Winning Stuff

So, my childhood friend Sara has a blog, and she is having a giveaway. She's giving away a book for parents of boys called Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys. She gave it a rave review, and after checking it out on Amazon for myself, I've decided that I need this book, whether I win it or not. Since I will be nurturing a boy soon. :o). Maybe you will want to enter the giveaway yourself. On second thought...don't. That way I have better chances.

31 Weeks!

Evidently I called it too early. It hasn't gotten uncomfortable yet. Not really. Though I do have a bit of a cold that is currently keeping me up at 5am. It's not that bad, but combined with the normal pregnancy restlessness, its keeping me awake. I'm just happy its the weekend. If I were awake at this hour on a weeknight, it would wreak some havoc on my workday. I know its coming, but at the moment I am still getting great sleep (normally), and am hoping that continues for another month.

I have my first shower in two weeks. Dang. I'm pretty much finished with my registry. I've just got a few loose ends to tie up, namely, cloth diapers. Such a hard decision for my indecisive and cheap self.

Also, I cleaned out the closets in Malachi's room today. Really, its still our room, but we probably will have moved by next weekend. I'm hoping anyway. Looking forward to our new big room with no dust bunnies or missing socks under the bed yet.

Boys in Girls Clothes

So I just saw an amazing deal for cloth diapers from someone here in Roanoke. Fuzzi Bunz One-Size All-in-Ones. These are really great diapers, and she’s selling 15 for $250. That’s less than $14 each for pretty much the best diapers you can buy. And then I noticed…they are pink and purple. Why?! Why do people have to buy gender-specific everything for their babies?!

I would almost do it anyway, but I know Joshua won’t go for it.

I prefer gender-neutral or boy stuff that look more gender neutral. Then it’s not so clearly a hand-me-down for baby girls we may have some day. When you start looking at baby stuff, you realize that “boy stuff” can often go for both. Bright colors, neutrals, pastel blue, yellow and green, even stripes, are just as appropriate for girls as they are for boys, in my opinion. It’s the girl stuff—pink, flowers, bows, and lace—that will really confuse people on a boy.

It Has Begun...

The third trimester is here. A week ago, I was talking about how good I feel, and thinking I had a few good weeks of that left. Now, I'm not so sure. I don't feel terrible by any stretch, just not quite as good as before. My belly is getting more awkward, so I'm pretty sure I'm waddling. I am waking up more at night. My feet are getting crazy swollen. Like, I-need-to-buy-new-shoes swollen. And any number of other random things that aren't quite right when you are pregnant. 29 weeks. 11 weeks to go.

Dear Malachi,

Please come soon. I know you are worth the wait and a lot of discomfort. But seriously, what's with 40 weeks? 29 seems like plenty.

Love,

Mommy

In other news, we started on the basement. That was a huge step, and I think its possible that we will have Malachi's room cleared out and ready to be baby-fied within two weeks. It seems impossible that I can count the Saturdays I have to get ready for him on two hands. On second thought...

Dear Malachi,

Don't get me wrong, I want you to come soon. But not too soon. You don't have a bedroom yet. I have a lot to do before you get here. Please oblige.

Love,

Mommy

A Tiny Quilt

This weekend I picked out the fabric for Malachi's quilt. I am so excited to make it! We want Malachi to have handmade things around him. I have a handful of handmades from my childhood and I cherish them. One is a simple wooden car that my dad made. Another is a pillow case my aunt made for me when I was just a tiny thing. It shows a little blonde-haired girl (me? I thought so.) kneeling by her bed with the words "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" above it.

I remember other things to that were made for me that I don't have anymore. What was my mother thinking?!? She's not a packrat, by any stretch. Neither am I, but I would love to have the little gray skirt and tooth pillow that my cousin Emily made me with the help of her mother when she was just 5 years old. How sweet is that?

I remember using that tooth pillow just a day or two later that same Christmas when I woke up with one of my front bottom teeth in my mouth. Good timing. And the skirt was an oft-worn and well-loved favorite of my first grade year.

When my sister was born, she was given a patchwork flannel baby blanket by a family friend (Sarah's mom, actually). The same family friend who kept me in their home for a few nights when my mom was in the hospital with my sister. Somehow this little blanket managed to be in use consistently until she was well into elementary school. It was mended repeatedly. Eventually it was packed away in exchange for blankets a little larger. But Danae still keeps it and cherishes her memories of that sweet little blanket.

There's just something special about a handmade gift. They are unique. They are usually more creative. They have a part of the creator's soul in them. We can't always make things ourselves, but that doesn't mean we can't buy handmade items that will support talented artists and craftspeople. Not to mention support our local economy or small businesses. We love shopping local and buying handmade.

Our downtown farmers market has a ton of handmade lotions, soaps, and other crafts, especially before the growing season kicks off. One woman gave me some great advice on the all natural lotion I am trying (but failing) to make. Next time, maybe I will just buy hers. There's also Etsy. You gotta love Etsy.

