Pink Haired Momma

The momma box

2012-01-16T13:27:00.007-06:00

I really do try and teach my kids daily, entertain them, sing to them, dance with, get creative with them and show them the world. But honestly I am just human. I am just a fluffy pink haired momma who also is a wife and a woman and daughter and many days I find myself at a loss for what to do to engage my little sponges of knowledge. I find it extra hard to figure out a plan of action when it is say raining or too cold to go outside (not that this has been a problem at ALL here in Texas lately), and my kids are going bonkers while I try to rummage through the thoughts of my frustrated mind for something to do. Insanity and time outs usually follow, and really?? what is the fun in that.

In order to try and keep this scream fest from rearing its ugly head, I spent the tail end of 2011 putting together a plan of attack for 2012. NOT A RESOLUTION. Just a "Tool" to help me as a momma, be better at what I do: Raise and teach my kids while having fun everyday.

Thanks to Oopsey Daisy Mommy School and Homeschool Creations, and many others I will mention as their help is revealed, I found tons of great theme packs. Each came with a skeleton of a plan/idea for me to get started. I took these fantastic plans, spent some time on pinterest and devised a weeks worth of crafts, educational lessons, songs, books, foods etc. corresponding with the specific theme and jumbled them all together in my organized momma box. Now, each week I can pull a file from my momma box and have at my fingertips more than enough activities, not only to work on with my kids daily as learning exercises, but also to use as a magic tool when the screams are flowing and my brain is gone and I NEED to re direct the mind of a 3 year old and 8 month old.

We started our first week with Robots and had a marvelous time. We built a robot "botty" out of formula cans and boxes. We enjoyed a snack of marshmallow robots and we learned all about the letter "R" with this lovely Robot theme pack. Going in to each week I know we have more than enough activities to do. Therefore if a day goes by and we do nothing from the momma box but instead hit the park, that is okay. Come the end of the week the file gets placed back in the momma box and ready for action when needed.

Princess Pork Chop showing off her robot skills too!

"Teching" out our robot

Marshmallow Bots

"Botty" spent a little bit of time in time out because he wouldn't turn on. Our tots live in a TECH generation man!

I really like having this tool on hand. It helps me feel more structured and keeps me focused in providing my children with fun learning experiences no matter the day or time. I also notice that the mental stimulation is helping keep my 3 year old from driving ME bonkers on any given day. And more importantly, I find myself enjoying watching my daughters learn and grow right before my eyes.

The Hunger Games

2011-12-10T09:37:00.000-06:00

Have you read The Hunger Games Trilogy ? Can I just say AMAZING! From the very first page of book 1, I was captivated. And I might have possibly let my baby swing a little too long in the swing and the other kiddo make a giant mess with play dough just so I could finish the next chapter!
Going into this book I had no expectations, no idea what the book was even about. It was chosen as a read for my book club, and until that point, I had not even heard of this trilogy. I am so glad it was chosen however. It is a great read.

Can not wait until the movie comes out next March!!! I just hope it is as good as the book.

Christmas Wrapping

2011-12-09T09:32:00.004-06:00

Evil Princess Pork Chop vs. Christmas

Yes?

Is my Hat on straight?

This is what we do while Big Sis DIVA is at school!

Christmas Overkill

2011-12-08T12:00:00.001-06:00

I am the Griswald of Christmas. Not with the lights and such because I do not particularly love being outside on a ladder hanging stuff, but with the Christmas spirit. My family and my house are beginning to drown in tinsel. Oh well, get over it. NEW TRADITION!

I blame Pinterest!

On top of The Elf on the Shelf, the daily activity advent calendar sponsored by Elf, watching Christmas themed movies and shows at least once a day, wearing Christmas theme clothes every day, and taking red and green baths, I have decided to add in yet one more "tradition".

I wrapped up 12 new books. The first book is the Polar Express, since you know, We became Train people this year. And starting on December 12 we will do our own version of 12 days of Christmas by opening 1 book every night until Christmas EVE (and rest assured all while participating in the 50 other "traditions" I have assigned to our family this year). On Christmas Eve I have chosen a simple board book that ends with the simple phrase, "Now it is Christmas time". I am really excited about this adventure.

Our wrapping paper this year is simple. Brown bag paper decorated with a pretty cutout letter of the first name of the recipient. Following in this theme, I cut out the numbers 1 -12 and wrapped each book to coordinate. Now they are laid under the tree just waiting for little hands to tear them open and stimulate some minds.

We saw Santa

2011-12-07T09:10:00.002-06:00

We saw Santa and it went down like one might expect a 6 month old and a 3 year old to entertain. Princess Pork Chop was oblivious and could have cared less. Big Sis DIVA was all about Santa until Santa was actually there. She clung to me with a death grip, so I joined in for the 2011 Santa pic. Have a look.

Check out those "HAPPY" babies! :)

It makes me laugh how kids despise Santa in the flesh but adore him throughout the whole season. Our Elf, Desmond, brought us special paper from the North Pole one morning to write Santa our letters on. Big Sis DIVA was very happy to participate in this activity and "helped" Princess Pork Chop write out her list.

Every where we go Big Sis DIVA looks for and talks about Santa and her Elf Desmond. She loves it all, but put an old bearded man in front of her and watch her run!

Have a "Colorful" Holiday

2011-12-06T20:33:00.008-06:00

Thanks to our fabulous Elf advent Calendar , Big Sis DIVA and I riddled our way into making gifts for her classmates today, to give them at the holiday party. We found some super snazzy silicone pans in shapes of snowflakes and Christmas tree's in our Elf supply bucket after nap. Big Sis DIVA helped me prepare crayons we snagged at the dollar store for cooking under the Elf's instruction.

I think they came out splendid. I just hope Big Sis DIVA's fellow 3 year old classmates will be dazzled!

Now you might be thinking, "why didn't you use Christmas colors?". Well, what preschooler only wants to color with red and green?

Using my Elf for naps

2011-11-29T13:34:00.005-06:00

I REALLY, REALLY, do enjoy it when my kids nap. Really. So I came up with a brilliant idea to get us through the holidays WITH naps.

Enter Desmond, our Elf. Our little critter is quite the character. Stealing candy, making messes by dumping out laundry baskets full of clean clothes. You know, mischievous, like my 3 year old. Well, he got crafty this week. Desmond grabbed a whole bunch of toilet paper rolls, and YES, we do have them just laying around. He covered them in scrapbook paper and strung them together with some twine. Inside each roll he placed a little riddle. A riddle that describes a special assignment for us to do. Perhaps he might have shared one with me. "Snap! Crackle! Pop!" indicating it is a day to make rice krispie treats.

25 little riddles inside a fun little advent calendar crafted by our special Elf Desmond. But, just as we have been told the rules of our elf, we must not touch him and he must not speak to us, SANTA's ORDERS, this assignment advent comes with rules too. We may open the calendar every morning and read the riddle. However, we must continue to be good all day long and only AFTER our nap will the tools and supplies we need to complete our assignments appear with Christmas magic from the north pole.

Will it work? I don't know. But it sure is going to be fun!!

Desmond the Elf

2011-11-26T09:53:00.003-06:00

Have you heard of The Elf on the Shelf ? Well, until last year I hadn't. But I thought is was so fabulous and couldn't wait until this year to get it going with Big Sis DIVA.

If you are not familiar with this tradition here it is in a nut shell. A little doll elf that sits on the shelf. Comes with a fantastic little story book about Christmas magic and how said elf reports to Santa each night. Elf lets Santa know if the members of the house are naughty or nice. So basically this crazy little doll keeps your kids in check all season long.

Our family Elf is named Desmond, and he arrived last Monday night, just in time for pre Thanksgiving meltdowns. "Desmond is watching for naughty little children!", but I would NEVER say that to my kids. Nope! HA!! I do not like doing Christmas anything before Turkey day, but Big Sis DIVA found Desmond's "Elf Mobile" aka his box and book and desperately wanted to know what it was. So his arrival was early. In the case of a 3 year old who is naughty a lot this is a good thing!

We have been having a blast. Big Sis DIVA eagerly hunts Desmond down every morning to see what mischief he has found himself in. Throughout the day if she knows she is up to no good, she will stop and point to his perch on the hanging light above our kitchen table and tell me, "Desm and wating". Her speak for Desmond is watching. LOVE IT!!!

Here are a few snapshots of Desmond's recent mischief.

Good ol' Desmond pulled all Big Sis DIVA's baby photo albums off the shelf for a look!

Desmond stole a cookie and even ate some!

Before Big Sis DIVA's Birthday party, Desmond swiped the candles!

Gobble Gobble

2011-11-24T10:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Turkey Day my fellow Americans! May you survive the day without punching some relative in the face. Be safe! Don't eat too much in case you need a fast getaway.

We are taking the easy route and using my husbands CRAZY work schedule to allow ourselves to be safe and eat in true American style at the Chinese Buffet up the street, alone without the thickness of family hovering about! Yum Yum! And just the usual bicker amongst us. Awesome.

But just to keep in the spirit, I did force my little family of 4 to participate in fun little crafts of the season. For your enjoyment:

Feather Hats out of scrap construction paper

Family Handprint turkey!

And as usual, thank you Pinterest for your fabulous ideas!

What happened to the magic?

2011-11-23T14:00:00.001-06:00

I love Christmas. Really! I love it. And now through the eyes of my kids, I really am giddy with anticipation. I can not wait for the holiday season. However, I am furious with the constant barrage of Christmas decor starting back before Halloween. I do not find it acceptable to walk into the grocery store and find Rudolph sitting atop pumpkins that have yet to be chosen for jack-o-lanterns. I hate having to explain to my daughter that Santa does not come to dinner on Thanksgiving. I am already sick and tired of hearing Christmas music and we have not even sat down to stuff ourselves full of fowl.

What is the problem? Why must we do this? We ALL know Christmas comes in the month of December. Perhaps marketing teams feel that consumers will not spend money if Santa is not thrust in their faces for months leading up to the big day. On the contrary. I find myself REFUSING to spend any of my money at any store that floods my vision with Christmas decor way before its time. I strongly feel that those people who will be spending money year round for Christmas (myself included) are going to do so whether or not the twinkle lights and bells are going. However, push me to see stockings hung in October and you can be assured I will take my money elsewhere.

STOP IT! Stop forcing Christmas to come along 3 months before it should. Allow Halloween to have its own time. Allow this country to enjoy Thanksgiving and all that encompasses this holiday without the stressful rush to hurry it up and move on to Christmas. Allow our Children to experience was THANKSGIVING involves without the commercialized necessity to make sure they jump start Christmas wants. Allow our kids to be thankful for what they have, family, friends, and food and of course their toys.

Let us go back to the magic of the season. Allow for total transformation into the wonderful world of the holidays AFTER Thanksgiving. Let us give our younger generations and our children something wonderful and special to look forward to. Do we all recall that awesome feeling we have after we decorate the house for the holidays and put the last box away, walk into the room and see the magic. and feel the holiday warmth within our soul? Imagine if we could give that feeling to our children, with the world.

Think about it. Consumers make the difference. We can make it happen. I personally have not set anything Christmas out in view in my home. My daughter will be spending the night with her grandma Friday night and will come home to Christmas wonderland on Saturday. It really is that simple!

YeeHaw! Jessie Party

2011-11-23T09:55:00.001-06:00

Big Sis DIVA turns 3 years old this week, the 25th to be exact. So we had her birthday bash this last weekend. Big Sis DIVA LOVES Toy Story. However, Toy Story is just not marketed at all to little girls, so we improvised. We had a country Jessie Theme party and it was a blast. Big Sis DIVA loved it. And H4L had a swell time too!

I used my favorite new toy, the Cricut, and made a fun birthday banner using all "Jessie" colors.

We have a local park that has a great pavilion surrounded by a beautiful park. We enjoy many hours at this park, so I just knew this was the perfect location for Big Sis DIVA's Jessie party. Finding "Jessie" theme items was quite a task so we ended up making our own decorations. Here are smores pops. ummm yum. Thank you Pinterest for this idea. Marshmallow dipped in chocolate rolled in graham crackers.

It was very difficult to find a Jessie theme Pinata, so we took a cute boot and decorated it with Jessie cutouts we printed right at home.

And my fabulous MIL made Big Sis DIVA's cake again this year. A gorgeous and delicious Jessie hat.

Did you know you can run cheapy brown paper lunch bags through your printer and make fun goody bags? I didn't. Thanks to my fantastic husband, I now know AND we had these little cuties to give everyone, young and old alike.

We had a superb time celebrating Big Sis DIVA's 3rd birthday. Thank you to all that joined us in making it special.

*please note that this is a test post from my new tablet. please forgive any format errors as i figure out how to blog from this toy.

4 months? Really???

2011-11-21T09:25:00.005-06:00

Has it really been 4 months since I last posted? Wow!

Well I am sure you can guess lots of happenings have gone down at the Pink Haired Momma pad. Princess Pork Chop is now a fatty 6 month old character. Big Sis DIVA started SCHOOL, yes! School. Well, at least that is what I tell her Mother's Day Out (MDO) is. H4L has officially passed all of his training and is a real live TRAIN CONDUCTOR!!! CHOO CHOO! And I am still fluffin along with pink hair.

I have missed blogging. So many things that I have to share from the last few months, lots of tot fun and mommy fun since I now have 2 days a week of NO TODDLER!! My plan is to share some of our fun over the last 4 months and get to chatting again about our day to day craziness here in Pink Haired Land. But we will see. I do have a WILD (almost) 3 year old and a 6 month old Pork Chop, so time will allow what it will. I do, however, look very forward to connecting with all my bloggy buds again!

And did I mention Big Sis DIVA turns 3 YEARS OLD this Friday? How did this happen?

Hearts and Marbles

2011-07-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

Pinterest is monopolizing all my time. I love it. It inspires me so much. Big Sis DIVA and I got busy in the kitchen with one of the inspirations I discovered on pinterest. WE made simple cupcakes SNAZZY with a simple marble.

Check it out. Lemon cake batter. Placed in cupcake liners. And a single marble placed just so, to make a lovely little welcome home dessert for Train Main H4L from his daughters! Easy Peasy and adorable.

Thank you Pinterest. Now I am off for more inspiration!

2011-07-28T11:05:00.002-05:00

Pinterest.

I am in love.

That is all.

Cupcake Ice Flowers

2011-07-27T22:42:00.006-05:00

Really! It is so hot. Too hot. My poor kid hasn't seen a park in weeks. I can not handle even opening the door after 8am. I melt. Pink puddles of me line the sidewalk. So we stay in. But I want my kiddo to have fresh air, so we head outdoors early early in the morning and do a fun little craft, swing a few swings on the backyard swing set and then its back into our Pink Haired Cave for the day.

This was a fun little activity we did. It was actually a two parter. On the first day we braved the heat and waltzed through our family garden at Gha's (grandma) ranch. We studied leaves and bugs and most important, Flws, or Flowers.

Big Sis DIVA loves flowers these days. She examines them with a keen eye. Smells them and carries around her pretty flws. She loves them. So we picked a variety of flowers as we named off what color they were and a few leaves and brought them home. I decided to take these fabulous find and freeze them in water in a muffin tin. So day 2, before the heat set in outside, found us in the backyard exploring "Cupcake" flowers.

Quite enjoyable. Cool. Easy and educational.

Colored noodles

2011-07-23T13:16:00.004-05:00

Every morning before the heat sets in and we have to lock our doors, pull our shades and watch Toy Story for the zillionth time, Big Sis DIVA and Princess Pork Chop get to do a little fun activity outside. This week we had some fun with noodles.

Colored Noodles

I took a package of Ramen Noodles (CHEAP) and cooked them. Then drained them. Added a bit of grapeseed oil and food coloring and stirred them up. I then set them in the fridge overnight. In the morning I pulled the noodles out of the fridge and we headed outside to play. We used utensils from our outdoor kitchen to give it a look. Big Sis DIVA does not like to get her hands dirty, despite all my attempts to get her to, so I settled for tongs and spoon play. Now, Princess Pork Chop has no problem getting dirty and playing with colored spaghetti.

We had a really fun time and discussed colors and bugs and worms and cooking and pretty much every single thought a toddler could come up with.

Big Sis DIVA loved the colored noodles but did not like it when Princess Pork Chop climbed in the bowl. She told me, "not right momma, sisa doesn't go in the bowl." Gotta love my everything has to be in perfect order 2 year old!

Tin can windchime

2011-07-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

I love color. I love whimsy. I love things that are a little bit funky. And I LOVE doing activities with my kids. So when I happened upon this lovely little idea, I knew Big Sis DIVA and I had to get to crafting.

Tin Can Wind Chime.

Awesome!

I saved up some veggie cans and tuna fish cans. Cleaned them, sent them through the dishwasher and laid them out to dry. I am a bit of a worrier, so I took black electrical tape and covered the "open" edge of all the cans.

Then I set up the workspace and surprised Big Sis DIVA. We used spray paint for our project.

I allowed her to watch me paint the cans while she played on her swing set. I didn't want her to breathe in the fumes.

After the cans dried, Big Sis DIVA helped me use the hammer to poke holes in the cans (you know this was a riot, right?) and thread wire to hang our cans. Simple. fun. Exciting.

We now have a lovely little colorful funky piece of whimsy hanging on the swing set, a fine choice by Big Sis DIVA, that blows in the wind and makes beautiful sounds. Oh! Wait! We have no wind. It is a summer in Houston! Perhaps in the fall the whimsical tunes will accompany the whimsical appearance of our fun little craft!

The definition of friendship.

2011-07-20T23:28:00.004-05:00

When we are tots, friendship is defined by who has the best dessert and is willing to share during lunch. We all know this is a big deal when we are 5! As we grow up, we begin to look a little deeper and our friendships are defined by who gets their drivers license first and who can use the car most often. And then we grow a little more and friendships become defined as who can pass off the fake id and score beer for the next party.

