Hope this lasts you a while....

So What's New? Ha. Well, we are currently in the stages of "thinking double." It's ironic because just a month ago I had a family member offer me a high chair AND a very very nice crib. I told her while I would love to take them off her hands, I really didn't need them since we already had one of each. And we of course were going to try to get pregnant right away, but when you are breastfeeding you just have to wait until your fertility comes back. And we figured that when it came back it would take a while, since Ardyn took two years. But... we were wrong! We are so lucky to be pregnant on the first try, it seems too good to be true. SO far so good, my Beta numbers are climbing. I have two more blood draws this week and then we schedule my appointment with the RE and get a TVU (our first ultrasound) in about a week and a half from now. We will be looking for all the good parts (fetal pole, yolk sac, etc) and of course a heartbeat. We saw Ardyn's on TVU around 6weeks 5days, so there is a good chance that we will be able to see this baby's. Keep your fingers crossed and your thoughts with us!

SO I emailed that family member and asked if she still had the crib and high chair because I am PREGNANT and because I am not confident that Ardyn will be ready for her twin bed at 1.5 years old when the baby gets here. Ardyn napped in her crib from day 1, and I would like to continue that trend with baby #2, because it made it a cinch to get her into her crib at nighttime once she was ready to be out of the co-sleeper. She slept through the night the very first time I put her in her crib! We never looked back. So hopefully next week we will be picking up another crib and the second high chair, which also straps to the dining room chairs like Ardyn's. There isn't much I will need for this baby, except a few things that we have worn out, like new diaphragms for my breast pump, new stage 1 Avent nipples, and a couple of the swaddles that are my favorites. I tried lots of them with Ardyn, and they were a godsend. I have SEVERAL Halo swaddles but Ardyn could easily get out of them and it was practically impossible to change a diaper without unswaddling her completely... and also she would often wake up with the swaddle part up hear her neck, and that was horrible. So I eventually found ONE that I really liked, easy to change diapers, easy to use, never ever ever came loose. I only own one, so I will probably get two more. And the double stroller. I found a couple locally that are in great shape for around $40-$50, which is awesome considering they are $200-$700 brand new. I would also like to get one of the Cube Organizers from Target with the fabric cubes for some additional diaper storage, since I will have two in cloth. Luckily before I left my job I thought ahead and bought an entire stash of newborn cloth diapers. I took the tote down last week and peeked inside and they are soooo tiny they just make me smile! I started myself an Amazon baby registry for these few things we might need, and will be using it as my own shopping list so that I can spread the expenses out over the next 7-8 months. If we have a boy, I do have one tote full of boy clothes in various sizes, and several gender neutral pajamas for infants. Beyond that I have a friend who has lots of boy clothes in the exact seasons/sizes I need, and I will be buying some from her if I need them. If we have a girl, we are totally set! YAY!

Ardyn will move into her "big girl room"- which basically means we will lose the scrapbook room and office, but not a big deal. We might finish off the attic and move stuff up there, otherwise I will have to put the scrapbook stuff into my sewing room and make it work. No big deal. I already have a Sealy posturpedic Twin Bed that's like new, a brand new comforter set and two new sets of sheets for her new room, and also an area rug to match. We have plenty of furniture, as her nursery is cramped now, so we will likely split some furniture in each room and be done with it. Sounds like fun! It will be fun to put the bumpers and the mobile back on the crib! Last week I just packed away the baby bottles, sterilizer, baby bibs, nipples, etc.

So that's all our excitement. Ardyn is growing like always, walking around the coffee table and the couches, standing up on her own and playing with everything in sight. She reads BOOK after BOOK and knows horses and dogs and ducks. She knows what a ball is, and signs "more" and "milk" when she wants to eat. She recognizes SO many words and phrases. She's been eating table food for a while now so dinnertime is a sharing affair, and we love it. She and I take baths together and play. We got some bathtub markers, and I draw animals and things on the walls and she names them and makes their noises. I have refrained from using the Red marker because it appears to stain, so I will be getting out the soft scrub to see if the lovely red heart with daddy's name in it will come off of the shower surround. :) otherwise I am sure a bleach pen will take care of it.