Beans & Rice

I am so proud of myself. In my quest to add protein to my diet, I decided to attempt Red Beans & Rice last night. Not many recipes elude me, but somehow every type of bean/rice dish does. I think because in every recipe I’ve tried, the rice is cooked with the beans, and they get too dry or the rice gets overcooked or something. This recipe cooks the beans and rice separately. So I thought I would give it another shot.

It’s been a few months since a recipe I’ve tried actually makes it to the repertoire, so I am excited about this. Especially because it is so high in protein, fiber, and its not your typical chicken dish.

Ingredients
16 oz bag of red beans
2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package kielbasa-type sausage.
1 tsp sage
salt to taste
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 bay leaves

Soak and drain beans. Add six cups of water and cook until almost soft. Saute onions and garlic in oil until soft. I was out of olive oil, so used sunflower oil instead. Add sauté to beans. Cut sausage into bite size pieces and add to beans. Add tomatoes and spice. Salt to taste. Let simmer until beans are soft. Serve over rice. Mmmm.

I also discovered that if you don’t have Cajun seasoning, you can combine the following spices to make it:

Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Black Pepper

How easy is that? I wasn’t trying to be all precise so I didn’t measure anything. I just added each individual spice to the pot. But I plan on making a small amount to have on hand sometime soon.

So, if you feel like trying it, let me know how it turns out!

Time is Passing

I am almost 28 weeks pregnant. 28 weeks! The third trimester! For the first time, I am starting to feel like the end is in sight.

Showers are being planned. Finishing the registry has now become critical. And don’t even talk to me about the nursery. So many things need to take place in order for that to happen that I don’t even want to think about it. Believe it or not, it starts with the sizeable task of cleaning the basement. And there are several items after the basement before we can get to the nursery.

It’s funny how I try to trick myself to make the end seem closer. Like counting to 37 weeks—full term—instead of the full 40. I have a feeling this will just make things seem longer in the end though. What I really should be doing is counting to 42 weeks, the longest possible length of time I will be pregnant. In that case, I’ve got about 14 weeks left. It still doesn’t sound like very long.

But now, I’m starting to get bug-eyed at how much I have to do, and really, only 8 weeks to do it in. Because I should really have the nursery ready by 36 weeks. Right?

Boom! The Father Speaks!

So here's my first addition to this blog. Don't expect it to be long and wordy, I'm a math/science person, OK? First off, it's a beautiful sight seeing your wife pregnant and glowing. It's hard to imagine, but at one point in time I thought I didn't want any children. Now I am brought to tears whenever I think about my little boy inside my wife's tummy.

If you've been following this blog than you are aware that there are some concerns about Malachi's brain/development. I've been telling Sandra (and I believe this in my heart) that whatever Malachi is like he will be our beautiful little boy and we will love him and he will make our hearts glad and we will have been blessed by the Lord. We've not even met him yet and still, words can't even describe the love that we have for him.

Update

So, the doctor's appointment. First, some perspective. Joshua has said several times: "No matter what, he will be our son, and we will love him." And it won't even be hard to do.

As far as the results from the doctor...is there a physical problem with Malachi? We still don't know. Something could be wrong. But probably not. We'll just have to wait and see, and try not to worry in the meantime.

The specialist said things look good for Malachi. He does have one part of his brain that measures out of the ordinary. But every other thing checks out. She took a good look at his heart and his brain and they look healthy. He seems to be very healthy in the way he moves and responds. So unless something changes, she sees no need for concern.

There is a small chance that this one off-measurement could indicate something we can't see yet, but it is unlikely. So unlikely that if he continues to be so healthy for the rest of the pregnancy, the doc wouldn't even discourage me from a homebirth. To me, that seems very significant.

Perspective

Our appointment with the specialist is today. Not too worried at this point. On Thursday night, my friend Philip Hillery died. It has changed my perspective.

A close mutual friend asked me yesterday, “You haven’t been thinking about the baby much have you?” I won’t identify her by linking to her blog because that’s not what she meant to say at all. :o) We laughed and both knew that she meant to say, “In light of death, the possibility of brain damage doesn’t seem such a big concern, does it?” And the answer is no, it doesn’t. Not that it wouldn’t be hard; but I am so appreciative of Malachi’s life right now. Just his life. He doesn't have to be perfect. He won't be perfect. It is enough to hear his strong heartbeat and see his healthy body and feel him move.

I am also distracted by concern for the Hillery’s. Ginger, who must now learn to live without her beloved by her side. Thomas, Patrick, Maggie, Rose, and Nora, whose grief has affected them all in such different ways. Tonight I will go to their home to be with them. Hopefully my presence along with perhaps dozens of other will be of comfort to them.

It will be strange to be in the home of Philip and Ginger Hillery without Philip. They were a dynamic duo whose life together, especially their hospitality, was such a blessing to so many people.

We will miss you Philip.