Time continues on and so do friendships. We find ourselves married and friendships begin to take on new definitions yet again. We look more for those cool couples we can hang out with and enjoy a young party style lifestyle and yet be "mature" as we purchase adult things like houses. At first it is young couples who have no children. Then as the womb begins to speak out, we define our friendships by those young couples who have young kids. We surround ourselves with these friends to gain perspective and guidance. We fake our way through kid parties with these friends, definition being friends with cute babies we can spoil.

And then it happens. We ourselves have kids and thus a new definition of friendship is formed.

This is where I am in the great journey of life. My friendships are defined by the simple notion of if I make the guest list to my kids play date friend's birthday parties. It might sound silly or irrational, but it is the truth. At this point in life, your social circle seems to surround your children. It is only natural. Its what happens. We really come full circle on the definition of friendship. Perhaps more dessert sharing should go on in adulthood.

Looking forward to the next stage and definition of friendship as Big Sis DIVA starts preschool in the fall. Any tips?

Midsummer catchup

2011-07-20T20:55:00.003-05:00

Are you enjoying your Summer?

We are, here in the Pink Haired House of Chaos. We totally enjoy the sunny 100 plus temperature days that keep us indoors longing for a day of rain, so we can then go outside and play. But that aside, we are having a great summer here. Hence the reason my posts have been so infrequent. Oh and the fact that I have a new baby. Ha!

We have been running around town introducing Princess Pork Chop to the play date circuit. And Big Sis DIVA has been honing in her crafting skills and learning how to make masterpieces. I have snapped all sorts of pictures and hope to share these fun activities with you in the coming days. If for nothing else than to show off my beautiful kids and their beautiful smiles as we live day by day!

Thanks for popping in and stay tuned!!

Princess Pork Chop

2011-07-06T10:25:00.001-05:00

Critter2 has earned herself an official nickname in our home. She is now affectionately known to those who love her dearly as Princess Pork Chop. Someday, I am pretty sure she will hate me for allowing this name to come about, but I can not help it. It is cute. It fits her and I like it.

And lets not mention she is a bit "porky". We went for the 2 month checkup. you know the yucky one with the first round of shots. BOOOOOO! But aside from those horrible few moments we discovered that Princess Pork Chop has doubled her birth weight in 2 short months, weighing in at 10.2 pounds. She is now 4 inches longer/taller whatever we call it at this point. She is developmentally and physically soaring and showing no signs of trouble from her early birth.

She is amazing cute with her fluffy little legs and chunky little cheeks. I could sit and smooch her all day. She has started to coo and this is really cute. Big Sis DIVA was not a coo'er, so I find this development thrilling. Princess Pork Chop has also stolen my heart as she has started smiling real smiles, in response to my voice and face. Ahhhh. Melts a momma's heart I tell ya.

Big Sis DIVA is still enjoying her baby sister and so far no attempts to throw her out in the trash have been uncovered! So we will continue on with these two cute babes and live and love life!

We had a Date Night!

2011-07-05T21:43:00.009-05:00

View of Kemah from the Cruise

I have 2 kids. It takes me 4 hours to get out the door, just to drive a letter to the mailbox and back. I forget when the last time I showered was. With all this going on you can imagine that finding time for a date night gets dropped to the bottom of the list and long forgotten. Well, not anymore!

Princess Pork chop, living it up

H4L and I broke down and had a semi date night. By semi, I mean we sent Big Sis DIVA off to grandma's and we loaded up Princess Pork Chop (whom we knew in womb as Critter2), and headed down to Kemah to embark on a fabulous Murder Mystery dinner Cruise. You see, it might have been 4 years ago that we had an actual date night, and it is possible it may be another 4 years before wee have another one, so we felt we should do it big and RIGHT since we had a chance.

Handsome H4L striking blog poses for me! :)

We were honored to participate in the murder mystery dinner plot among the most accommodating and lovely cruise boat provided by Star Fleet Yachts. From the moment we arrived we found nothing but an adoring staff, enter the beautiful Princess Pork Chop, who provided us with anything and everything we needed to fill our bellies and quench our thirst as well as guide us through the experience with great ease.

Once aboard we were shown our assigned table and greeted our fellow shipmates. We sat down and the entertainment began. I enjoyed the way the cast and crew casually integrated the murder mystery plot into our dinner, enabling a smooth transition for both. AND H4L was even part of the show playing a mobster! Ain't he a doll???

H4L acting all mobster, he is on the left!

Our fellow shipmates were a riot and we had a blast laughing and working our way through the murder mystery show. We dined on some absolutely delicious dinner and watched the sun set in the distance over the water. Princess Pork Chop fit right in to the fun family centered dinner cruise and yet we also felt like grownups and enjoyed our "Date night".

Clearly, this momma needed a DATE NIGHT!

If you are looking for a fun evening out, with your hubbs, or kids if need be :), I would highly recommend looking in to the Star Fleet Yachts dinner cruises. The fabulous Murder Mystery dinner cruise H4L and I attended is not the only offering. Star Fleet has a wide variety of cruise options to fit any appetite. Everything from Murder mystery to Firework spectacular, your dinner cruise wish can be granted. It really is a wonderful night out. We had a grand time and we look forward to going back again, alone and with both girls!

**Star Fleet Yachts provided me with the opportunity to cruise their line at no charge. My experience and my thoughts are that of my own and honest and not persuaded by the company.**

H4L got a new gig

2011-06-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

Things have been a changing in the Pink Haired House of Chaos recently. I think all my readers are well aware that we have added extra chaos to the home with the much anticipated arrival of Critter2! YAY. And we are now down a gallbladder. Hooray. I have never been so glad to have an organ yanked from my body, not that I do this kind of thing often. I am down 16 pounds since Critter2 arrived, which is amazing considering I only gained 4 total throughout the pregnancy.

A super big change came in early May, but I couldn't share the news publicly. But now I can! H4L has changed careers. He took a leap and landed himself in a super fun and exciting career with trains. Yep folks, Pink Haired Momma is now the hot wife of a train conductor! Well, a train conductor in training.

H4L, poor dude, has to under go 6 grueling months of rigorous training. He studies constantly when he is home and has the most odd ball working hours. But the money is amazing and the benefits are even better, so it is all worth it. And I personally just find it super awesome to be a conductors wife. Makes H4L just that much more sexy! LOL He is 1 month in and showing great promise as a super star student of the conductor "School".

So from here on out I am sure I will be entertaining you with great stories from the life of a Pink Haired train conductors wife!

Blueberry picking 2011

2011-06-15T12:30:00.001-05:00

We visited the Chmielewski Blueberry farm this last weekend. A local organic farm that allows you to pick your own. This is our second year going and I have every intention of continuing to visit each year, if not another couple of times this year. I love fresh blueberries. I will not lie though, this year the pickins are a little less impressive than last year. However, we are in the middle of a massive drought and sporting 100 plus temps daily, so I am not surprised. And although the berries may be slightly smaller this year they are not lacking in taste by any means. Absolutely delicious. Oh and after a morning of picking, I had one toddler who crashed out for a 4 hour nap! SCORE 10 extra points for the Chmielewski blueberry farm!

The Berry fields

"Pop" and I loaded up on fresh berries

Grandma taught me how to pick them berries

La La La, picking berries, picking berries

I can reach!

Got one 1 mom, YUUUUM!

And Critter2, of course, snuggled in her Moby, enjoyed picking blueberries!

Facebook accountability

2011-06-11T18:49:00.007-05:00

I hear a lot of moms talk about how Facebook is incredibly addictive and has ruined their parenting skills, one status update at a time. How they need to take a break and "unplug" for weeks at a time to decompress from the tight grip of a social media hold. I understand what they are saying to an extent but I do not fully agree with them. Yes, facebook is addictive. Yes, we have grown as a society to rely upon social media in place of face to face contact. Yes all of this does have its downside. But that IS our way of life now. This is how we communicate as a society. This is our world. And we don't have to just be glued to the computer or phones all day. There can be a happy medium. We can be status update obsessed and still lead productive and healthy lives with our children.

I personally have found facebook to aid in parenting. How, you might ask. Well, all of my friends and family are on facebook. From my childhood friend that I have known since I was a mere few months old to my grandmother to my old boss. Everyone that has crossed my life path is somehow or someway active in social media. My main source of contact to those I know is via the internet and social media outlets. It makes life easy to be able to communicate this way. And not only easy, it can be instant and up to the minute for those googly family eyes who want to see the youngest generation of our family in active bloom.

I utilize facebook to communicate to those I love across the world about my life and the life of my children. I upload pictures, talk about the happenings of potty training and other absurd things that occur during the day. I rattle off status updates about craft projects or dinner plans or ideas I have for myself and my family. I tell tales of the latest spot to hit with my mommy group or the few and far between Hot date night spots I hit with my husband. My status updates are basically a quick outline of my life and how it is playing out at any given moment.

In return my friends and family on facebook hold me accountable to the things I post. If I state that Big Sis DIVA will be marble painting this afternoon, someone WILL comment on my wall and ask how it went. If I spill the beans on what I plan to serve at dinner, someone will wander over to my husbands wall or mine and ask how dinner was. If I really like a new website or product or really despise the like, I share it with my friends and family via facebook. Instantly they too can know that those new cookies are disgusting but that ugly show feels fabulous while chasing toddler for 3 hours at the park of my tired sore momma feet.

In the same way that many parents go on and on about how facebook eats up all their time, how they sit around just playing on facebook and forgetting they have children, I can go on and on about how find it a useful tool for me. I find it keeps me in check. I use it to get myself out of bed and to make sure I do not drift off to couchland. If I status update something, I follow through, so that my family and friends around the globe can read and see in pictures the smiles on my kids face as I do all I can to be the best mom I can be. I make sure that if I state marble painting is on the agenda for my kids then by days end there are pictures of masterpieces made by Big Sis DIVA and a smile to accompany it hitting the facebook stream, in response to my earlier status updates, for those on my friends list to gawk at.

I enjoy sharing little tidbits throughout the day with folks and engaging in simple and fun conversations. Sometimes these conversations are the only adult contact I might have for the day and it is welcomed. I don't live on the computer or phone either. I simply update my status and check in throughout the day while my kids are occupied or when I find a quiet 30 seconds alone. And in that 30 seconds I am able to "Talk" to an adult, regroup as a mom and move on to the next engaging toddler filled fun that I promised my kids via a Facebook status. So, in that respect I love Facebook and its addictive properties.

Case of the missing Dinner plate 2

2011-06-11T17:22:00.004-05:00

****Well! It is quite obvious momma's with newborns should not be allowed to blog late at night all alone. It seems I managed to write a post and get it published, only to stumble around my keyboard and delete it moments later. Several comments were made to the disappearing post, so please forgive me. I have retrieved the deleted post and am I hoping round 2 works out better!***

My parents have enjoyed telling me many a stories about myself, over and over, about what wonderful behavior I displayed as a child, obviously it wasn't the greatest. A certain little tale hits home with me now as I parent my own children.

Apparently, I was playing with the knobs on the stove. I was twisting and turning them on and off and had been instructed, told, and disciplined many a time on this already, that it was a NO-NO. On this particular occasion, I have been told, that my dad told me quite stern, "I do not want your hands touching this stove again!". A few moments later my parents were once again interrupted by the obnoxious noise of me turning the knobs on the stove. However, as they braced to beat my butt they discovered little old toddler me turning the knobs with my ELBOWS, not my hands. I was following their instructions. My hands were not touching that stove!

Now as I have my own toddler, I encounter these moments...more so than I would like to admit to my parents. But it is moments like these that break the frustration of parenting and allow for a good ol' belly laugh and reminder of the innocence of our obnoxious children and a minute to pour that next glass of wine.

This week, Big Sis DIVA provoked one such moment. It was dinner time. I made some delicious homemade cookies for us to snack upon after we finished dinner. Big Sis DIVA spied these "cook cook's" as she calls them, and the rest is history. I informed Big Sis DIVA that after her dinner was "GONE" she could have a "Cook Cook". I had no idea she would take me literally.

She basically took her dinner plate and hid it. When i turned around and saw the plate missing from the table I inquired about the issue. Here is what went down: (it's about 1 1/2 minutes long FYI)

Due Date

2011-06-04T11:00:00.001-05:00

Today is Critter2's official due date. But, instead of me waddling about miserable with a giant belly and cankles, I am instead holding my sweet little baby girl who turns exactly 1 month old today. AND she is finally big enough to wear her special outfit we had made for her to wear home from the hospital!

And on a funny note, Big Sis DIVA has a matching dress, but has already grown out of it this last month. LOL

Playing cool

2011-06-02T11:31:00.002-05:00

It is barely June, and we are sweating like mad here in our part of the world. It is incredibly hot outside. So much so that park play anytime after, oh 8am, is pretty much out of the question. Especially with tiny Critter2 right now. So what is one to do with a 2.5 year old Big Sis DIVA during the many hours of indoor summer torture?

Frozen learning snack

For me, momma?

Learning that hot water melts ice

Cold momma! But FUN!

Ice games! This morning Big Sis DIVA and I had a grand time during Critter2's nap. We learned that ice is COLD. And that it melts into "wa-wa" and that sometimes yummy fruit is hidden inside. We touched the ice, tasted the ice, smelled the ice, listened to the ice melting when warm water was poured on it and looked at it. All 5 senses were invoked in this little snack time play. Yes, I made snack time into playtime and learning time. A cool little experiment with Big SIS DIVA, that although was not physically stimulating, was incredibly mentally stimulating.

And then we enjoyed snack! FUN!

Backyard Picasso with potatoes

2011-05-31T11:36:00.005-05:00

Last week I shared with you our beginnings of our backyard oasis. We started in the artists corner by building ourselves fabulous little chalkboard for summer chalk play. We also built us two Easels to get out creative juices flowing through painting. We snuck outside, in the heat no less, to get some Picasso time in. Big Sis DIVA had a blast. And I discovered muffin tins make a great paint palette for toddlers.

I took a couple of potatoes and made "stamps". We had a triangle, circle, heart, and square (ummm those were chosen because I could sketch them in then tater easy HA!). We started inside learning about the cool shapes in the taters. Then, like magic, Big SIS DIVA discovered how to "Stamp" and away we went painting. Before long we moved on outside to the artists corner and complete out masterpiece.

Losing an organ

2011-05-29T09:25:00.001-05:00

I think you fabulous readers will recall my wonderful tale of a rotten gallbladder discovery. And if not, feel free to jump over HERE and read about my naked ambulance ride as this discovery came about. It is no secret that Critter2's pregnancy was horrible to my body. High blood pressure, migraines, barfing and GALLBLADDER attacks.

Ummmm Hello!!! Is it not enough that pregnant women barf their guts up, swell into giant bubbles of fat, and then go through horrendous 36 hours of labor (oh wait that is just me!). Nope, not enough. It seems that there is a trigger of sorts with the hormone surges of pregnancy that allow the gallbladder to kick into overdrive and start flailing about sending its pregnant host into severe pains. And the super cool factor in this is you are PREGNANT. The only cure is surgery to remove the nasty little organ, and that usually doesn't happen until post delivery. AWESOME. So pregnant momma's everywhere with this problem can then add severe abdominal/back pain that is nearly unbearable to the fun list of pregnancy ouchies. And if you are like me, and not wanting to add and "extra" chemicals to your unborn, you will suffer through for months with no pain meds. Dumb perhaps, but a personal choice. Dumb. But I did it. She better do great things in life! Kidding.

Now here we are 3 weeks post my delivery of Critter2. I have been trying to hit 6 weeks post, so that my body has time to heal from birth and then I can attack it again with surgery, but it is not going to happen. Last weekend I had an 8 1/2 hour gallbladder attack. Followed by another attack when I was ALONE and driving with my 2 daughters the following day. And several more this week. There attacks are coming with heightened frequency and pain levels. I have reached my breaking point. I can not make it through the pain anymore. It IS unbearable.

So, I chatted up the docs and we have my surgery on the calendar 3 weeks early. THIS WEDNESDAY! Hooray! I can not wait. I am so looking forward to ripping this nasty little organ out of my body and living pain free again while eating yummy fatty fat foods (on occasion of course).

I was concerned about having surgery and breastfeeding. Will Critter2 be okay not have boob for a while? Will she continue to nurse? Will she be effected by the anesthesia or post surgery pain meds? All of this has been weighing on my mind. But in all reality I can not survive the pain anymore so if Critter2 refuses the boob post surgery then so be it. I have to do this to be a healthy mom for her.

But, that being said, I did some research and asked some Dr folk about the issues I have. The surgery is short and sweet only an hour or so and is outpatient. I can nurse Critter2 right up until I get ready to go under. Some people say I can nurse in recovery. I'm not really down with that, momma needs to enjoy the free drug ride for a good 10 or 20. :) But I definitely will be able to nurse later in the day. The anesthesia will be adjusted because I am a breast feeding momma and the post surgery meds will also be adjusted to work with breastfeeding. I also am consulting with my pediatrician to verify all this information. AND I am pumping like a fool to have a nice supply of "grub" for Critter2 while I am out of commission.

So there it is. I am getting the gallbladder out and should be able to continue boob juicing my tiny tot without any complications. Hot Diggity Dog!! Literally, soon I may be able to eat a yummy hot dog!

Wonderwild

2011-05-28T10:58:00.012-05:00

Last week, Grandma treated us to a little fun. Big Sis DIVA had the opportunity to check out a local indoor play scape, Wonderwild . It was fabulous. An air condioned indoor safe zone, incredibly important here in the Texas heat, that tots can roam free and play, play, play, all while momma can keep eyes glued on them while sitting calmly and feeding a baby and gossiping with grandma. FABULOUS!