It's been plenty hot lately but we have enjoyed pretty much nightly walks. Sometimes we call LIsa to join us, or Grandma Deb, or sometimes it's just Ardyn and I, and we take both dogs. I just tie them to the stroller and we roll. Now that I am pregnant I can't walk without water, or I am dying halfway through. But it doesn't help that it's usually almost 90 degrees with the humidity each evening. I really love going on the walks though.

We are planning a picnic lunch this week with a friend and I am catching up on laundry. We were displaced for those couple of days without power last week and that got me a bit behind on diapers and dishes. It's good to be home, and tonight a storm blew through when I was making BLT's on Hoagies, Corn on the Cob, and Rice.... the power went out JUST as the bacon was finishing and I was SO angry, but it came back on fairly quickly. We need a generator! Ha! For lunch Ardyn and I had Baked Tuscan Chicken and Teriyaki Vegetables. Yesterday we had baked tilapia, chicken vermicelli, and steamed asparagus. I am making a huge effort to eat well and keep Ardyn eating a nice and balanced meal with lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

We started to participate in the local SHARE Program. Families get their buying power together to get food at lower prices. With the costs of gas and groceries rising so much, It's REALLY awesome. For $16 we got a TON of stuff last week. A pound of Bacon, Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry, 4 Hamburger Patties, Cheese HotDogs, Pluots, Nectarines, Strawberries, Kiwis, A head of lettuce, a head of cauliflower, radishes, and a few other things that I can't think of off the top of my head. It's a great deal and we will be signing up for August as well. The hard part for me was picking it up at 8am on a Saturday. It wouldn't be a big deal except that I feel more nauseous if I have to move fast in the morning. Lots of times Ardyn and I will lay around in bed and snack on crackers and pretzels and watch TV and read books and just be goofy. If I have to go pick up RAW MEAT at 8am, I am not so thrilled. Or should I saw my stomach isn't. I just brought it home and told Evan to unload it where it belonged and then I checked out what was in the clothes basket that afternoon. That was a good arrangement. He watched Ardyn too so I didn't have to have her ready and out the door with me.

I did get some really cool stuff that I will try this pregnancy. It's called Mommy Bliss Morning Sickness Magic. It's an all natural remedy for morning sickness and it has WONDERFUL online reviews. With Ardyn I pretty much had all day nausea, especially about halfway through or just after my meals. I spent some time laying low, but for the most part was able to function. An online mom friend suggested Jolly ranchers (because they are sour) and boy do they work! You'd never think... but preggo pops are basically the same thing but lots more expensive. I haven't had it too bad yet so I haven't started the Supplement yet, but today I started to notice the texture of chicken (which I had an aversion to early on with Ardyn) and changed my mind about pork chops for supper for the same reason. I remember during a strange bought of nausea while working, I thought that Macaroni Pasta salad was "squeaky" and the way it rubbed against my teeth made me nauseous. So I avoided that for MONTHS.

Once I have been bothered by the smell of rinsing poopy cloth diapers.... but I have been able to work around it and do the laundry when I am feeling well.... so I hope I can continue to do that! Or else I will be more diligent and use rice paper liners in each diaper, or at least each time I know what to expect from her, which is pretty much predictable. I just haven't been doing it, but I bet it would make my life a whole lot easier. :)

Everyone have a great night. I don't anticipate being online for a while, as the evil devil that is Comcast is really charging a holy-hell of a lot for internet and cable these days, and it just isn't in the budget. We are going to try out the "library" internet access for a week or so. That's how it goes when the van payment, power bill, and cell phone bills are more important. Not to mention having some FOOD to eat and GAS in your car. Everyone take care. I'll be back!