pregnant ramblings

I got in trouble with one of my friends yesterday for talking about being pregnant here on my blog before I had told her about it first hand. Oops! When I found out that I was pregnant with Lila, we called everyone we knew. This time around, we called and told all the parents/grandparents, but then I ran out of energy. I have been telling people as I happen to talk to or email them, but I was kind of hoping that it would mostly spread by word of mouth. Now I know better. [she says humbly and solemnly, and without the slightest trace of sarcasm.]

As always, I know several other ladies who are pregnant. I don't think there's anyone with a due date close to mine this time around though. Of course, I found out that I was pregnant pretty early and told everyone right away. So there could be someone slower on the discovery and/or more cautious about spreading the news who will pop up soon. It was kind of fun having a friend to compare notes with. (for those who have no idea what i'm talking about, my friend sally was due the day before me last time and her son was born two days after lila.)

On an odd note, I think Charlie has known for a few weeks that I was pregnant. He mysteriously started yelling at me a whole lot (as i mentioned before, on this very blog) a couple of weeks after we moved and I hadn't been able to figure out why. Now, it could be that he's just punishing us for moving or it could be, as I speculated earlier, that he wants me to start accompanying him to the food bowl. But maybe, just maybe, he's yelling at me because he's not too happy that I'm pregnant again!

No Swim Class

Today has not gone quite as I expected. This was supposed to be Swim Class Day, but we ended up with our cars trapped in the driveway all morning. We had gotten a notice that they would be putting a protective layer down on our street today, starting at 8 a.m. And... I guess we didn't take it seriously. I mean, I thought they'd start at one end of the street and we'd be able to leave for swim class before they made it to the middle (where we are).

Well, we didn't make it to swim class (Lila was very upset) and Doug had to work from home. I did finally move some cones and escape for a Community Leader Team Lunch at the church. They still had the street barricaded when I got back, but Doug moved the cones again and went to work anyway. That's not as rule-breaking as it sounds though. [justification alert!] There's a road that dead ends across from our house, so we only had to go across the street, not all the way up it. Plus, the stuff would appear to be mostly dry.

This is totally unrelated, but we have discovered a fun new game with Hurley. Apparently, he really likes to tunnel around under the covers while we read in bed. He mostly plays around Doug's legs, probably because I move mine too much. There was one night that he burrowed himself right off the end of the bed! Thankfully, the sheet was tucked under the matress, so he didn't really fall. He just dropped into a sort of hedgie hammock. :)

cute and funny

You know, Lila says and does funny things all day long. But lately, when I sit down in front of the computer, I can't think of any of them! I do remember one funny story that I've been meaning to share...

On Friday, we were doing our grocery shopping when she suddenly said, "Mommy loves you!" Then she reached out and grabbed me (she was sitting in the cart) and gave me a hug and a kiss. It was super sweet! I turned back to the food and started shopping again (i believe i was trying to choose a bottle of soy sauce). Then, in her best monster voice, she said, "Gimme da kiss!" The next few minutes were spent with her demanding kisses in her monster voice and me giving them quite willingly. It was hilarious!

Another funny thing she's started doing is jumping jacks. We had some friends over on Saturday and they have a five-year-old son. While we were all hanging out in the back yard, he started doing jumping jacks and counting them. She thought it was really cool, so now, mostly when we're in the back yard, she'll start doing her version of jumping jacks and counting.

It would really be best if I could show you a video of how she does them, but try to picture this. She plants her feet far apart, bends her knees, leans forward at the hips, and swings her arms back and forth from out at her sides to in front of her. Too funny. And her counting is really good. She can actually count from 1 to 12, though she tends to forget the number 5.

Sesame Seed

For those who are interested, Baby Number Two is roughly the size of a sesame seed and looks like a tadpole. Last week, we were calling it 'poppy seed' - I guess we'll switch to 'sesame seed' this week. I'm not feeling too pregnant yet, but I'm sure that will come. Right now it's the little things like getting cold easily, being extra tired and hungry, and finding nearly every odor to be horribly offensive.