Wonderwild has something for every tot. A safe crawling area for non walkers filled with toys and books and puppets and balls and you name it, it is here. Enclosed so crawlers do no escape into the paths of the crazed tots racing from inflatable slides, climbing structures, kid powered trains, and giant jumping pillows. Wonderwild offers an assortment of intriguing classes that range from art to a variety of movement centered learning. Theme parties are also put on by this fabulous play scape, such as tea parties and Darth Vader events. Between the incredible space, design and toy structures as well as the inviting staff and clean facility, I would have to say this place is a definite permanent fixture on our play date rotation, especially throughout the summer heat.

Big Sis DIVA ran like crazy and made some new friends. One thing that I really liked about Wonderwild, that I usually do not find at these indoor play areas, is that they do allow you to bring your own food in. There is a section set up with high chairs and tables so you may dine on your own snacks. This is great for many reasons! Mostly, so that parents may control the food their kids eat, but also helps with budgeting, as many of us are so keen on these days. Also on the baby dining front, there are plenty of areas to discreetly feed your little tot as well as comfy chairs nestled in the restroom in a lovely sitting area to feed if you are a little more shy. Major points with this boob feeding momma!

We had a great time at Wonderwild and really look forward to going back to Wonderwild real soon! Perhaps we might even have a party or two there in the future!

Summer Playing

2011-05-26T09:12:00.002-05:00

Summer is here. And I have a newborn. Big Sis DIVA is accustomed to having a packed social calendar and hitting up the hottest play date hangout in town with her M.O.S.T. friends. However, we might have to tone it down a bit for the next few weeks, to her dismay.

In order to keep her reputation in good standing (Ha!), we have started designing a kick tush backyard for play date happenings. This week we worked on the artists zone. Simple cans of spray paint helped us transform simple pieces of plywood into a tot artists mecca. Hot Pink and purple "easels" to hang canvas to paint and color upon. As well as a chalkboard that doubles as a easel now shine in the side area of our yard.

We look forward to adding more and more spectacular elements to the backyard over the coming weeks, as well as host super fly play dates for Big Sis DIVA to hang with her friends.

Sisters

2011-05-25T08:52:00.004-05:00

Meeting sister in the hospital!!!

Helping momma supplement!
And being super mad that she cant "hold hold" all by herself.
Having a sister is the best!

It happens.

2011-05-24T22:48:00.006-05:00

PPD.

Many people out there may have no idea what those 3 little letters stand for. But, I am betting pretty much every mother out there immediately identifies those 3 little letters. PPD=Post Partum Depression. 3 little letters. 1 Big problem.

I, never in a million years thought that I, a Pink Haired happy go lucky, always see the positive spin on everything person would ever be attacked by a depressive wave of emotions. And without warning, really. But, I have. I have not "Crossed over" to the scary depressive side by any means, but I am battling with the hormonal disturbances in my normal world that bring me to tears because my apple pie is slightly lopsided. Or because Critter2 doesn't nurse well during one of her feedings, the PPD immediately steps up quicker than reality and sends me automatically into feelings of failure and sobs. Knowing in reality that Critter2 is probably just not hungry or that my pie tipped over on the plate and tastes just fine. It makes no difference the cause, the outcome is always the same. "I am a loser, a failure...sobs ensue." Then I feel stupid and wipe my tears and move on.

Awesome. It is bizarre because I know better. I know that I am a great mother. I know I worship the air my children breathe and do everything humanely possible to give them both a life more grand than my wildest dreams can concoct. And yet still I succumb to the wrath of the birthing hormones and cry, feel "blue" and find it a battle each day to brush my teeth (just kidding, I always brush no matter how many sobs it takes). The division within my soul, of the reality versus irrationality of the hormone surges is a battle that is indescribable. Knowing the rational way to behave and doing so, but feeling the irrational pangs of sadness is unreal. Especially when looking at the most beautiful face of your 3 week old daughter and holding the hands and singing with my adorable 2.5 year old daughter. I find myself in wonderment as to how I can be sobbing when I have been blessed with such perfection, twice.

But it happens. It is real. It is not some crazy fake brush off new moms have devised to run off friends, family and unsuspecting husbands. I will admit, before being a mother, before experiencing it I half heatedly thought that it was made up. I loudly admit to everyone that I was WRONG. It is a real life emotional roller coaster that sneaks in post birth and taps you on the shoulder, making you jump unsuspectingly.

I share this with you today because I want it to be known that it does happen. It happens to even the happiest moms, the most stable moms, the most put together moms. It has no boundaries, it effects all people. And since I know this is going on with me, I reach out to my friends and family and let them know what I am feeling. And although they may think I am nutty, they hold out their hands in support and help me through. That is what friends and family do. I only hope other mothers that feel the effects of PPD can reach out and ask for help if need be.

2 weeks later

2011-05-14T17:03:00.009-05:00

Hey guess what?

I HAD A BABY!!!!!!

36 hours of labor later, She arrived!! I never looked better! hahahaha

Excited Big Sis Diva!

That's right. Critter2 made her long awaited BIG Debut. A little early, but she is strong and kickin'.

And guess what else? she is TWO WEEKS OLD TODAY!!

Yep, we have been busy adjusting to the way of life with two tots in the household. It is pretty wild! Fun and wonderful but takes some adjusting! So please bear with me over the coming weeks as my posts might be sparse. I have many, many wonderful things to say, but when I snag a moment alone, honestly I go pee alone or take a cat nap. You know, life in the motherhood!

I will tell you that Critter2 has a real name. I will say it once here on the blog just because it is beautiful but then please help me by keeping her nickname Critter2 rockin in the interwebs. She has entered the world with the fabulous name:

She is so tiny! We hope she grows into her hat by college graduation!

One proud daddy: after 36 hours of labor!!

Weighing in at 5 pounds 1 ounce and 18 inches long at her birth on May 4 at 120am. And at her 2 week appointment yesterday she is growing and weighed in at 5 pounds 8 ounces and 19 inches long. Grow baby Grow!

Shutterfly

2011-05-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

One week from today is Mother's Day. A single day out of the year that is dedicated to all of us women who dare to wear the badge of Motherhood, distinguishing us from those who have yet to experience the Ring of Fire. A day that celebrates us a women and all the work that is put into providing our children with everything they need to grow into amazing individuals. Or just the simple satisfaction of knowing we didn't strangle our offspring today. Whatever it is you feel, Mother's day is a wonderful day to experience both as the child and as the mother.

Shutterfly is one of my favorite photo gift sites. I have used Shutterfly numerous times over the last 2.5 years of my journey into motherhood. I have had the privilege of providing Personalized Photo books and Personalized gifts for MOM to my own mother, all bearing the most adorable pictures of Baby DIVA...her only grandchild. (well for at least another week or so :)) I have never been disappointed with the caliber of work shutterfly does and the product has always arrived in perfect condition and is a true treasure and a gem for the recipient.

This year, as Mother's Day rapidly approaches, I have several other reasons to hit up shutterfly. First, I am in the process of picking wonderful Thank you Cards with the perfect look, for Critter2 to send out to all those welcoming her into the world with precious gifts. H4L and I are also particularly interested in Critter2's birth announcements. These little beauties will be revealing the name of Critter2 to many of our friends and family. We know we can count on shutterfly to provide us with the perfect quality in this product that will meet our high expectations.

Now you can imagine my excitement when I discovered that Shutterfly would offer me 50 free photo cards just to share this information with my readers. I was tickled pink. I already love this company so much and now I get to receive an awesome product for just reminding my readers how much I like this company. What can be better than that? And on top of that, Are you a blogger? If so, Click HERE for your own opportunity to enjoy the benefits of Shutterfly! You will not be disappointed.

Road Kill Easter chicks and other ugly toddler crafts

2011-04-19T14:38:00.001-05:00

Critter2 and I spent another couple of nights in the hospital, but we are now home safe and sound and enjoying bed rest together with Baby DIVA. I still am working on fun and exciting crafts and activities we can do together, Momma and Baby DIVA, while butt sitting. This week I kind of blew off the letter theme for our projects and just went with the Easter theme.

Now let me preface these activities with a little learned fact. With an older child these could be performed just fine in bed while momma is bed rested. With a spunky 2 year old, well, take that 10 minutes of freedom you get from bed rest, blow off your daily shower and sit at a table to craft with your tot.

First up, Tissue Paper Eggs. Grandma was over visiting us and helping me keep control of one spunky Baby DIVA. This added some extra fun to this craft. I simply blew up a balloon, handed Baby DIVA a bowl of glue and a paintbrush and let her paint the balloon. Then I let her dig into a basket full of colored tissue paper I had torn up earlier in the morning while butt sitting. She covered the balloon with glue and then slapped on the colored tissue paper. Well, sort of. She really could care less. She thought this was awesome for about 3 minutes and then was ready to move on. I found the original idea Here, at the Imagination Tree, and have high hopes to attempt this project again next year.

Loving the glue

And interest beginning to fade

Grandma and Baby DIVA Crafting

Baby DIVA's creation, post loss of interest

Here is Grandma's masterpiece. She took her eggs and cut them in half. Then she made eggs, chicks and bunnies, out of glue and bread. Super cute! I was napping while she created so I am not sure how she did it, But Baby DIVA loves it!

Then we worked on another great project which H4L has named "Road Kill Easter chicks". I found this idea on a blog and then forgot what blog I found it on. So, if this was your idea let me know so I can give you credit. I worked the idea from memory too, so it might be a little off the original posters plan.

I took 3 paper plates. Traced Baby DIVA's hand prints two of them and cut them out. These will serve as the "wings". While I was cutting her prints out, Baby DIVA dug into the yellow paint and began to decorate the Chick body or the third paper plate. Then I gave her the wings and let her paint these too. After her masterpiece was "yellowed" up, we glued the wings in place and then covered the body of the chick with yellow feathers. And Voila...Road Kill Easter Chick.

Painting Yellow Chicks

Road kill Easter Chick

These were fun and simple Easter Crafts that gave Baby DIVA some fun without stressing out my butt sitting bed rested body. Now, she is two, we are not seasoned artists, but we had fun and these activities will both be on our list again next year, while not bed rested!

Got Camel toe?

2011-04-18T18:17:00.002-05:00

I love laughing. I love funky little products that help keep life simple and fun. But this little product takes the cake. This video explains to us, the consumers, how we can rid ourselves of Camel Toe forever!! Really?!? It is hysterical. Have a looky loo and let me know what you think. Oh and if you find yourself in desperate need of this fabulous Cuchini, you can order one Here.

Happy Hump Day!

High Traffic leads to high pre-term birth rate?

2011-04-13T10:01:00.002-05:00

Of course as I sit here terrified of impending pre term birth of Critter2 what do I do? Not look at cute happy youtube videos or read my e-books. Nope. I surf the web for all kinds of scary stories of preterm birth. MOMS. We are masochists I tell you! Crazed people who always have to know the worse possible outcome...but only so we can be supermoms and be super prepared, right? I happened across this article about a connection between high traffic roads and preterm birth and thought it interesting. Personally, I do not think that traffic levels play a factor, all by itself. But I do think that people living in higher population volume areas could be at risk for a variety of factors. Pollution, stress and exposure to illness to name a few. However, this study, although interesting does not make me think that the freeway 4 miles from me is going to make my babies come any sooner than they should. In fact it may slow them down given the crazy traffic here in the Houston area. KIDDING!! What do you think?

Bed Rest tot crafting: Letter P

2011-04-12T15:11:00.001-05:00

Reading books. Watching TV. Singing nursery rhymes. Learning letters. Sure these are all fun things to do with your tot. But if you know me, I always have to be up to something "Different" and exciting when it comes to entertaining kiddos. Being on bed rest has definitely put a damper in my idea of ways to have fun with Baby DIVA. Have no fear; Baby DIVA and I have figured out to have some fun and we are here to tell what works while "butt sitting" and what doesn't.

First off, on bed rest, you are going to need someone to gather your supplies for you. Luckily since you have nothing better to do, you will have plenty of time to map out a very detailed list of what you will need and how you are going to use it. Pick you project, jot down what you will need and have your "bed rest slave" gather your items and store them near where you stash your booty all day. Don't feel guilty about it either, friends and family are there to help and this helps you keep your baby safe and your toddler happy!

I decided that each week, while we are doing "bed rest crafting" we will pick a letter and a color. Then every activity during the week will have something to do with that letter and/or that color. This week we chose the letter P and the color purple. I found a great website that enabled me to print out all kinds of coloring pages and craft templates that can easily be done butt sitting.

First up for us, Baby DIVA and I had a Picnic on a Purple blanket in our Pretty living room and crafted a Princess out of the letter P. Scary huh? Baby DIVA had a blast. I didn't have to get up. She learned something educational and had fun AND she couldn't even tell that momma was doing this via mandatory bed rest orders. Perfect in my mind!!

Princess P pieces PLUS

This gorgeous Baby DIVA smile PLUS

Some skilled tot crafting EQUALS

The PRETTIEST Princess P EVER!!!

So whats next? Well we have pigs, parrots, and and pajama parties to entertain us!

Critter2 Update

2011-04-12T14:06:00.013-05:00

Hello my friends.

32 weeks complete and we are working on the 33rd! Getting closer and closer! But still on strict bed rest. Boo! Lame. But hey, it is what is best for the beast of a babe cooking in my womb!

Yesterday we saw the Dr. My BP is staying in a safe range on the meds. I lost yet another pound, Butt sitting. SERIOUSLY??? If only I could do that when I'm not pregnant. I had another gallbladder attack this last weekend thanks to some oil that snuck into my food, but we survived just fine. Diet restrictions still in place. Fluid consumption still in place. And Critter2 has demonstrated her high maintenance ways by doing a lovely party trick. She has flipped head up, into a Breech position. I thought she was super active this weekend. And sure enough the Dr confirmed it yesterday that she is head up butt sitting down, just like her butt sitting momma. Coolness.

I have some websites and information packets on attempting to flip a babe in utero head done, naturally. But I have also been advised to do so while monitoring my pressures as the act of babe flipping in Pre Eclampsia patients cause cause a rise in blood pressure. Super cool! Any tips or tricks you might have to share are welcomed on this, I really appreciate ideas and input!

I'm still ordered to stay on bed rest for the duration. Only up to use the restroom, shower and eat. But I have been granted a pass to walk myself to the backyard and sit there. And even though we are already hitting summer like temps outside, it is lovely to be out there and watch my Baby DIVA play, breathe in the fresh air, and picture two baby girls playing in the grass in the very near future!

So that is where we stand...or rather butt sit. We head back in next Monday for another Biophysical ultrasound and checkup. Until then I am off to leave a permanent imprint of my butt in the couch. I leave you with the adorable mug shot of Critter2!!!

We are home, bedrested, but home!

2011-04-06T13:39:00.006-05:00

After a little over a week in the hospital, I have finally found my way home. YAY! Baby DIVA is a little perturbed at this situation. While sitting in momma's lap she wants to know why we can not still video chat momma. Hmmmm....

I have pre-eclampsia and I am on strict home bed rest. I am still on blood pressure medication to keep the pressures down, but they are holding. I am on a strict diet and have to rest rest rest. Before leaving the hospital we had numerous ultrasounds and found that my amniotic fluid levels were low. Nothing that a huge load of iv fluids couldn't correct, but this will need to be monitored.

On a super exciting positive note, the ultrasounds also showed Critter2 to be pushing 4.5 pounds. She is a BEAST! And thanks to the steroid shots last week, her little lungs are "breathing" in womb juice. We watched her do tons of breathing exercises in utero and swallow and play and just her general perfectness. In the event of an early delivery, she is looking fabulous!

A problem that I have run into is how to have fun with Baby DIVA while sitting booty on the couch or in bed. I have someone here with me because I am not allowed to lift Baby DIVA or chase her around, and that helps. But in all reality I still want to interact and have fun with my own kid. So, I put my thinking cap on and have gone through our never ending pile of fun activities and will testing them out with Baby DIVA from here on out. As I can, I will be posting what works well and what doesn't. So any other bed rest momma's out there can still smile and enjoy the time with their own kids despite the suckiness of bed rest!

Laugh your way through labor??

2011-04-01T17:05:00.000-05:00

So many of my friends these days have decided to go the "natural" way in childbirth. Not meaning just birthing without a c-section or induction, no, they are all for going completely drug free, enduring the pain, experiencing the "ring of fire" and bringing children into the world "old style" if you will.

I am not that kind of girl. Sorry. I do not like pain. But I do want to make sure my child is safe as well as that I am safe. All medical procedures and drugs do have some potential side effects and all that is to be considered and the outcomes weighed against pros and cons. I personally have chosen to go the route of the epidural, and I am happy to have it take its place as soon as my Dr will allow it. The earlier the better, makes me smile.

But the other day I came across this article offering up another option for childbirth. An option that was dropped from circulation many years ago but seems to be making a bit of a comeback. This is an option open to women who may not want "drugs" but need a little something to help take the edge off when the contractions and pain become so intense they think they are going to rip in half, but also wears off quickly enough they can go on and bust through the "ring of fire" just as they intended and enjoy a non drug induced first few moments with their new baby.

This option is laughing gas. Yep. It appears that Nitrous Oxide is making a comeback into the delivery room. Instead of screeching in pure pain, moms can now giggle their way through the horrendous pain and then moments later be snuggled down with a new life, the precious baby they have been waiting for. I personally would still like my epidural, but think this is kind of nice option for those moms who don't want full medications throughout childbirth, but need a little something to help them through. What do you think? would you utilize laughing gas? Are you against it? Why or why not?

Emotions of Bedrest

2011-03-31T13:17:00.008-05:00

Bed rest.

Not words that a mother of a toddler wants to hear, ever, unless it is said mother telling toddler to go to BED and REST. The idea of sitting still and caring for a child in order to protect an unborn babe is just horrific. How can a mom explain to a 2 year old that mommy can not play right now, or hold you, or lift you, because of your baby sister? Toddlers do not get it. Shoot, mommies don't get it.

