh thinking about what things will be like. It really is getting close and I know the next month is going to fly by. My birthday is in 3 weeks, then DH's parents are coming for a long weekend, work is throwing me a shower and then it will be May! Aaaand, I still have a whole bunch of stuff to get and things to organize. I'd be perfectly happy to not have to grow anymore, but want the baby to cook at least until 37 weeks, so here comes the home stretch!

Happy Weekend to everyone! I am hoping spring comes to all of us quickly. Its supposed to snow here, but I see my tulips poking through the dirt, so it can't be long now!