And the pregnancy paranoia has already kicked in, hard core. "Oh no - I didn't start taking prenatal vitamins until I was 4 weeks pregnant! Oh no - I didn't stop taking my allergy medicine until I was 4 weeks pregnant! Oh no - I had a rum and coke and a Happy Hour a couple of weeks ago!" I have an appointment with my OB in a couple of weeks and I'm counting on her to reassure me that I have not already ruined my child for life.

Doug is trying to cook dinner right now and I hear some whining going on, so I'd better go make myself useful. For the record, it's Lila that's whining, not Doug. This time.

Pirates and Painting

Doug and I got to go on a date last night! Woohoo! (Thank you, Lindsay!) We didn't do anything overly exciting, but we got to do not-overly-exciting things with no child around! We had dinner at La Margarita - they have very good cheese enchiladas, but don't bother with the chili con queso - and then saw 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'. I'd seen it before, but Doug hadn't.

Anyway, it was nice. Now Doug and Lila are painting one of the walls in our living room. Doug does most of the work, but every few minutes it gets to be 'Lila's Turn!' and she does a little painting. This works out really well for everyone. Doug is able to paint without a lot of fussing from Lila because she's involved and not feeling ignored. She gets to feel like she's helping Daddy and it keeps her very well occupied. And I get the benefit of being able to complete an entire task without interruption! Like, typing up a blog post, for example.

Frank, my step-dad, and a couple of his friends are in town this weekend. They are staying at our old house and are primarily here to lay the new tile over there. Frank has been so helpful since we've moved and there's no way we'd have the old house ready to rent by the end of the month (or the end of the year, for that matter) without his assistance!

I just have one thing to say.

I'm pregnant! We're having another one of these!

wrap me up like a pizza roll and put me to bed!

I don't feel I have much to talk about this evening. I had a burst of productivity today, perhaps inspired by yesterday's comments on the subject, and now I just want to relax. The morning started with swim class, then Lila got a haircut, then we ate a very cheap lunch at Taco Cabana and wandered around Half Price Books while I had the oil changed in my car, then back home for a nap. Well, Lila had a nap and I did a number of other things. This afternoon, I got my hair cut too and we just got home from our Tuesday night tradition of Peproni Rolls at Double Dave's. Whew!

In case you need further proof that my daughter is being well-trained in silliness: Doug reminded Lila this morning that we'd be having pizza rolls for dinner this evening and she talked about them ALL DAY! Every time we went somewhere, she was disappointed because it wasn't the restaurant with the pizza rolls. Finally, on the way home from the salon this afternoon, she was sitting in the backseat saying (i'm not making this up), "Piiizza wooolls... piiizza wooolls... where are you pizza wolls?"

from busyness to silence

I'm currently enjoying the rare privilege of being home alone. Doug and Lila are at the old house, meeting a guy to get an estimate for laying tile. They really should be back by now, but I'm not complaining because the peace and quiet I'm experiencing is too good! I am so used to the noises associated with a 2-year-old that I don't even think about them until I find myself in a quiet place. Ahh...

We had a pretty busy day, Lila and I. Nothing worth describing in detail - gym, shopping, library - but busy. I truly do not know what I did with my time before Lila came along. I mean, I worked out, that hasn't changed. And I did make shopping trips, but they were much shorter! However, there were no trips to the library or swim class or brushing any one's teeth but my own or diaper changing or wrestling matches in the floor. How was I not the most productive person in the world?!? I don't get it.

Charlie (whom you see in the photo, defiantly sitting in lila's bed) has instituted a new method of trying to drive me crazy. He follows me around all day and yells at me. Well, all of the day that he does not spend asleep in my closet. I think he is trying to train me to come and stand by his food bowl while he eats. The simple way to verify this theory would be to do just that and see if he stops yelling. I'm not willing to experiment, however, because if I do it even one time then he will think it's the new routine and will re-double his yelling when I don't comply the next time. He's such a weird cat.

You did what?!?

I never thought the day would come when I'd willingly watch an NFL game. Don't get me wrong, I like football, particularly when the players are in their early 20s and wearing burnt orange. But I have not enjoyed watching professional football since I was in high school. Maybe it's because Austin does not have a professional football team or because college players (and younger) just seem so much more excited and motivated. I don't know.