And then you wake up one day and find not only are you on bed rest, but you are on hospital bed rest, away from your toddler, only able to see her via the Internet technology of video chat. And although fabulous that we have this technology, still heart wrenching. And Momma is again forced to try and explain to a toddler that I can't hold you, hug you, kiss you right now because of the "phantom" baby sister whom you don't have the ability to comprehend right now needs momma to be still. Heart wrenching.

The flood of emotions has been unreal for me this week. I think I have just abut hit every emotion there is. Guilt, happiness, sadness, fear, shear terror, relief, anger, excitement, you name it, I have had it. And all at the same time too. Cool feelings, I tell you. I found myself sick with guilt because my darling Baby DIVA has to be without her momma for a while. And at the same moment I house this guilt inside me, I also house this relief that I am doing everything "mommypossible" to protect Critter2. Seriously, its bizarre to house both relief and guilt in the same instance. I hate to be apart from Baby DIVA, but knowing she is safe at home with her Grandma's and H4L also enables me to relax and provide a safe place for Critter2. And then more guilt sets in when I feel this relief because I also feel like I am taking away from my Baby DIVA.

And then there is the sadness because I have to be away from home. Away from my husband. I miss laying beside him and sleeping each night. Well, sort of. Pregnancy insomnia more or less has been hanging out for a while and I really just lay there and listen to him breathe all night, but nonetheless, here in the hospital all I hear is the beep beep of fetal monitors throughout the floor. I am saddened that I cant be home with him to share in the final weeks of this pregnancy with our daughter.

Fear. This is another big one that is running wild this week. I have several levels of fear. First, I fear for the safety of Critter2. We are still very early at 30 weeks 5 days, and if she has to be born now, NICU is a must. She will be tiny. Complications may present. And it is all out of my control. All I can do is give her my love and strength and stand by her side and will her to be strong and grow. And of course hope that Critter2 stays put and grows as long as possible her her womb cooker, eliminating these fears for all of us who love and care for her.

But my fear is not only aimed at the safety of Critter2's well being. I also fear for Baby DIVA and the repercussions of having momma gone for weeks in the hospital bed rested. Or having a baby sister born early that is in NICU. I am fearful about how I will be able to provide Baby DIVA with all the love and devotion she needs while I also provide Critter2 with the love and devotion she needs. Will Baby DIVA understand? Am I capable of being the best mom possible to her, even when I am terrified for the life of Critter2? I am fearful that I might fail my precious Baby DIVA and Critter2. I only want the best for both my girls in every aspect of their life. Can I do this?

And let us not forget my wonderful H4L. I worry about him too. How difficult it must be to be a dad. Especially when you are scared for your child and your wife, and still try and be strong for both when you really just want to sit down and weep. I count myself incredibly lucky that I have such a loving husband that he is a rock for me all the while he is going through the exact same fears and as me. I really couldn't be luckier!

And despite all these negative emotions I also find myself excited and joyful. My family is growing. Baby DIVA is going to be a big sister. I am going to be a mother to my second daughter. H4L is going to be the father to his second daughter. We are bringing a miracle into the world and it is such a blessing. Our family is thriving despite these complications in the getting there. I dream of future days and see H4L, Baby DIVA, myself and Critter2 laughing and smiling and goofing off and I feel surges of happiness and love. It overwhelms the fear and brings a smile to my face. Above all else this emotion supersedes them all. no matter what I am feeling, sad, angry, scared, I am incredibly excited and in love with both my children and my husband...and now have plenty of time to think about it.

A Big HELLO from hospital bedrest!!

2011-03-28T21:52:00.005-05:00

Well I have gone and done it. DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA! I should really change my name. Yesterday I had another "attack", as you recall my Naked Ambulance shenanigans from last week. Well, I stayed home and H4L distracted Baby DIVA so that I could scream through the pain. 2 hours later the episode wrapped up and I came back to reality. And yes, I did get naked again. I don't know what my problem is...but at least this time it was in the privacy of my own bedroom!

So this morning (Monday) I headed in to my OB appt with Dr. K. I told him about my wild ride last week and about yesterdays attack. He wanted me to consult with a super surgeon about this gallbladder issue. Then we discovered some protein in my urine and a blood pressure of 160/108 "ish". No more talking. I was being admitted to the hospital. Pre-Eclampsia the diagnosis.

I got to L & D and immediately got a room. Many tests commenced. The surgeon showed up to consult about my gallbladder. I was put on NPO "in case" which I was not impressed with. A u/s of the gallbladder was ordered...again. The neurology team came to consult, only because of my prior autoimmune issues. Labs were drawn, questions were asked. theoretical were tossed around. But my dr assured me as of right now, Critter2 and myself were safe and in not significant danger.

My bp staying elevated and the discovery of stones led the dr to inform me that Critter2 will be coming early. I was given the first of 2 steroid shots to help mature her lungs. NICU came to consult to tell me what to expect if she is born this week, next week and up to 34 weeks (the gestational age Baby DIVA was born at). I cried. I am scared. But Critter2 is measuring super big and is healthy and active, all positives for a possible preemie.

As the day progressed more test results came in and my liver enzymes were found to not be as they should, indicative or pre-eclampsia. Awesome. So I spent another long, long, long time only being allowed to eat clear foods waiting until another liver test. Not cool man! i survived on jello and vegetable broth today. Me! a HIPPO pregnant gal. Uncool. At this point I was told I most definitely will be here in the hospital until Critter2 is born. Whether that be tomorrow or in June. (and as always we ALL know how medical conditions work, this is all subject to change at any moment)

The results of my gallbladder ultrasound came back and this time (3rd times the charm) showed that hidden inside all that "sludge" was lots of little stones. Answer to the horrid pain! SCORE. The surgeon, although skilled in 3rd trimester gallbladder removal, would like to wait until post baby birth if we can. I am in total agreement with this. Right now it is uncomfortable, but is not causing problems for Critter2. Id like to keep it that way. Hopefully rest and diet can keep the attacks away and we can coast to delivery.

Baby DIVA came up to see me and bring me big hugs and kisses. I showed her my IV and told her momma has to stay here for a little while. She was all smiles and giggles. Later this evening before she went to bed, she called momma and I "tucked" her in. Then I cried. But she is with H4L and grandma and hopefully will have so much fun she won't even notice me gone!

And this is where we sit tonight. High BP. Critter2 bouncing around a healthy little gal. Bed rested and trapped in the hospital until further notice. But honestly, I will do just about anything to get Critter2 to a safe and healthy weight and delivery. So, although it breaks my heart to be away from Baby DIVA and my H4L, I will lay here, quiet, still and calm, and let this baby cook as long as we can!

Breast Feeding Dolls?

2011-03-28T09:15:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine shared a link to this article on facebook. After reading the article and then taking a surf around the website that makes this product, I find my self more and more appalled. Is this for real? A breast feeding doll?

Now, many of you know my thoughts on the boob feeding situation. I am all for it. I look forward to giving it a try with Critter2, but I am not a bad mom for allowing formula supplements in, or if Critter2 is not a boob gal switching altogether. I know the debate is long going that "breast is best", but in reality just providing your child with the proper nutrition is really what is best. Boob or bottle.

So back to this doll. I have no problem with an older sibling picking up a baby doll and mimicking mommy. And who cares if the older sibling is male or female, its a learning process for our tots. I, do however, think this doll is ridiculous on a number of levels.

The website boasts information about why this doll is a must have. One particular section frustrates me to no end. The section entitled "Why little girls NEED to learn to breastfeed." It leads with "little girls need to learn to breastfeed". No, they don't. They need to learn from young adulthood proper nutrition and the proper way to get it for themselves and to provide it for their child. However at 3 and 4 years old all I want my child to do is eat the peas off her plate and play pretend diaper changes with her doll, i expect no more and no less. She is a CHILD. Mimicking my behavior is one thing. Allowing a baby doll to suckle her 4 year old undeveloped woman areas is a little un-called for.

Allowing little girls to grow up their entire life with the knowledge that ONLY breast is best is horrific. What if the little girl grows up and her milk does not come in post birth? What if she is sick and can not breastfeed? What if, God forbid, her child is ill and breast milk, or bottle milk for that matter, is just not an option at the beginning?

I know from personal experience as well as watching my personal friends go through torture that not being able to breastfeed your child because of situations out of your control, with the constant demand of society to do so, it only leads to feelings of inadequacy. Instead of feeling glorious about this new life your are holding, loving and nurturing with the nutrients it needs to grow into a thriving adult via formula, a woman is then forced to sob and feel like a failure because she is unable to provide "breast is best" to her new baby. When really she is providing what is best to her child, nutrition is the best way possible! She is a fabulous mom, but not by society standards.

Instead of teaching our children that only one way is best, let us teach them the overall goal and show them various options to reach that goal. Let us allow them to use their minds and imaginations and pick up their own baby dolls and mimic mommy breast feeding or bottle feeding. Let them build these concepts on their own and learn and ask questions and investigate childhood through the eyes of a child. Then as their parent is is our duty to provide them with ALL the information they need to be better informed individuals as they grow into adults. Let us allow them to be children and not thrust more and more adult centered behaviors upon them, no matter how natural it may or may not be.

She loves Babies...for now

2011-03-25T08:51:00.001-05:00

There is no doubt that in less than 75 days Baby DIVA is going to be a BIG SISTER! Lately she has been very in tune with all things baby. She sees babies in the street and tells me "Bay-bay momma". She brings me her pull ups and wipes and wants to change her "bay bay's" dipey. She races up to me and kisses her baby sister without prompting. And recently she grabbed her newborn snapshot and tried to feed it her sippy cup. All of this tugs at my heartstrings and I think it is just adorable!

Feeding her "Bay Bay"

Changing her "Bay Bay"

A few days ago Baby DIVA enjoyed some playtime with her cousin for his 1st birthday. Now, let me remind you that my Baby DIVA is a jolly green giant and is super tall but she is also kind thin. Her cousin however is a beast. He actually weights more than her. But, she loves "bay bay's" and kept trying to hold him. After a few minutes she became very agitated and started to throw a big tantrum because she could figure out how to hold her "baby" cousin. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time.

Please let me hold you Baby cousin!!!!

Once Critter2 arrives I sure hope this love of babies trend continues, but I'm betting when she realizes that "bay bay" sister never leaves she will change her tune. What do you think?

Naked ambulance ride!!!

2011-03-24T21:22:00.004-05:00

Only me. These random weird things only happen to me. SERIOUSLY! Let me share with you my wonderful Thursday afternoon.

Baby DIVA is sporting a fever. We have had a small outbreak of Hand, foot and Mouth in our social circle, so one can assume the spike in fever from Baby DIVA yesterday of 103 plus could only be this lovely childhood illness plaguing us, right? We settled in to "ride" it out today at home. Inside, Motrin, fluids, backyardigans, fun filled day for us. I was feeling pretty good myself and although I don't like the circumstances, enjoyed the snuggle time with Baby DIVA.

I took the opportunity to "refresh the pink" aka bleach my roots and prepare to dye my hair, while Baby DIVA napped. Refreshing the pink is a 3 step process for me. Bleach roots. Dye the pink portion, dye the under hairs black. long process. So it is usually done over the period of a whole day. So step one concluded around 1230 during nap. Baby DIVA awoke promptly at 1pm and we had lunch, followed by snuggles. Bleach roots air drying, just FYI.

A little after 130ish I felt the gallbladder pain I have come to know all to well beginning to sneak up on me. I thought to myself "Oh poo" the next 30 minutes are gonna suck. I hate this pain. Well, boy was that an understatement. The pain came on with the quickness. I went from nothing to pain so severe I couldn't breathe. I tried walking, laying down, drinking water, contorting myself into awkward positions, sitting, everything, nothing was working. I think it was anywhere from 15-30 minutes before I decided that nothing could be done to stop this pain. The pain just increased and air became harder and harder to grasp no matter what I did.

Baby DIVA quickly realized that something was going on too. She begin to follow my pacing moves asking "o tay momma, o tay"? She would hug me and kiss me and pat me and was right by my side. This broke my heart. I did everything I could to stay calm and tried to tell her through garbled breaths that Momma was okay. Really, I was scared shitless. I began to get really hot. My face flushed. Air was hard to grab. The pain grew in intensity and I felt that I might blackout any moment. Fear for my child overwhelmed me. What is going to happen if I pass out. My 2 year old can not be left alone. She cant see me like this. Panic.

I went down the list of close friends and family. No one really to contact. Shit! I called my mom and tried to tell her what was wrong. She was headed my way before we hung up, however she is a good half hour drive at least. I tried to wait. The pain grew. Baby DIVA questioned me more, "o tay momma, momma o tay"?. All the while caressing me, showing me her sweet side, not her 2 year old monster side.

Out of shear fear I finally just made the adult decision and dialed 911. It was difficult to talk, but I managed to tell them who I was, where I was, and that I was alone with my 2 year old. Moments later help arrived. The pain grew more and more to such an intensity, death seemed to be the only thing that could stop the pain. The paramedics loaded me up, grabbed Baby DIVA and some toys and we were out there door.

I guess at this point I realized my daughter was safe, in the comforting arms of the lady paramedic, sitting close to me, subconscious realization though, as the pain grew more and I begin to scream. I have never felt such intense pain in my life, not even during the birth of Baby DIVA. I begged for the paramedics to make it stop. Pleaded with them. No luck. Then the nice paramedic took my hand and said I do not want you to panic, but it appears you are in labor. Do not be alarmed when we arrive at the hospital. More panic. I'm only 30 weeks. NOOOOOO! This cant be happening.

Terror and panic and PAIN swept over me. Honestly, I'm not sure where my mind went at this time. The pain and terror took over and I think my screaming may have been heard across the country at this point. I also found myself incredibly hot. For some reason I needed to be naked because the clothes were just too hot. So I stripped. Right there in the back of the ambulance. YES, I DID. I then demanded cold towels and ice packs because it was so hot and I was in so much pain. At one point reality hit and I looked up. I realized i was sitting up in the back of an ambulance being transported to a hospital butt ass naked, momma boobs flopping in front of the windows for the entire world to see. Pain hit again and I no longer cared. Free Boob flop show for all afternoon commuter courtesy of me.

We arrive at the hospital. I overheard the paramedics on the phone several times during the ride telling the hospital my "contractions" were less than 2 minutes apart. What freaking contractions? There are no contractions it is just constant throbbing pain man. The paramedic tells me he is going to cover me up with a sheet, the other paramedic says "i don't think she cares". We roll in the hospital. Me still sitting up NAKED, SCREAMING, sheet falls, boobs flopping everywhere, I roll up into the ER, loud and obnoxious and in so much pain. I bet I was quite a sight!

The ER is by-passed and off we go to Labor and delivery. The pain is tortuous. So much so that at this point I have no care as to where my 2 year old Baby DIVA is. I'm taken to a room. Tons of doctors and nurses swarm me. Someone tells me they are with the preemie team, another tells me he is a Dr, another tells she is gonna do this and that. I don't care. Make this pain stop. The nurses help me get a grip on my breathing. Help me cover my momma boobs with cool towels and work on getting me to calm down. They have skills because I was demon pink. Not happy, in pain and NAKED!

H4L and my mom arrive. Someone says Baby DIVA is safe. I thought, "oh ya i have a child, shit!" Tests are done. Evaluations are made. Pain is incredible. Finally I hear someone say they are going to give me some pain medication. Relief flushes over me as I hear this news between these death pains. And then, just like that, the pain stops...before they even give me the medicine. Literally like a light switch has been turned off. It stopped almost as quickly as it came on. I am able to catch my breath and breathe again. I am able to calm myself down and think clearly. My body temperature drops. Critter2 is safe. No contractions. Heat rate is perfect. She is a little pissed off but looks perfect.

Hours of constant pain have finally ceased. It is only at this point I begin to recall that I just sped down the main street in my town NAKED in the back of an ambulance with half dyed hair, 30 weeks pregnant screaming like a crazy woman. Seriously? Mortifying. I stripped myself down naked in front of total strangers and acted a fool without alcohol? :)

I immediately begin to apologize to anyone and everyone. I fret about wanting to hunt down the paramedics and thank them (which I will be doing this weekend, somehow or someway) for dealing with my afternoon insanity. Evaluations are made and I am monitored and told I can go home. On strict full bed rest until I see my regular OB on Monday morning. Awesomeness. But, Critter2 is safe and sound. I'm okay for now. No definitive answers were made. Many tests and many results but all to be looked at by mt regular OB before decisions are to be made. So as long as we are safe I can handle sitting on my butt all weekend. I might even couch surf naked, for old time sake. :)

Oh and did I mention that during all of this my blood pressure is 122/79! HA! How about that? So how was your day?

H.A.L.S Family fun

2011-03-24T10:38:00.006-05:00

Our calendar is a hot mess. Baby DIVA seems to be quite the social butterfly and her presence is requested at so many affairs, it is hard to keep up. Couple that with momma's insane need to expose her to every kind of tot fun in the city and she is one tired tot scooting around town, but she sure is cute and loves it!

Last Saturday H4L and I took Baby DIVA to a fun family outing, between rsvp'd birthday bashes, that I have been dying to try since she was just a tiny infant. We introduced her to train riding. The bright spring sunshine, crisp breeze and blue skies only enriched the experience, allowing us to enjoy a bit of relaxing calm before resuming out tight tot schedule.

H.A.L.S., Houston Area Live Steamers provides a wonderful family event the third Saturday of every month during the warmer months of the year, March through November. Enthusiasts and hobbyists alike, who share a passion for are things locomotive, can find a piece of happiness via H.A.L.S. Members construct their own engines and delightfully allow the general public to come out once a month a take a ride on their creations. We were just 3 of the many local folks who went out last Saturday to support this great organization.

4700 feet of tracks, many, many engines and ride on cars escorted us around Zube park
in the beauty of the day. We basked in gorgeous rays of enjoyment as Baby DIVA squealed with delight on the "choooo choooo's". We felt the wind slap against our skin as we sped around the park watching families fly kites, enjoy picnics, play games together while laughing and giggling and soaking up the spring air. The incredible members of this organization offer this wonderful experience at no charge. Donations and souvenir purchase are available and appreciated, however you can see that the fine folks of H.A.L.S are kind people who have such an enormous passion for their trains that the smiles of all the kids is what keeps them going.

So if you are local, and are looking for a way to spend the gorgeous spring days, head out to Zube park on a H.A.L.S. Public Run Day. Pack a fabulous picnic lunch for the family, load up the kites and spend all day enjoying each others company as you ride the rails and build wonderful memories.

Picasso in the Bath

2011-03-19T11:23:00.001-05:00

My grungy little tot, Baby DIVA, has decided she hates baths. It became a problem. Not only because my Hippo size self with Critter2 protruding from my mid-section is starting to have a hard time reaching Baby DIVA down in the bathtub, but because Baby DIVA would scream and cry and thrash about when bath time rolled around. It took me and H4L, as a team, to get this stinky girl bathed. Not so fun. And this is not cool because my kid is a dirty kid. She likes dirt. No bueno.

Luckily for us this phase passed almost as quickly as it came about. But it didn't stop us from researching and prowling the net for ideas to help spark our tots interest in bath time during this short month long phase. And that is when we found it. Homemade Bath paint. Let our Baby DIVA "destroy" the walls of the tub and she just might want to bathe again. hmmm. This might be a winner we thought. And we were right!

I found this recipe online and tweaked it a bit. I used baby soap instead. I mixed the soap, cornstarch and food coloring and Voila, bath paint. Then H4L and I swooped in and scooped up the Baby DIVA and tossed her in the tub, with the paint. We demonstrated to her the skills mastered by our 80's roots of the art of splatter paint, and she took right to it. That is MY girl! Giggles ensued. No screams. H4L was able to get her scrubbed clean without a thrash fight. My hippo self was able to stand nearby and snap pictures. No one needed Tylenol or vodka after the bath. It was glorious. Baby DIVA completed her masterpiece with a smile and we haven't had any bath troubles since.

And cleanup was a snap and left Baby DIVA's bath tub sparkly clean!

Simple ingredients we all have around the house!

Nutella playdate

2011-03-18T09:30:00.001-05:00

Recently Baby DIVA and I happily accepted an invitation to a fabulous shindig at lovetoshopmom's casa. Love To Shop Mom and her Little Miss Diva in training hosted a nutella party. And oh my goodness, this is one way to throw a happening playdate. The kiddo's played and played and then dined on scrumptious treats whipped up by love to shop mom. And Critter2 might have enjoyed this delicious treat too! Whilst I enjoyed the adult conversation! Fun Fun!

Snacking on Nutella Brownies

The yummy spread courtesy of Love To Shop Mom

Two Diva's swapping Nutella recipes!

Thank you Love To Shop Mom for having us over for such a wonderful playdate!

Critter 2 update: 29 weeks

2011-03-17T16:55:00.001-05:00

Last week we had an ultrasound of Critter2. A growth check. We also were able to see her in the 3d view. I will admit, even though I find this technology freaky, when it is MY child up there on the screen, it is amazing. Unfortunately, I am a big idiot and forgot to grab the CD of pics they gave us before taking off after the appt. At my Dr appt this week I had hoped the u/s tech had slipped the CD into my chart, but no such luck. So until our next growth check you will have to just rely on my word that Critter2 is absolutely beautiful. :)

In fabulous news, my BP is waaaaaaay down. Almost normal actually. I am not on any restrictions anymore, no bed rest, nada. Although the doc says we are not 100% out of the danger of bp issues, he is now leaning more and more towards a healthy FULL TERM delivery! How about that! Go me! Exciting news now but in a few weeks I am sure I will not be so excited about being a giant Hippo until June.

Both Critter2 and I are very healthy and trucking along just fine. Oh and I finally gained a pound!

Happy Go Lucky!

2011-03-17T12:39:00.002-05:00

Happy Saint Patty's Day to everyone!

Baby DIVA awoke this morning to a fun game of Leprechaun hunting. Followed by a fabulous breakfast of rainbow cake. Holidays are too much fun when you have a toddler!

Leprechaun Catcher

Yummy Rainbow cake

Do you have any special plans for this lucky day?

Pressure washer nesting

2011-03-07T11:57:00.001-06:00

H4L is on a mission to purchase me a pressure washer and exterior house paint. WHY??

Because I am a crazy lunatic nesting woman who can not get organized enough. Seriously, as we flew through the 2nd trimester, dropped the barfs off, unloaded the every other day migraines and gained massive amounts of energy as we continued to drop weight, I have become a pregzilla in a new form. I CAN NOT stop "nesting". I am organizing everything. Labeling everything. Putting everything in its rightful spot. Cleaning every crevice in our home that might be lurking a tiny fragment of dust or dirt that could only be seen by a microscope. I am a nut. And, its not enough. nope. I am not being satisfied at all by this clean organizing craving. I have now moved on to updating every aspect of our home. I did not have these intense urges with Baby DIVA. Perhaps the hospital bed rest played a factor in Baby DIVA's nesting period, but I still don't recall this insane desire to fluff my nest.

H4L thinks it is insane. He told me I am going to make him croak with all my Honey do lists and projects. Then he came up with the bright idea of getting me a pressure washer and exterior paint so that i can nest the outside. Nah. Not interested.

I guess you might want to see some of the projects that have been monopolizing my time huh?

Entry Before

Entry During

Entry After

Living area before

Living during

Living after

A little glimpse at my obsession in the closets: this is my crafting closet

Oh and did I mention that the entry and living room make-overs came to a grand total of less than $20 to complete!! Bargains, coupons and sales are amazing, even for an insane nester!! On to my next project...

UPDATE!!! We made the cut!!

2011-02-25T11:00:00.002-06:00

After a round a tamiflu for Baby DIVA and a round for myself, some clorox and lysol used on every surface in our home, and some fresh air, we can officially say after last weeks torturous illness that we are H1N1 FREE! YAY!

And just in time. This morning we were granted with a coveted spot in our MDO of choice. We met with the staff and toured the facility about 2 weeks ago and Baby DIVA was informed she was "accepted" into the program. However, we still had the daunting task of standing in the line, trying not to push other moms and tots out of the way, as we tried to score a spot for Baby DIVA.

Luck would have it, or maybe skills, that my pink hair is quite memorable. Not to mention my gorgeous Baby DIVA and hilarious 6 month pregnant waddle, so as we entered the MDO facility the smiles begin to flash our way. At least that was what I was telling myself in hopes that some of my breakfast didn't take this trip with us via my nose or something. Luckily it wasn't the latter. Finally it was our turn and WE GOT IT!!! Baby DIVA will starting her FIRST day of "school" on September 6, 2011. At the the MDO of my choosing and super close to home!

YAY! We rock. And I guess I am one of those moms now. Critter2 is a shoe in for this same program, at a sibling discount of course, when it is her time, and she hasn't even arrived yet. Motherhood and the politics. Who knew?

H1N1 in the house

2011-02-17T10:19:00.004-06:00

On Monday Baby DIVA popped a fever. Pretty high hitting 104 at times, but not too alarming. Baby DIVA doesn't get fever often, but when she does she tends to have high temps. By Wednesday morning we had no relief, so I decided we best head into the peds. Fevers always get a Dr check in my world. Especially for a kiddo who rarely has them. Poor Baby DIVA.

The office was packed. All the tots in our great city seem to be sporting snotty noses and fevers and various other "cold" symptoms. Fun times. "Sniffle sniffle, no momma. Whine", was common sound while waiting for our name to be called. I was most impressed that Baby DIVA continued to feel sick and even kept her fever for the Dr appt. Most peds appt's usually make me look like and idiot. you know, a really sick kid miraculously recovers for the 15 minutes you are at the Dr, only to have a full "relapse" on the way home. Not this time though. Dr was able to see all her symptoms in full force and assured me something was definitely up.

We had a look over, checked for bunnies in her ears, birds in her throat and swabbed her nose for ugly green monsters. The verdict rolled in shortly after...H1N1. Swine Flu. Awesome! How the heck did we catch that? Not something you ever want to hear, especially about your Baby DIVA or while you are pregnant with a Critter.

A round of Tamiflu for my tiny tot and a round of Tamiflu for myself and Critter2 have now commenced. Baby DIVA seems to somewhat be doing better. Her fever is going down, but she is still whiney and miserable. This morning she only wanted to wear her favorite TUTU while being sickly on the couch. Unfortunately she barfed all over it and a wardrobe change was necessary. Now she snoozes and Momma sure hopes she wakes up fever free and feeling better.

We did receive Flu vax this year, so mommas keep your kiddos safe and clean their noses and hands! Germs are out in full force!

$5 bathroom makeover

2011-02-15T13:45:00.001-06:00

Still nesting over here. Recall this big nesting weekend?

Well I wanted to re-do Baby DIVA's and Critter2's bathroom. But honestly, I didn't want to drop a lot of cash on a tots potty training castle. So I "screen" shopped several stores looking for a deal or two on new shower curtains and decor. Finally, I decided on a bright and colorful curtain from amazon, that would work well with the already inviting yellow walls in the girls bath. Before hitting "ship to me", I thought a quick run to target should be had in order to seal the deal. I'm kind of an instant gratification girl with these projects, so if I could snag the items in question quicker, I'd be much happier.

Well, am I just lucky or what? I found an even better shower curtain, bright and colorful, exactly what I wanted for $3.47 on my little jaunt to Target. And to top that off I also snagged some super fun wallies to add to pizazz to the potty training kingdom. All we need now are some new bath mat's and bathroom re-do is complete!

Mirror is pretty!

Full wallies grouping

$3.47 shower curtain!!

So in total as of right now, this entire bathroom re-do has put me out right at $5. Doesn't get much better than that.

Happy Hearts!!!

2011-02-14T06:49:00.003-06:00

Since I have a tub of wacky hormones, (and several boxes of thin mints), and I am feeling particularly mushy this year, I wanted to shout to the world Happy Valentine's Day. May your heart, soul and life be filled with love and happiness.

And as I sit here and type this lovely sweet note, 1 of the loves of my life just waltzed by sporting a stench of love for me to wipe clean shortly as another of my loves kicked my bladder so hard I pissed myself! Awesome! Happy Heart Day!

Perfection!

My non girly Baby DIVA

2011-02-09T08:29:00.002-06:00

And this is how we wear our headbands.

Colored Ice fun

2011-02-07T09:35:00.001-06:00

Since the snowmagedon blizzard of 2011 failed to arrive with the gusto as predicted, we were jipped of our snow ice cream making plans. BOO! Instead we improvised and made colored ice.

Really simple. You need water, food color, a freezer (or snowmagedon outside), and a fun loving toddler who likes to get dirty.

Baby DIVA helped me color the water in the ice trays. Then she took a nap. Exhausting work. But perfect timing for the colored ice to freeze to play perfection.

When she woke up the ice was ready. I grabbed some towels and wrapped a baking sheet in white paper. Gave her some colored ice and some cups and let her go to town. she got all kinds of dirty and lots of "ewwww's" were to be announced. But she had a blast playing with the ice, sorting the colors, naming the colors and showing me her colored fingers. A great way to waste half an hour!

This project was a lot of fun and is quite similar to the project we did last summer, Ice Painting, which is also lots of fun and messy!

MDO/ preschool hunt

2011-02-06T08:34:00.003-06:00

We are on the prowl for a mothers day out/pre school program for Baby DIVA. Nothing Fancy. I do not want my child in the most trendy, Einstein school out there. I simply want a casual learning experience where she might learn a letter and a color but mostly will begin to learn how to not kill her her little sister by gaining social interaction skills.

So the last few weeks I have been hunting. And all I can say is WOW! I honestly had no idea that I needed to be concerned with my child's glorified day care of one day a week back when she was still just a sperm. Wait list after wait list, I have placed our name. I will be lucky to get my kid into a MDO program before she heads off to college.

Really? Is this necessary? Toddlers are toddlers. They all go in and poop their pants, eat glue and learn how to quietly steal each others toys. Do we really need to act like a bunch of desperate housewife characters to snag our kids a spot in the school down the street so they can see who eats the glue the fastest. Geez.

I suppose I am already too late for Critter2. I mean she is 23 weeks along in my belly. Damn poor kid is never gonna have a chance at Mothers Day Out.

Snowmagedon 2011 hits Katy, Texas

2011-02-04T12:16:00.008-06:00

Have you been watching the news? Have you been face to face with the snowmagedon of 2011? Well, if you are reading this from one of the northern states please hold back your laughter as I share with you the crazy experiences we having down here in the south with this snowmagedon.

First off, let me tell you, here in Katy Texas, a suburb west of Houston, we DO NOT have winter. We have 2 seasons. We have summer and light summer. My family does not even own winter coats. Sure each year we might have a cold "hour" and we might even drop to 39 degrees here and there. But it is usually at 3am and for all intensive purposes not really my problem. A sweatshirt and flip flops suffice just fine on my tiny walk from the garage to my house. The idea of "winter" is something cute we make with our kids turning cotton balls and glue into snowmen.

Well for some reason this week, Mother nature thought it would be rather humorous to include our little place in the world in the path of snowmagedon. We all watched the tube as the storm crossed to the country, dropping feet and feet of snow on the northern states. Blizzard warnings went up left and right. We watched in awe as states and cities, who all well equipped to handle winter weather, buckled under the pressure of this storm. Couple that with the repeated warnings for us "Houstonians" to hunker down and prepare for "Real" winter weather and the possibility of 1-3 inches of accumulated snow, and HOT DOG our city went ballistic!

Store shelves were emptied. Bread. Milk. Ice. (cause ummm that is needed in a winter storm) were all quick sell outs. Oh and let us not forget the hot chocolate. 24 hours of snow is going to require tons and tons of this magic potion. Schools closed. Offices closed. Classes were cancelled. We all sat with anticipation waiting to experience WINTER. And although very excited about the possibility of building snowmen, a little nervous after watching what power this storm brought to the rest of the country.

And then it came.

And in case you missed that here is another shot.

What did I tell you? We have summer and light summer. Houston Blizzard 2011! My northern friends, you may laugh now.

Snack Necklace

2011-02-02T09:15:00.001-06:00

Baby DIVA and I have been doing a little project everyday. Some days it is as simple as sitting in the backyard naming off colors as we see them. Other days we make crafts or bake or dance and sing silly songs. Whatever it may be, I make sure to spend a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour uninterrupted each day giving Baby DIVA my undivided attention. No laundry, no phone calls, no Facebook, no tv, nothing. No interrupting mom and babe. Just time devoted to one another without distractions. This is a very important gift that I give my child, and I do my best to make sure she gets it almost every single day.

The other day we did a project and Baby DIVA had so much fun. she giggled and laughed and it tickled me so. It is a really simple project. Something that all of us moms, girls, humans know how to do. A project I kind of threw together last minute. The project was making cereal necklaces.

I took some string and plain old Cheerios's. And then we began to string the cheerios. Baby DIVA squealed with delight and promptly began to eat the cheerios off the string quicker than I could put them on. She looked adorable. Like a little puppy scavenging for treats, as she devoured each "bead" of the cereal necklace. She thought it was awesome. After a few minutes she grasped the concept and we worked together to finish the first necklace. She quickly put it around her neck and started eating. Giggling all the while.

It just tickled me so to have her react so well to such a simple idea. We had a ball making necklaces. We ended up making about 6 in all. And she was ever so delighted to show them off to H4L when he came home from work.

Fluffin' the Nest

2011-02-01T08:28:00.002-06:00

I managed to get some alone time this last weekend. Seriously! An entire Saturday all by my lonesome. H4L loaded up Baby DIVA and left me to my own devices. I didn't even have to ask for this marvelous happening. Nope, he offered it up all by himself. I'm thinking someone wants to get lucky. Just kidding! :) I just have a wonderful husband who can read me like a book and when he sees the horns growing from my head, he knows he needs to take action. Quickly.

So what did I do? I nested, of course! I kid you not; One kid is off with daddy leaving me alone all day and so the other one ramps up the hormones and sends me into nesting mode. JEEZ!!! One might think that I would opt to lay on the couch, work out my arm muscles by channel surfing and possibly take a big snooze. Well, in my perfect imagination that is exactly what I did. But In reality hormones won and I became a slave to my craving of clean.

Anyhow, now that it is all said and done, and my ENTIRE day of ALONE is gone spent scrubbing floors, organizing and labeling anything that I could, and making some space for Critter2 by cleaning out every closet I could get my grubby little hands on, I actually feel grateful. My house is spic and span. It feels awesome to walk into. No stench of poopie pants greets you as you pass the diaper genie because I was just too tired to take the trash out. No mystery piles of paper stacked up in odd places hoping to be sorted someday. All the cabinets and drawers and closets are organized and everything is in its proper place. The shredder has been fed for the month with paperwork that was just about to start growing a nasty fungus called "you better check this pile for anything important, or it might come out to bite you". It feels great. Clean. Organized. Ahhh, until Baby DIVA tap dances on her popcorn snack on my nice clean carpet. The joys of mommahood!