Well, last night I willingly (intentionally, even!) watched the last half of the Saints vs. Colts game. A group of our friends has formed a Fantasy Football League and I signed up to lead a team -- which I named 'Melted Cheese'. I know nothing about it, but I am a competitive game player and it sounded like fun. I have a feeling this is going to end up being very addictive and I will (occasionally) wish I'd never gotten started with it.

Incidentally, I was rooting for the Saints, so it was a pretty dismal game to watch.

For those of you here to get a baby fix: Lila was walking around this morning, playing with a small pair of pliers (don't worry, i was watching her). Once, she was standing next to me, fiddling with the pliers and a large box and she said, "What Lila doing?" So I said, "Oh yes, what is Lila doing?" And she said, "I fixing da box!" She went on to fix a piece of paper and a few other things. I finally had to intervene when she decided to fix her Daddy's computer screen. :)

Not much of a post

As I started to type this post, Doug told me he needs me to move (he's putting together one of our new desks), so I will just give you this photo of Lila drinking her First Very Own (watered-down) Dr. Pepper and go on to clean out the litter box. Sorry. :)

Where No Hedgie Has Gone Before

I put a hedgehog in the bathtub with my daughter last night. I took Hurley out to clean his cage, and it occured to me that I'd given him a Severely Unappreciated Bath before (he doesn't even like the sound of running water now), but it was not water deep enough to swim in. I wanted to see him swim, so in he went! It was very funny to watch those little legs propelling his round body through the water. He didn't really care for the activity and he smelled rather odd when he got wet, but the rest of us enjoyed it. I think I will wait a couple of weeks and do it again, but use some pet shampoo on his little belly and feet. For those who might be concerned that I am being unkind to my pointy little pet, don't worry - baths are recommended for hedgies. Besides, I've seen the kind of thing that gets stuck between those tiny little toes...!

The photo you see here is of Hurley investigating one of our kitchen windowsills. I plopped him on the kitchen counter while I did something else (don't worry - i clean up the path where the aforementioned dirty little feet tread) and when I turned around he had climbed up onto the sill. I actually got quite a few good pictures of him. He usually refuses to do anything remotely cute and/or hides when I get the camera out, but he was having too much fun this time. I just let him climb around and kept snapping photos until he started showing a bit too much interest in my plant.

I know that the devoted fans of my daughter will be disappointed in this post, but I haven't talked about Hurley in a very long time and I wanted to show off one of my cute pictures!

Departure and Illness

Well, Jessica went back home today. We're really going to miss her around here! It's amazing how quickly you can get used to having someone around, especially someone as good-natured and affectionate as Jessica. I think it's going to take a few days for Lila to get used to her being gone. She hasn't said much about her absence yet, but I suspect that she'll be asking for "Ge-ge-kuh" tomorrow.

Poor Dougie is not feeling well this evening. His tummy is all messed up, so I made him some ginger tea and then sent him to bed early. He definitely didn't complain about that. Besides not feeling well, the poor guy hasn't gotten to bed on time in at least two weeks! I just hope that his healing rest isn't sabotaged by any early morning insomnia...

The three of us went to Bed Bath & Beyond this afternoon to get a few things we needed for the house. Specifically, we were looking for a new bedspread for the guest room, a drain rack for the kitchen sink, and a "shower caddy" for the shower stall in our bathroom. Did you know that you can use up to five of those '20% off any one item' coupons at one time?!? We used three and I left feeling Quite Thrifty.

No Boys

Lila had her 2 year check-up with the pediatrician today. Everything looked great and her stats are as follows:

Weight: 24 lbs 10 oz (30th %ile)
Height: 33 in. (25th %ile)
Head Circumference: 48 cm. (70th %ile)

Tonight it will be just the girls and I because Doug is going to small group. Maybe I'll just take a shower with Lila instead of doing a normal bath for her. Is it terrible that I don't enjoy doing bath time? (that's a rhetorical question - please don't answer it) It's such a bummer that Doug and I don't get to go to small group together anymore! Besides the obvious effect of each of us only getting to hang out with the group every other week, it means I only get to see Doug for about an hour and a half all day (including breakfast). Oh well, I'm still hoping to find a regular Wednesday night babysitter so we can both go every week... Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I'm hoping a regular Wednesday night babysitter will fall into our laps. [tee hee]

House full of crazy people...