A couple of my prize projects from "Fluffin the Nest" day are my pantry and my stockpile closet. I went through both and cleaned, straightened, tossed out expired and old. I also made myself a running list that can be checked when stockpile ops come about. Also helps me know what I NEED to purchase and what I don't. This is something I have been desperately wanting to do for some time, so I am really glad to have completed this project. Here have a lookey:

Hair stuff stock

Teeth/shave and non Stench stock

My Spice cabinet, organized and each shelf listed for cooking ease

My perfectly organized pantry shelves listed out so I know exactly what we have on hand and where to find it

Pantry view

Maybe I am a big nerd. this might seem crazy to some. But for me it makes me feel great. Gives me structure in the insanity of parenthood and allows me to spend more of my time with my family rather than hunting for items in our home. So yes, that is how I spent my entire free day alone. Giving in to the needs of Critter2 hormones and "Fluffin my nest". Ignoring the fabulous opportunity I had to rest my fluffy pregnant butt on the couch and channel surf Lifetime Television. But I feel good about my choice and will continue to remind H4L how I choose MY friend time for months to come. heehee :)

Toddler time FAIL

2011-01-31T08:34:00.001-06:00

Books. Books on shelves at various levels. Books on shelves at various levels in a quiet location. Not a good mix for Baby DIVA.

My little one has always been interested in books, but not really for reading. She loves to snack on them, tear the pages, flip the pages, wear them as hats, make them into flying carpets. Whatever, she is using her imagination so I roll with it. Over the last few weeks, Baby DIVA has sparked a interest in the actual words inside those flying carpets. She will bring me a book and we will sit down and read.

I love it. I have a passion for books, (although chasing a tot around 24/7 leaves little energy to actually hold my own book up and read), so this development made me really happy. I decided it was time to brave the library with Baby DIVA. We have toddler time at our local joint and I was thrilled to finally be able to attend with a story interested tot.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO HUMILIATED!

My precious, quiet on the car ride, relaxed Baby DIVA and myself arrived at 10am prompt for toddler library time. We strolled inside and grabbed our tot ticket to story time. Then we headed over to the children's area to look at some books and see what craft they had for us to do. I am not sure what happened on this short walk, but Baby DIVA grew some horns. As we rounded the corner and entered the racks of kid books, her voice began to echo throughout the area. "Mama, Mama, Mama, Ca-Ca, Mama". So I thought perhaps she needed to take a crap. I asked her if she needed to go potty. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Mama" at full scream.

Attempting to distract her, we went over to the craft table and I tried to engage her in this activity. She proceeded to try and eat the glue stick, try to climb up over the top of the table, tried to steal craft pieces from other kids, all while squawking and mortifying me. Fail.

Then I pulled out the big guns and decided we should walk the racks, burn off some steam, hoping that this might bring my sweet quiet Baby DIVA back to reality. Off we went, hand in hand. And then she squirmed loose and was gone. Sprinting through the racks. My Fluffy pregnant self chased her down and found her attempting to scale the racks of My first Chapter books. AWESOME. Baby DIVA scurrying up the racks in the library. Yes, I am that mom. And might I add, quite memorable with hot pink hair. No hiding me!

A glance around the room at my fellow toddler moms, hoping to be met with looks of "oh honey, I have been there stares", was met with a surprise. Pure distaste looks from these fellow tot moms. Hatred. I am the devil with pink hair mom looks beamed my way. Like their tots are always perfect. Again though, Mortified.

I scooped up baby DIVA and headed back to the librarians desk to turn in our tot ticket. There was no way we were going to make it to story time, much less through story time without destroying something. The kind librarian asked me to please stay. That she had some toys to entertain my tot, and that she would eventually learn the ropes. I denied the offer and high tailed it out of the library. Glances from peering adults from the historical section on the opposite side of the library pretty much demonstrated I need to leave with my tot, PRONTO!!

Perhaps we will try again in a few months. Until then story time will be on my living room floor and might involve a nibble of pages and a timeout or two. Oh and did I mention as we drove home, Baby DIVA was a quiet perfect little princess? Don't you just love the terrible two's?

Oh and those moms who gave me the look of death, I hope your kid throws food at you tonight at dinner!

Trix bark

2011-01-28T12:05:00.003-06:00

The pregnant hormones are kicking, but in a good way, well today. I have been feeling quite bakey lately. I don't know why the hormones feel the need to summon the Betty Croker in me, but they do. So those around me reap the benefits.

This week my Big kid Rentals reaped the benefits. I have seen this little treat on a few different blogs around the net over the last few months. Although intriguing I just hadn't gotten around to it. Until the crocker hormone attack of the 22nd week of pregnancy.

Trix Bark.

QUE?, you might be saying. But really, this is so simple and super cool for kids.

Here is how it went down:

I took some simple almond bark and melted it down.

Then after carefully laying out some wax paper, and taping it down so no slidage resulted in a massive mess that I would refuse to clean because Crocker hormones are kicking, but cleaning hormones, not so much. And my cleaning fairy is on vacation. Hmmm, perhaps I have made a mess in the kitchen before... Anyway, back to the wax paper.

I poured out the melted almond bark and spread into into a thin layer. I didn't bother trying to make it uniform or pretty; there really is no need for that as soon we will break it into mis-shaped pieces.

After the smoothing process I took some Trix cereal and spread it out over the almond bark.

Again no rhyme or reason, just littered the almond bark with colorful little Trix balls.

And then its time to wait. I allowed the almond bark to sit at room temperature and harden. I guess it took about an hour or so. You could also place it in the fridge and harden it that way, but then you have to deal with the "Sweat" and that just is more than I care to deal with.

So once it hardened, I broke it into pieces, loaded it up on a plate and served it to my Big Kid Rentals and Baby DIVA. It was quite the hit! And so super easy to do!

Tiny toes

2011-01-25T21:25:00.005-06:00

Today was a great day! We went in for a growth check of Critter2. She is PERFECT!! We were able to see her little toes and fingers, one by one. Her little leg bones, and arm bones, her kidneys and eyeballs, her brain and lips. We saw her swallowing and flapping her arms like a chicken. We saw her rolling around and "Dancing" about like a wild child. She is amazing. Perfect little babe!

We also met with Dr. K. He is happy with Critter2's growth. I'm still down some weight which is cool. My blood pressure is still elevated but is stable, therefore no bed rest or medicine as of yet. HOORAY! Dr. K is sending me for an ultrasound of my gallbladder which is the cause of the pain I am having, you know, this one, that sent me to L& D last week. We hope to keep the ol' gall in check until I deliver Critter2, then sign me right up for removal of that little gallbladder booger!

Everything went wonderful today. I am tickled that we have good news to share. And so excited about Critter2! And Dr. K found his way to my blog! How about that? My Dr visits my blog! LOVE IT! So if your a checking here Dr. K, HELLO and thanks for everything!

And may I now present you with Critter2's Foot and Fist! In a few short months we will be holding these tiny toes and fingers in our hands!!

What do you want?

2011-01-24T07:45:00.001-06:00

I saw this question asked on mamapedia the other day and it really got me thinking.

I would do anything for just a day all alone. No cleaning, no cooking, no chasing tots, no husband, no coupons, no nothing. Just 24 hours of time that I could do whatever I please with. My chances of that happening are pretty slim, and with a new baby possibly arriving early in May, the chances are super slim. But that doesn't take away from dream, right? Oh a massage would be nice too, but I don't want to get to greedy.

Well in thinking about this I begin to wonder, does this make me selfish? Does wanting a day completely alone make me a bad person? Is it wrong for me to deprive my own mom of being with her adult daughter and granddaughter because this momma wants a break? What do you think? How do you handle the multiple generations of motherhood on this day of celebration of being a mom?

The stench of Vicks

2011-01-22T09:00:00.001-06:00

Early on in this pregnancy I developed a super nose. I literally could smell the breath on any passersby, the smell of foot while riding in the car with other people, and so many other smells that wafted my way pretty much did me in. Everything was horrid. Nothing smelled good. I could barely even stand to be around myself. The stench of the world was appalling. Standing in line at the grocery store became pure torture.

My mom suggested I put Vicks on my nose. Yes, the smell might be strong, but it would be only one strong smell, A single smell that I could adjust to, she enticed me with this idea. At first I thought she might be crazy. But I gave it whirl anyhow. What did I have to lose? My lunch?...again? What do you know, it worked. The smell was in fact incredibly strong, but it was one stable smell. A single smell I could focus on and not worry about losing my lunch, Er, well that cracker that I nibbled. I was able to take that one smell and engage my mind into keeping me upright and without gagging for at least an hour at a time. MIRACLE!!!

I swear during the first trimester I went through so much Vicks. Wearing it proudly slathered on my nose to help me walk through the house, the grocery store, and the Big Kid pick up line. It was truly a lifesaver, as odd as it may seem. The gooey glow that graced the tip of my face became a welcomed cosmetic feature, and family and friends soon forgot how odd I looked and smelled.

Fast forward to last weekend. I now have a yucky cold that I caught from none other than, BABY DIVA. My nose is a mess. I feel like a giant ball of poo, but as we all know, moms must continue on. So I brought out the Vicks to help my stuffy nose. To help sick mom function and keep the household rolling.

OH MY GOODNESS. Reverse effects. All I could think and feel were the all to familiar moments, only weeks ago, where every smell made me want to hurl. I revisited that feeling of utter and total exhaustion and it was terrible. The stench of the Vicks put me right back into morning sickness mode. The crisp menthol harshly battled my senses, not only clearing the snot but clearly reminding me of those horrible first few weeks of pure disgusting gross early baby making days. Needless to say I let the stench wear off and just allowed my nose to be stuffy. Its a small price to pay!

Do you have any smells that invoke horrible memories from past pregnancies for you?

L&D, poop in the potty and PREGNANCY SUCKS!!!

2011-01-21T13:42:00.008-06:00

Wow. What a freaking week. I tell you what, all those people out there that think being a pregnant SAHM is the life and make nasty judgmental comments about these ladies when they see them strolling around the world, just need to come take over my life for one week and then we will see how you feel. And I know you make these comments, because honey I USED to be the one judging and making comments. Boy, I tell you best zip them lips because KARMA is a bitch! If i knew then what I know now...

So lets see where shall I begin this week; at the part where I was covered in poo for 3 days, 8 hours in labor and delivery or perhaps at the point where I finally broke down and put on the granny panties?

Ok lets just go in order. Baby DIVA is still "potty training". And as I have learned as a getting fatter by the moment pregnant chick, this really never ends. (granny pantie story to come) So Baby DIVA took pretty fast to pantie wearing and pee pee in the potty. Poop in the potty, not so much. It became a nightmare. She would alert me, even at 2am via monitor, "Pee Pee Mama", but never would should she show one inkling on interest in alerting me to the dirty doo. She is more of a silent but deadly kind of girl. She slinked away and then would gracefully waltz by and let me inhale my notification.

Have you tried changing poopie panties? It sure isn't pretty, and it is plain out awful when you have a Critter2 tagging along for the ride whirling up your some special tummy gurgles and a very active toddler "telling you how" all the way through the process. Needless to say after 3 days of poopie pantie changes covering me in the doo at least twice a day, I broke down and committed my personal momma failure. I bought the pull ups and went against my original plan and stuck my kid in pull ups for potty training. Sue me! I am PREGZILLA and get to do what I want. I am the MOM!!! Im in charge and I am bigger than a poop turd. TAKE THAT! Wouldn't you know that very same day, Baby DIVA mastered the art of poop in potty, and we have not had a poo in the pants incident since. Awesome.

Moving on.

I caught a bug, along with everyone in this country dealing with the crazy weather. I caught a nasty little bug that brought on the "pregnant" sneezes and the coughs. All the momma's out there are cringing knowing what story is about to unfold now. The newly pregnant and non breeders are about to be privy to some information they never knew they didn't want, but need. I committed the sexy wife sin. (not to mention I am about to commit the TMI sin) I became so tired of sneezing and coughing in the "pregnant" way, that I went and stuffed my pregnant body into those granny panties, you know the ones. I was desperate I tell you, and I know I am not the only one who has reached this point before. And it was such a relief...for a little while at least, until my ego joined up to my desperation. H4L caught a glance at me sporting this new wardrobe accessory and just shook his head. I reminded him, it was HE who put me in this situation.

Moving on.

I had my first trip to L & D this week for Critter2. This is not a place I like to frequent. Really, I am thinking one visit to Labor and delivery is far more than enough, right? With my BP issues with Baby DIVA, I visited L&D all the time. I was hoping to keep Critter2 from falling into that same pattern. No such luck. But, good news is that this trip wasn't for bp issues and we left L&D knowing all is A okay.

I was having incredible pain in my gut. Not something a pregnant lady wants. And then the "Crotch daggers" set in. For those who don't speak pregnant talk, Crotch daggers are my term for contractions. I did the usual routine of lay down, relax, drink water, wait for contractions to stop and NADA. So I called the Dr like a good little patient and off he sent me to L&D. 8 long hours (alone though, without a tot in tow so very privileged boring alone time) many, many blood tests, watching a lady's water break in the waiting room, high blood pressure, hearing Critter2's heartbeat thumping softly in the background, it was determined that I look perfectly fine. Critter2 looks great. And I just need to suck it up and deal with the terrible pain. "its okay you are halfway there, only 20 weeks to go." It is obvious that the L&D Dr that advised me of this as I left, has never been pregnant. Just saying...

So I took my painful tummy home and that is that. We now just have pain. Awesome. Fun. Is it June yet?

Boob Feeding pups

2011-01-15T12:10:00.005-06:00

I am all for Boob feeding. In fact, when Critter2 makes her grand debut I would like to give this whole boob feeding idea a go. Baby DIVA was not boob fed due to medical restriction on my part, so this is new territory for me. And therefore I have been actively doing a little momma research. I have found that I am a middle of the road boob feed activist. I do think it is wonderful for your baby, but it isn't the only way to feed a baby. I do believe there are benefits, but there is nothing wrong with a child who is formula fed either, they benefit as well.

I also think that although natural, boob feeding is a private intimate time between mother and child and should be should be done in a tasteful manner while in public. I do not think I personally will be whipping out a boob and letting it freely loose while my baby crawls on the floor and I chat with friends at a coffee shop, until she is hungry. Not my thing. My boobs like to stay private, thank you. I heard someone once say in reference to boob feeding that "yes, it is natural. But so is going poo. I'm not going to take a giant poo out in public just because it is natural. No, I will do it discreetly." That description has stuck with me and I agree with it whole hearted.

I have read the pros and cons and arguments for and against. I follow those advocates who think breastfeeding is the only way,Breast is best, and I also follow those who think formula feeding is the only way, and I find myself somewhere in the middle. Both ways provide for your child and as the mother of that child you have the right to decide what is best. Although before the birth of Critter2 I am certain I want her to be a boob fed gal, that does not guarantee me that outcome. Perhaps my boobs wont work, perhaps she wont take to boob milk, perhaps she will. I think as a mom you must also enter this flexible and willing to make changes as needed to provide your child with the best for her, whatever those needs may be. I really enjoy reading all the various points of view, from the extreme pro boob to the anti boob on this matter, because the more knowledge I gain the better mother I can be to Baby DIVA and Critter2. Seeing the vast possibilities ensures me Critter2 and I will find a common ground somewhere that meets both our needs, mostly hers.

Now, all that being said, I also come across weirdo folks out there in the world who do some strange things, it tickles me so and grosses me out. I don't agree with boob feeding children old enough to ask for a drink. I think its gross and there are no benefits at that point. I also find that post milk production, some women do some really bizarre things with their "girls."

Check out this lady who breastfeeds her dog. Yes, my friends, she lets her doggie latch her boobie and drink her milk, because she misses the bond of having her child do so. Ummm NO! This is crazy. Breast is best taken too far! I almost barfed.

Potty Training Porn Star

2011-01-14T12:15:00.001-06:00

It is that time. That dreaded yet ever so anticipated time in every momma's life. The time to potty train Baby DIVA. She displays many "ready" signs. Lets us know when she has to go, takes her diaper off and just goes, gets diapers and wipes and "changes" her Bay-Bay's diaper when she needs to go. You know, the tell tale signs.

So today, kind of on a whim I decided to slip some Dora panties on Baby DIVA and give it a go. I fully prepared myself to be covered in shit and piss within the hour.

But to my surprise Baby DIVA is quite the genius. Not long after Dora covered her derriere, She announced "CA-CA momma". And off we went to drop a load in her baby potty. I was so excited and tickled that she took to this so quickly. Trying to explain and show her to wipe herself, not so swell endeavor. Momma will have to continue helping with that task for some time. A few more potty trips ensued with perfection before we placed a diaper on for nap time. She did marvelous. My brilliant child!

BUT, we did have an little incident that has me wondering about Baby DIVA's future career path. She loves camera's and has one of her own. She totes it around with her everywhere; "Cheese!" she prompts us all every chance she gets. Well during one of our potty rendezvous she found it humorous to snap a picture of her snatch while, well you know mid streaming it. I look over and hear her saying to her womanly parts, "CHEESE", and then I hear the sound and then proceeded to show me her handy work with the largest grin ever. "Momma, see! COOL!" "Cheese!", round 2.

Hmmmm. Makes me wonder about my brilliant child.

Faux baby

2011-01-12T10:22:00.001-06:00

H4L and I were surfing through HULU the other night, and came across this video clip series. We watched the entire series and laughed our butts off. It took our fears of parents and amplified them into comedic humor. And also touched on quite a bit a stereotypical issues that I myself have encountered being out in the world as a mom. If you have some time and need a good laugh, sit back, relax and watch this little series.

Baby DIVA freckles

2011-01-10T08:15:00.001-06:00

Baby DIVA is so stinking cute. Every day she grows before my eyes; learning, assessing, making more and more strides into being a big girl. It is so bittersweet. I am so excited to watch her grow into a young lady but it pulls at my heartstrings to watch my baby slip away.

But then, it never fails, Baby DIVA will do something so sweet and innocent, it brings me back to reality and reminds me no matter how many days or weeks go by, she will always be my perfect, innocent little bundle of joy.

Take for instance, a moment this last week. Baby DIVA made a clever discover on her tummy. She found two little freckles. Cute as can be freckles. I was watching from a foot away as she yanked up her little shirt to show me her belly button for the 100 zillionth time. She stopped and paused and looked a little bit closer. Quickly she tried to brush away the "ewwwww" as she calls it. "ws tat?", she asked. I told her those are your two baby freckles. Like she knew what that meant, but that is all it took. "ohhhh".

And then she was off to play with her toys again. This quick shift in attention also is a daily reminder that my Baby DIVA is still just a tiny tot! The absolutely adorable thing about this little discovery is that when these little freckles first made their debut some many months ago, I being the crazy picture happy first time momma I am, took a zillion pictures of these freckles. Im just crazy like that.

This moment warmed my heart though. Watching her grasp new concepts, interact with me, and hone in on something I too found fascinating not too long ago is just amazing. My Baby DIVA, growing into a little girl, full of life and love and eager to learn. Melts my heart. And makes me so proud. I just love that stinking cute little girl!!

Helping hand?

2011-01-08T09:12:00.002-06:00

Being that this is my second pregnancy, and now we know our second Baby is a girl, shopping for Critter2 must begin. The novelty of this activity is that we have tons of baby gear already. We literally have boxes and boxes of girl things and clothes and blankets and toys, its like we own a girl store! (Secretly I always knew we would have another girl, so I kept EVERYTHING)This time around we have the luxury of purchasing some fun items and splurging a little here and there, since we already have the basics.

You can imagine I have been window shopping for weeks and already have some things in mind, right? What pregnant woman doesn't? Of course I do too. In fact, the night we found out Critter2 was a baby girl, H4L and I made this sweet little purchase for her. Take notice it is NOT pink. We already have boxes and boxes of pepto clothes, and a mom with pink hair, she needs some variety in her world.

Well, I also am very adept at scanning the net for the great babe purchases and I came across this little goodie and did a double take. I could see where this might come in handy, being that I have had a tiny babe in house before, however it still caused me to pause a moment, Take a step back from the computer, laugh and ask myself, SERIOUSLY???

Check out the Helping Hand and let me know your reaction. Too funny, huh?

Pressure Rising

2011-01-07T07:17:00.001-06:00

How exciting it is that we have another wonderful baby girl coming in to our lives. We couldn't be more happy. But seeing Critter2 on the ultrasound screen this week and learning how perfect she is, all her organs look awesome, her weight is fabulous, her lips are beautiful and she is a wiggle little thing; Well that is not all we learned this week.

Nope. We also learned that my blood pressure is already on the rise. We suspected this would be the case with this pregnancy, since Baby DIVA arrived early due to high blood pressure complications and we saw an elevated pressure at my 16 week appointment. But we were not expecting it to hit so early. As of now I am on a "modified bed rest". Basically this is just take it easy, monitor my blood pressure and if it is up I must stay down. Joy. In 3 weeks we go back for another anatomy scan to make sure Critter2 is growing at a superb rate, followed by weekly appointments and ultrasounds for the duration of this pregnancy.

I guess it is bittersweet. We get to see Critter2 progress weekly via womb shot, but it sure is a long time to be "rested", and with a toddler in tow. Dr. K believes we will not make full term and has advised us to make arrangements for full bed rest at home and in hospital now, just in case. He also advised us to prepare ourselves for an early delivery...again.

I am determined to prove him wrong and go to term with this pregnancy. I want Critter2 to be able to "bake" as long as she needs. And I really would like to experience the whole going in to labor on my own phenomena. So say a little prayer for us to keep this blood pressure in check and prove Dr. K wrong by making at least 37 weeks!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-05T08:15:00.001-06:00

Sort of wordless!!!

Critter2 is a GIRL!!!!!

Baby DIVA is going to have a baby sister! Woohoo!!

Critter 2 is a....

2011-01-04T09:00:00.002-06:00

Faked you out!! You have a few more hours to wait!

As you are reading this H4l, baby DIVA and myself are sitting in an ultrasound suite getting a crotch shot view of Critter2!! (thank goodness for set to post on blogs, right). While we spend the day relishing what our new addition will bring in to our world, tons more pink or a sea of blue, I thought we could play a little game here. What do you think Critter2 is?

Here is a view of my belly at 19 weeks:

And here are some of the (old wives tale) symptoms:

Aversion to meat

love sour foods

love salty foods

aversion to sweets

felt like a train ran me down and barfed nonstop weeks 6-11.5

lots of braxton hicks from early on

pizza face YUCK i am in my 30s' for goodness sake!!!

migraines, tons and tons of migraines

tons of baby movement from 14 weeks on, some a bit painful

Baby's Heart rate has been about 150 from the start

Chinese gender prediction says: Girl

I would be happy with either, but a boy would fabulous because then I would be D-O-N-E!!

So what do you think? Any neat tricks out there that you and your family have done to determine gender? Spill it now because later on today I will reveal pink or blue about Critter2!!!! Will you be right?

New year and a 32nd Birthday

2011-01-03T19:44:00.000-06:00

New Years always bring a fun festive spirit. Not only because it is a fabulous party night celebrated by the entire world, but because it's also my birthday! Yes, folks I am a new years baby. Now before you shout HOW COOL!!! let me tell you it is a hard birthday to have. You have to be a pretty spectacular person to compete with the World for attention on your birthday. Know what I mean. Well I think I pull it off just fine.

This year we hosted a New Years Bash at our home for friends and family. Complete with a balloon drop for the kids and way too much fabulous food. We had a splendid time and look forward to hosting again in years to come. It was wonderful bringing in 2011 with those we love and keep so close to our hearts. It is really wonderful to have such a wonderful group of individuals we can call family.

H4L and me at midnight AKA officially my birthday!!

I found it comical that at 10pm, after a quick watch check, I wasn't shouting to my friends, "hurry up, only 2 more hours to get your drink on!" as I have done in previous years. No, instead I found myself thinking, "Oh crapola, two WHOLE hours before midnight comes. Will I ever get to go to bed!?!" My, My, what parenthood does to a gal. Despite my partying days being far behind me, I still pulled out the "Boots" and wore them for a bit. Swollen feet from Critter2 reminded me pretty quick that stiletto knee high sparkles are beginning to be a part of my past. And perhaps not being able to Zip one boot up all the way might also be a strong indicator. Hmmmm.

Midnight balloons!!!

Baby DIVA falling asleep in aunt Ta's arms while watching fireworks. Who does that?

Me and the boots! 8 years and counting.

I hope your New Years was as blessed as mine. I am year older and definitely much more wise! Here is wishing you a fabulous 2011 as I embark on my 32nd year!!

Christmas Recap

2011-01-03T15:15:00.001-06:00

I have to hand it to all you fabulous bloggers that were able to scribble out some thoughts and get posts up during this holiday season. I just couldn't. Between baby kicks, Toddler tantrums, gift wrapping and family visits any extra second I grabbed involved my bed and my pillow. But that is just one pregnant gals way to cope with the hustle and bustle of the holiday! I did enjoy reading your posts between naps.

Now that 2011 has sped its way in to our lives, I thought I would just give you an update to what a wonderful Christmas season we had, between naps of course! Baby DIVA warmly welcomed Santa claus into her life this year. She was ever so thrilled to learn that her great behavior in 2010 rewarded her with a small toy store under her Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

After Santa dropped by!

After opening everything from Santa!

It really is an AMAZING feeling being a parent of Christmas morning. Far much better than being the child. I am still glowing at watching my child live the magic and knowing how excited she feels. I LOVE IT!!!!

H4L and Baby DIVA on Christmas morning

Momma, Critter2 and Baby DIVA on Christmas morning

Saying Farewell to the (chocolate) advent.

Case of the missing cookies

2010-12-24T08:39:00.002-06:00

What does one do when they bake 2 dozen sugar cookies to use when making melted snowman cookies for Christmas, only to discover this when returning to fetch said cookies for decorating???

Ooops. Guess I should have decorated immediately instead of waiting a day. H4L and Baby DIVA found my stash!

So instead I made Oreo Truffles and Peanut Butter Balls. YUM!!

Step one: Balls are formed

Step 2: Dunk balls in chocolate and harden in fridge

Step 3: Admire and consume!

Merry Christmas Eve! Enjoy spending SWEET time with you loved ones while stuffing yourself with SWEETS!!

Scary Zippers?

2010-12-23T12:20:00.003-06:00

Not that it is cold here in Texas today. No, we are unseasonably HOT. Hitting the 80's this week. Joy. 2 days before Christmas and its a tropical heat wave. Not exactly Jacket weather. However we do get a few hours a year where a jacket of sorts is needed.

I suppose this is good news for one Baby DIVA. The girl HATES to put on jackets of any kind. Anything that has a zipper or buttons down the front she throws a full out tantrum scream fest. We have a knock down drag out every time.

What is a mom to do? Was she trapped in a straitjacket in a previous life? What would make my 2 year old terrified of jackets. This is quite baffling. And we have about 48 hours to figure out the problem before a blast of cold snap through town and drops out temps to 30, just in time for Santa's arrival.

Any thoughts?

We are THOSE people.

2010-12-23T09:00:00.002-06:00

Yes, it is true. We are THOSE people who stop at historical markers when on road trips. We are THOSE people who annoy the kids and family members by making them pose for pictures at historical signs across the country. Yes. We are THOSE people. It comes quite natural to us. H4L being a photographer by passion and myself wanting to document our lives for scrapbooks to reflect on in later years, that I can assure you will probably never actually get put together. You know those folks you drive by and laugh at when you are traveling by, the ones you think "idiots, losers, standing on the side of a road next to a goofy historical plaque. Yep, that is us! Wave next time you pass by us! Maybe even stop in for a quick pic!

Last week we took a short, (I say say short but we literally drove across Texas and back in two days), trip to Paris. Paris, Texas that is, to see Uncle Diamond GRADUATE from school. We are really, really proud of Uncle Diamond fro completing his degree in Jewelry school. We look forward to watching his beautiful designs come to life and add sparkle to peoples lives in the future. Congratulations Uncle Diamond!!!

Way to go Uncle Diamond!!!

On our adventure we saw all kinds of wonderful sights, being we also took a route off the beaten path. Yes, really Baby DIVA and Critter 2 are stuck with THOSE parents. We saw a house built into a man made hill, a random exotic animal petting zoo inside someone house, an abandoned old woman's school from the 1880's, and lots and lots of Christmas lights and cows. Baby DIVA loves to "mooooooo" when she sees the four legged creatures. Great fun!

H4L in front of old school house in Crocket, Texas

Ultrasounds unsafe for fetus?

2010-12-16T12:21:00.002-06:00

I had my Critter2 Checkup earlier this week. All is well, in case you missed it. But I also found out something surprising. You see, I was trying to pull off and ridiculously fun scam with my Dr. I very sweetly begged him to do an early ultrasound, just a crotch shot of Critter2. That is all I needed. I had already purchased two little onesies, one saying "little brother" one saying "little sister". I also prepared two little gift bags. One decorated in Christmas paper and one a plan old brown paper bag. My intention was to have Dr grant me my wish of a crotch shot ultrasound. Then have the tech place the crotch shot ultrasound picture and the correct onesie in the Christmas paper gift bag and SEAL it tight, without revelaing to me what he/she found. That way Christmas morning I would be able to hand H4L a little gift from Critter2 , and we could find out as a family of 3 what the 4th party to our family is to be.

Well plain FAILED. Dr said no. BOO! Scrooge!

But that is not all he said. He then told me very soon the obstetrics and gynecological association has been doing recent research and will be releasing research very soon pertaining to 3d ultrasounds and the harm they can cause to fetus. In fact he was pretty adamant in his distaste for them even advising me without probing, that he would not sign off on me to go to a private institution for an early ultrasound and he really, really would like me not to be exposed to the 3D ultrasound. REALLY? I thought these 3d ultrasounds were becoming the norm! What harm can the cause. Holy Crap!

I kind of freaked out and begin to worry about ultrasounds and Critter2. I put the topic to one of my mom groups and we were able to debate it out. Pros and Cons. What harm that could be done, if any. Our personal thoughts and feelings on the matter. It helped calm me down but I am still a little un-nerved about the whole deal, as I am a high risk momma and will more than likely receive many ultrasounds throughout my pregnancy, some of which may need to be 3D.

I had a consultation with Dr. Google and turned up relatively nothing pertaining to 3D ultrasounds harming the fetus. In fact most the sites I found, stress that no harm is done in 2D or 3D ultrasounds. I still plan on researching more and seeing what other information I can find. I also am incredibly interested in reading this research that my Doc speaks of, that will be released soon. But while I am on the hunt for information and in the waiting period for the new research release, I thought I would ask you, my readers, for your thoughts, input and stand on the issue.

Do you think 3D ultrasounds are safe? What about 2D? Do you like getting as many ultrasounds as possible during your pregnancy? Would you prefer less? Have you found any information out there in relation to ultrasounds being harmful, whether 2D or 3d? If so please share what you know or the links here. I would love to learn more about this topic.

2 years of blogging

2010-12-16T08:00:00.001-06:00

It is hard to believe that this little blog of mine has been around for 2 years. And thanks to you, my readers my ramblings don't just blast out on the Internet into a cyberspace black hole. Nope more than just my family pops in to see what odd ball crap I have to say on any given day; and that just tickles me so!

I have met some wonderful people in the past few years because of blogging. Some I have met in person, some just via the world wide web, all I hold very dear to my heart. Blogging has connected me to a wonderful world of friendships that I needed to have in my life and it has opened doors to me I never even knew were there. Thank you for being a part of something that means the world to me and has provided such a crutch to me as I embarked on the mommahood! I look forward to continuing my ramblings for as long as I can type and talk. God help us all!

Thank you!

Christmas crafting...again

2010-12-15T17:00:00.001-06:00

We are still at it. Christmas Crafting some more with Baby DIVA. Nothing fancy. Just fun stuff. And if you have ever crafted with a tot, you know it's a fun experience just in itself!

Here we have a handprint/footprint reindeer. Took us a while. Baby DIVA kind of ADD'd on me. First we traced her hands and feet. She thought it was cool but lost interest during the cutting phase. But was back and ready to rock and roll when she spied the glue and momma letting her use it.

Some more ADD moments can be seen here in this Santa. We started it and Yep Baby DIVA has showed no interest in finsihing. That is okay though. That is the fun of crafting with toddler right? Maybe we will finish it next year! LOL

And this one I can not take credit for. But I really wanted to share it with you. My friend Jamie of Love to Shop Mom, surprised Baby DIVA with this adorable Chritmas crafting shirt. Too dang cute huh?

Santa's Wonderland

2010-12-15T09:07:00.001-06:00

This last weekend we took Baby DIVA on an adventure to a local holiday hot spot. Santa's Wonderland is a multi acre drive thru Christmas light spectacular coupled with a festival like atmosphere. Not only are there lights galore, but a cute little Santa town with all kinds of snacks and a few gift shops. There is even a fabulous little cook-your-own hot dogs and smores area for the kiddos, of all ages of course. And all of this is done while listening to live music, really bringing the magical season to life.

You can captivate your childs imagination by engaging them via hayride or Carriage ride through the amazing lighted drive across the park. Leaping reindeer, rivers of blue water, nativity scenes, santa, chipmunks, you-name-it, can be found in this forrest of lights. It really is an amazing spectacle.

Baby DIVA was not too impressed with waiting in the line to board our fabulous hayride. However, once we started on our adventure through the rainbow arch of thousands of lights, she woke up, smiled and the magic of the seaon caught her. A hit to be repeated for years to come!

Critter2 checkup

2010-12-14T11:56:00.004-06:00

Critter2 had a little check up yesterday. I heard "his" heartbeat and the doctor and nurse confirmed that I do in fact have a spunky, very wiggly, wild child growing in my tummy! Tell me something I dont know. "He" moves constantly! Everything is proceeding as it should.

These appointments are actually kind of boring, if you know what I mean. You go in, pee in a cup, get your blood pressure checked, Dr comes and and tells you "you are still pregnant" and goes away. See you in a month. Blah!

Critter 2 is doing well but I am starting to display a little bit of pregnancy struggles. My blood pressure is already on the rise. I am now off of salt for the duration of this pregnancy and must monitor my blood pressure and alert the doctor of elevated numbers. Boo. I expected this in later pregnancy since Baby DIVA was induced at 34 weeks because om high Blood pressure, but I did not expect it to climb so early. Oh and I lost some pounds. Go me! Not really, but hey who doesn't like to see the number go down!!

But Critter2 is looking great, and that is the important thing! Also we scheduled our level 2 ultrasound for January 4. Translation: GENDER REVEAL!!!

12 days of Christmas

2010-12-10T10:30:00.000-06:00

In hopes to keep Baby DIVA entertained during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season as well as to keep her from noticing we don't hit the park too often because it is a tad chilly, I have been trying to come up with fun crafty things to do indoors to peak her attention. Now we all know a 2 year old is going to have the attention span of OH about 30 seconds, so these are quick projects, nonetheless I find myself finishing them alone while she runs off to get into something she is not supposed to. AHH the life of a mom with a toddler.

Yesterday we completed our 12 days of Christmas project for this year. Simple really. I traced Baby DIVA's hand onto green paper and then cut out a bunch of her prints. We then took her hands and constructed a Christmas tree from them. I also cut out a few pink and blue ball ornaments and red candy canes and a single large yellow star from construction paper for the tree topper. Simple. Easy. She was entertained for a whole 2 minutes. It was grand!

We hung our masterpiece by the fireplace. It looks quite cute. Now come December 13, we will begin to place a construction paper present under the tree, one each day, for the 12 days of Christmas. An advent calendar of sorts. A craft that keeps on going. A little something fun for my Baby DIVA to do every day between now and Christmas.