Lila, as I speak, is laying in wait (literally) for her Daddy to get home. One of her birthday gifts was a big bag of plastic balls, like the ones you see in the ball pits. We cleaned and inflated her wading pool and poured all the balls in and that's where she's sitting. In the wading pool full of balls. According to my spy, Jessica, she's picking the balls up, one at a time, and talking to them. Weird kid.

I am so tired! I think the situation is this: I didn't sleep well at all for the first week we were here. Between being in a new place and all the stress that was happening, I slept horribly! Now, I have finally settled down and chilled out and I'm sleeping much better. Since I'm sleeing well, I don't want to wake up in the morning. Whatever the cause, I'm tired.

I'm also finding it difficult to concentrate on anything; like typing a blog post, for instance. Jessica, I've found, is much more difficult to ignore than Lila. That's not to say that I spend a lot of time ignoring the kids, but there are some things that cannot get done unless I tune them out. I currently have Jessica drawing a picture nearby and asking me every ten seconds if I can guess what it is...

When Snoopy Attacks

I am busy busy busy with preparations for Lila's birthday tomorrow. I think I'm more excited than she is. In fact, I know that I am because she is asleep and I'm the one who's up, wrapping things and making plans. I'm more excited than Doug at the moment too. He's a very sleepy boy. :)

Sick Girls Everywhere

Poor Lila has been running a fever since yesterday morning. It got up to 103 degrees yesterday afternoon, so we took her to the doctor who, of course, could find nothing wrong with her. She has no other symptoms, so they said to watch her and bring her back if the fever spikes to over 103 degrees or continues for five days. She'll be going back to the doctor tomorrow because her fever got up to 103.8 this evening.

I woke up this morning not feeling well myself. Nothing I can put a name to, just general ickiness. My head hurt and my body was aching. Doug worked from home for most of the day (apparently he also built a fort with Jessica and they hunted buffalo in our hallway - all the exciting stuff happens when i'm asleep!). Anyway, I still feel a little icky, but I have no fever and I'll get over it.

This evening, Jessica was complaining a bit of not feeling well. I thought maybe she was looking to bank off of Lila's sickness attention, but I checked her temperature and she's got a fever too! It's not nearly as high, but a fever nonetheless. I went out and bought some Children's Tylenol (all we had was infant's and extra strength) and hopefully she will feel better tomorrow!

Sheesh!

Moving Day Approaches

Well, we're moving tomorrow. Kinda crazy! I'm a little sad to leave this house. Not because I love the house itself - I don't, really - but because all of my wife and mommy memories have been formed while I've lived here. I wonder how long it will be before the new place really feels like home.

My second cousin (i think that's right - i'm not sure how all that works) is staying with us for a few weeks. We invited her to come and I'm glad to have her here. It's been a little difficult, adjusting to suddenly having a second child around in the midst of all this other craziness. We're having fun though, and I'm sure we'll settle into a new routine soon enough. You know me - as long as I've got a routine, life is good. :o)~

I think Lila is tired of how much of our time goes into this "packing" business, but she's doing alright. She's totally diggin' the fact that Jessica is around and she wants to follow her and do whatever she is doing. Jessica told me a couple of days ago that it's tiring having a toddler around all day. I just laughed out loud. Tell me about it...

No Time!

I don't have much time to write because Lila just woke up from a nap, but I wanted to check in. We spent four solid days of last week/weekend painting at the new house. What you see in this photo is the color of Lila's new room. Purple is her favorite color these days, so she got a purple room! There are those who seem to feel that our choice of wall colors reflects some sort of character flaw, but frankly my dear... TAKE A HIKE!

And now I must go. Things around here are NUTS!

Paperwork

We couldn't find a babysitter on Monday, so we had to take Lila to the closing with us. This is her helping us with paperwork. She was taking her job very seriously!

It was hilarious, actually, because she was totally studying the actions of the lady from the title company and then copying them. The lady would make marks on papers, hand them to us to sign, put them upside down on another stack, flip through the them, etc. Lila was doing all the same things and totally looked like she knew what she was doing. I told Doug it was a good thing we had her with us because we never would have gotten through all that paperwork without her!

By the way, Grandad Dorsey was in the hospital for a couple of nights because he needed a blood transfusion, but he is back home now and doing alright. You keep praying and I'll keep you updated!

Disregard this Photo