Christmas cookies

2010-12-09T20:00:00.000-06:00

It is no secret that I have never really been able to master the art of baking cookies. No matter what I have done in the past, my cookies always come out looking distorted or super obese, or all the cookies just "Grow" into one giant cookie. It has become some what a joke around my household, a joke that kind of pisses me off.

This year, Baby DIVA being at an age where Christmas cookies and decorating are a fun activity (well for about a minute and half anyway), I was bound and determined to master the art of baking a cookie and having it come out of the oven looking like the cookie I put in the oven. Thanks to Dr. Google and a friends thought of possibly turning my baked goodies halfway through cooking time, I MASTERED THE SKILL!!! Cookies went in looking one way and came out a little golden brown and looking just the same!

But perhaps I have not quite mastered the decorating aspect of this fun activity. Id like to introduce you to Zombie gingerbread man!!!!

And here are a few looks at Baby DIVA's food art. Clearly she has skills momma doesn't!

Do you bake cookies every year with your family? What kind do you bake and with whom?

Local Christmas Bash

2010-12-06T21:00:00.000-06:00

Map of the shindig!

This last weekend H4l, Baby DIVA, and myself (and Critter 2) had the privilege of attending an invitation only Christmas party. OHHHHH, aren't we fancy. Its the hair I tell you! Pink Hair makes cool things happen.

But seriously, we attended the annual Christmas party of a local lawyer , Mr. Lanier. Every year this gentleman throws a family friendly event that is catered at bringing joy and laughter to kids. And this year was no exception. It was amazing. We joined a few thousand of Mr. Laniers closest friends ( see we ain't that fancy) and enjoyed riding a carousel, Ferris wheel, a petting zoo, a bazillion different bounce houses, eating cotton candy, multiple train rides and so much more. Unbelievable. All at no cost and all on the personal property of Mr. Lanier.

Baby DIVA playing games

One goofy kid!

From the moment we entered the gates of Mr. Laniers property until the special shuttle bus drove us away, we had nothing but fun. Baby DIVA had so much fun she stumbled her way back to the bus. Literally the girl was so tired and giggly she tripped over her own feet time and time again. But she was not going to let go of her giant lollipop. (see below)

And yes we are now the proud owners of a pink giantic lollipop!

Oh and did I mention STING was the guest performer and we enjoyed a free concert up close and personal? (okay we fancy again!) Looking quite forward to receiving my invite next year!!

H4L and Baby DIVA and the spiffy Ferris Wheel

Bouncin'

Momma and Baby DIVA (looking over my shoulder at something fun!)

Santa video and Santa letter for FREE

2010-12-03T12:36:00.000-06:00

I am sure you have heard about the Free video letter from Santa Claus. It has been all over the blogosphere the last week or so. And let me tell it it is adorable. I made one for Baby DIVA and one for her bestie and they both just fell in love with the old dude and watched the video over and over. But true to any novelty my 2 year old lost interest and moved on leaving me to watch the video over and over again all alone.

And that is when I found a website offering Free letters from Santa Claus. Yeppers. A personalized letter from The jolly old Santa himself just for my kiddo. The website offers you a choice of printing the letter out at home, or having one mailed to you. I opted for the print option myself and have an adorable letter from Santa for Baby DIVA. There are multiple styles to choose from as well. And several different wording options too. I had a blast personalizing this letter for Baby DIVA and although she can not read right now, I am quite sure she will enjoy looking back on this letter and reading it to herself in years to come just as much has she enjoys hearing me read it to her now.

So if you want to add it alittle extra fun to the holidays for your kiddos, scoot over there and design them a Santa video and/or Santa letter! Too cute! And best of all FREE!!!!

Demanding rewards and Fake Kidnappings

2010-12-03T09:03:00.002-06:00

My mom's phone went missing the other day while we were out and about. Sucked. But we did what we could to try and find it and then headed to the cell phone store to get a replacement. Mom had the old phone disconnected and off we went with her new toy. C'est la vie.

A few hours later I received a call on my cell phone from a number I didn't recognize. Normally I do not answer such calls, but something beckoned me to take this call. On the other end of the line was a gentleman claiming to have found a blackberry. I said "wonderful, shall we meet so we can get it back?". "No", He told me. "what is the reward?

Shocked. I told him there wasn't a reward we just wanted the phone back. He then told me "he wasted his time and his day finding this phone" and demanded a reward. He was heading into a belligerent context so I just hung up the phone. Asshole.

It bothered me. I found it quite unsettling that another person could find a lost item, such as a cell phone, that we all know is an important item to its owner in this day an age, and be such a disgusting human being about it. Calling the rightful owner and demanding a reward. I don't know about you but I was raised that you treat others with respect. You treat others as you yourself would like to be treated. And if there is a reward you graciously accept or decline, you NEVER demand compensation for helping someone else. In the great scheme of things, the reward itself is helping out a fellow person.

But then what am I to expect in a society that finds paying for a fake kidnapping to be an acceptable form of pastime or a acceptable gift for those who are just too hard to buy for.

Fabulous gift finds

2010-12-02T12:56:00.005-06:00

JC Penny is having a fabulous sale and there are several codes out there that make this marvelous sale that much better. I just had to share my good fortune with my readers in hopes they too can snag some goodies for all those tots in our lives.

I managed to get a play kitchen, Shopping cart with food, play laundry center , child's desktop computer, and a 10-1 activity learning cart (a gift for KDude), all shipped to me for a total of $60!!! That is it. Baby DIVA is going to wake up Christmas morning to a fabulous find under her tree!!

And with the savings I just might get to have a little comething from Santa for me this year too!

Here is the code I used 4RELVES. Good luck!

Bye Bye Chupy

2010-12-02T10:13:00.000-06:00

Baby DIVA turned the big 2 last Thursday. And many of you moms out there know what that means. Time to take away the pacifier, or Chupy as we call it. We spent the last few weeks discussing this revelation with Baby DIVA. I literally could see my words going in one ear and out there other. I assumed it was a lost cause and this Operation chupy removal would be a nightmare.

I have been pleasantly surprised though. We have taken away Chupy for the entire day. Baby DIVA must turn it in to the Cabinet fairy in the morning when she wakes up. She can not have Chupy all day long, not even for naps, but at bedtime we let her have it. The magical cabinet fairy brings chupy back foor one special Baby DIVA. Just for this first week. Starting week 2 she must go night night without Chupy.

So far so good! She is a tad fussy in the car without her pal chupy, and seems to take an extra 10 to 20 minutes to fall asleep at nap time. But other than that we are soaring through operation chupy removal! I am actually kind of excited about it. I will admit I thought she wouldn't give it up and it was gonna get ugly. But I was wrong, at least so far!

Here is hoping potty training goes as smooth! :)

Holiday MAGIC

2010-12-01T08:24:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving came and went. And we all know what that means! Despite the retail industry trying to force us to accept some Holiday cheer 4 months before the old jolly guy comes down for a visit; it is NOW officially time to get our Christmas on!

For me, I simply must deck the house in Christmas the weekend following Thanksgiving. I do not care what my plans are. What is on our schedule. It WILL happen. Even if it means decorations go up at 3 in the morning. Christmas will magically appear the weekend after Turkey Day Dammit!

And I did. H4L was kind enough to scamper up the attic ladder and bring down my zillion boxes of Christmas décor. I emphasize the number here, as H4L noticeably mentioned to me how he carried each box down. Love yah Hun! Sorry but the belly prevents me from doing any strenuous activity. (Side note: Someone toss me an excuse for next year). Once the boxes were down, I began to rummage through them finding all sorts of treasures that I forgot about over the last 11 months. Ahhh it was just like Christmas. HA!

While Baby DIVA napped ever so sweetly, I turned her castle into Christmas wonderland. The tree went up and was adorned with numerous ornaments that we have collected as a family. Mementoes from previous vacations, Baby first Christmas, Wedding memories, and even little hand and footprint ornaments from Baby DIVA made right after she was born. Yes hormones kicked in and I had myself a little cry while hanging ornaments. Isn’t that why we have these ornaments?

After the tree went up I carried on the Christmas magic to all other areas of the house. The mantle now houses the old familiar Christmas frogs, the kitchen is covered in gingerbread men and nutcrackers, and the guest bathroom screams winter as it is decked out in snowmen galore. Gorgeous. Wonderful. Christmas!

Now in, oh about 3 ½ weeks I will be itching to put up as this “clutter”. Funny how that happens huh?

Baby DIVA broke my camera so you will have to settle for a camera phone pic. Enjoy. HINT TO SANTA!!! I need a camera!

Must do's for December

2010-11-30T14:30:00.000-06:00

December is almost here. It is time to race around like the world is coming to and end and get everything done. Never mind we have spent the last 12 months sitting on our asses watching re runs of House all weekend. NOW though, we are just so busy and must get things done. No more butt sitting. Must be jammed packed from this point on!

Okay so perhaps I am over exaggerating a bit. But seriously, have you ever noticed how "busy" we all become during the month of December? Each year I feel that no matter how prepared we are there is still the hustle and bustle and constant "stress" of the month to get everything done. Make sure all the sights are seen and pcitures taken to document the season. I recently was checking out our family calendar while trying to schedule lunch with a friend and caught myself saying, "Well you know I am really booked up, What do you have available in January"". REALLY?? How the heck did that happen? I am a SAHM, and don't get me wrong it is a double full time gig, but really how did my schedule get so backed up.

Then I looked into this problem a little deeper. What exactly is it that we are so" busy" doing? Here is the rundown. Now take notes locals, you might need to fill your calender too! Some of these things are just too good not to stuff on your schedule!!

City of Katy Tree lighting
December 2 at 5pm Katy Heritage park.

Lanier Xmas party December 5: and invitation only bash thrown by a local lawyer. Complete with an invitation that came via Ferris wheel! This will be our first attendance to the bash and I am actually looking forward to it. An alcohol free family event with guest performer Sting. Sounds fun to me!

The Cottage Charm A wonderful little spectacle we discovered last year. Local christian ministries team up and provide a wonderful display of dancing lights themed to wonderful music all while running a food drive to help those in need. WE took many cans of food last year and enjoyed the show so much. It is free, just if you can spare it please donate some can goods and take your family out to see spectacular dancing lights. Runs 6pm to 11pm every night throughout the holiday season

La Centerra offers visits and pictures with Santa every Saturday and Sunday throughout the month of December. Cost is free. But remember to bring your own camera if you want those pictures. We took Baby DIVA last year and were delighted to find out Santa also provided breakfast prepared by Mrs. Claus who also makes her appearance. We look forward to visiting again this year.

Houston Area Mommies in addition to our regularly scheduled play dates and mom events, HAM will also be hosting some fabulous Holiday events/parties for the moms, tots, and family. Such a great community to be involved in.

Other things we have going on this month include Baby DIVA's 2 year checkup! WOWSERS. Numerous Birthday parties, Uncle Diamonds Graduation: complete with a trip to Paris!, and of course TONS of holiday baking! It is a very busy month but I am looking quite forward to it all! Maybe not all MUST HAVE to do's but majority of it is fun anyway. Maybe a nice hot cocoa and a snuggle with Baby DIVA on the couch watching Backyardigan re runs instead of House re runs might need to be added to schedule too!

What are your plans this season?

What's that smell?

2010-11-30T08:15:00.001-06:00

One might think that I am a pro at being pregnant. I mean I should be, right? I have had a couple of pregnancies, birthed a fabulous Baby DIVA, I should know all the interworking of this baby making game.

Nope. I am as dumb this time around about pregnancy as I was with Baby DIVA. The difference this time though, is I don’t obsess nearly as much about my growing womb as I did the first time. Sometimes I even forget that there is “Action” going on down there in the womb cooker.

That is until the tummy rumbles begin. You know the ones I am referring to. The ones that pregnancy books and modest friends describe to use as “increased flatulence”, or “minor stomach bloating”. WHATEVER!!! Friends let me tell you without censoring this material. Seriously. Someone has to. I was not properly warned and cannot let this horrible misleading information continue to other pregnant women!

Pregnancy makes you fart like a dude eating chili dogs and drinking beer 24 hours a day. I am not freaking kidding. I have become a walking whoopee cushion. Any movement I make can result in an obnoxious explosion that usually ends in one of two ways. Total embarrassment or barf session. You get the picture, right? Don’t be fooled ladies! This is the cold hard truth. Read between the lines in the pregnancy books. Pregnancy is downright disgusting!!!

Now that being said, let us get to something really important. Yesterday I found myself feeling the of familiar rumbles moving around in the belly. I thought to myself, “Oh goodie, where is my damn gas mask?” Only, no action took place. No explosions. No need to clear the room. Just bubbles and rumblings. And that is when it dawned on me. This might not be pregnant rumbles. This might be something bigger! I quickly consulted with the wonderful ladies and my friends of Houston Area Mommies to make sure I wasn't crazy, of course.

And after consulting with my HAM experts I determined It wasn’t gas bubbles…it was BABY BUBBLES! Yes my friends! I felt Critter2 MOVE for the first time yesterday. Hot Diggity Dog! Such an amazing feeling. I sure hope the movement continues daily, however at 14 weeks I know I may not feel it daily for some time. But it is still fabulous nonetheless. When was the first time you felt your little bun in the oven move? Did it scare you? Did you think it was a giant gas bomb like me? Did it melt your heart? I would love to hear your stories about first kicks, please share!!

Oh and let’s not tell Critter2 that I thought he was a fart. Okay? We will just keep that between us.

All behind us now

2010-11-26T09:12:00.003-06:00

The morning sickness has ended! I ate my weight in food yesterday and it was FABULOUS!!!

Thanksgiving has come and gone! Family and friends are always lovely to visit with!

And...

BABY DIVA is 2 YEARS OLD!!!!!

Baby DIVA celebrated turkey day by turning the big 2! I still can not believe it! My Baby is 2 years old. My how fast it has gone by. She is a striking little lady now.

I hope your holiday was enjoyable and wonderful!

And as promised. Hers is a pic of that fabulous birthday cake my MIL made for Baby DIVA's party!

Baby DIVA turning 2!

2010-11-19T10:00:00.006-06:00

It is unbelievable! My precious Baby DIVA is going to turn 2 years old next week, on Thanksgiving Day no less. It astonishes me. Where has the time gone? How did she reach 2 years old so quickly? I am so excited to watch her grow but it also tickles a little nostalgia inside me. I miss her being so tiny and dependent on me. Now she pushes me away, whines when she doesn't get her way, is VERY independent and has to do everything her way, but she always flashes the sweetest smiles while doing so. Or perhaps it's a devious smile.

With this special day on the horizon, one might guess that a birthday bash is in the works. And BOY is it! Baby DIVA is having her very own Yo Gabba Gabba party this weekend. She loves Yo Gabba Gabba and although it is slightly annoying to me, and has a cult of pot smoking college kids following it, it is what my child adores, therefore my entire home will turn into Gabba land for a full day in honor of the one, the only, Baby DIVA.

Funny thing is, there isn’t a lot of Yo Gabba Gabba party items out there. You are shocked right? After pouring over the net and party stores, I finally decided to make Baby DIVA’s party decor from scratch. Yep. I did. And smart move on my part because I committed myself to this endeavor all while sporting some fabulous morning sickness with Baby DIVA’s little brother or sister. Smooth move mom. I simply must win Mother of the year this year. Hands down.

I found myself over on the Nick Jr website and let my creativity go wild. The website has tons and tons of printables with the Yo Gabba Gabba theme and characters. So, I printed them out and put them into play. Here are a few teasers of what Baby DIVA will find on her big day tomorrow!

Centerpieces

Goodie Bag Treats: Yo Gabba Gabba Silly Bandz!

Homemade Goodie Bags with awesome treats inside!!

Although we went the frugal route this year with Baby DIVA’s birthday, I think it has turned out amazing. We were able to purchase Yo Gabba Gabba plates, cups and napkins but the rest of the decor was made by me. It is exactly what I know my child loves and I cannot wait to share her big day with her! But she does have one special bonus. My Mother-in-law made Baby DIVA's birthday cake. And it is nothing short of spectacular. I promise to show you this masterpiece post party!!

Does it look like me?

2010-11-18T09:30:00.001-06:00

We had our first ultrasound yesterday. Everything is looking totally fabulous. You cannot imagine my relief. I actually had a few tears slip out my eye as the tech moved that wand over my belly. The relief. The overwhelming sense of calm that swept over me was indescribable.

It’s funny that we women, mothers to be in this day and age, are so dependent upon these ultrasounds. We find ourselves not really believing we are with child until we see that baby on the screen. We build up unnecessary anxiety within ourselves about if the baby is positioned right, has two arms, a neck that is the right thickness, two hands, whatever our personal conviction may be, only an ultrasound can resolve our fears. What did women do say 30 years ago? When ultrasounds were few and far between and not everyone received them. And even then they were not all that reliable. How did they cope? What did women do 50 years ago when Oh my goodness you just didn’t know anything until that baby was born. Wow!

I find myself lucky. I count my blessings. I am thankful that I live in an age where I can go in and see my little 11 week old baby wiggle around, forming, growing and becoming the baby I will hold in a few months. I am grateful for the technology that can place my mind at ease and allow me some comfort in this baby making game. But I also find myself wondering, Would I be so neurotic and have such a need to see this baby if I didn’t know the technology was available. Would I instead be calm, cool, and collected and go about my day without the constant obsessing over what is going on inside my tummy?

I have no idea honestly what I would feel like. But it is a pretty interesting idea to ponder. Women have been birthing babes for thousands of years, going through entire pregnancies without a screen shot to calm their fears, and humans are still here. I find it fascinating how dependent we have become upon these technologies to give us comfort. And I will be the first to say, I NEED the comfort! What about you?

That all being said, allow me to introduce the newest addition to the Pink Haired Momma clan, Critter2! Looks just like me huh?