Longish

This evening I am holed up in our bed with Evan's big ol laptop and a big glass of water. Lately I have been feeling a little icky. Evan says this is about the time in Ardyn's pregnancy when I started to report all sorts of random aches, pains, etc. The past three days I have had stomach upset and some nausea after I eat. And LOTS of heartburn. I really have to stay on top of my medicine. I think I need to start eating BRAT diet for a bit and see if that helps. Not sure if this is just general pregnancy discomfort, or if I am fighting off a stomach bug. I have discovered that if I stay pretty inactive, and either lie down on my side or lean back and relax with my feet up, I feel much better. I've had my share of Braxton Hicks here and there and the baby gets really active and kicks me or gives me repeated head-butts to the cervix.... I can get pretty uncomfortable, so I have been a big fan of the couch and the bed. I still do laundry and pick up, but I am finding myself relaxing alot more than I was. I figure it will always be there tomorrow, and I know that once a week Ardyn will be at daycare and I can always catch up that day.

I did really well last week when she was gone. I got so much done it was unbelievable. I picked up the living room, dining room, Ardyn's bedroom and the nursery, vacuumed and mopped ALL of those rooms, and did several loads of laundry and diapers. I ran the dishwasher. I ran errands, took recycleables, went to the store TWICE, helped someone with computer problems, went out to lunch with a friend, AND I was resting by 2:30 because I was having belly cramps. When I picked up Ardyn, she was SOOOO tired. She had a fun day, but she skipped naptime in her excitement, so by the time we got her to sleep that night (an hour and a half earlier than normal) She had been up for a good 13 hours without a nap, except when we had to run to Wal-mart to pick up some totes and she fell asleep sitting up in the shopping cart.

The house smelled so clean and was so neat when I got done with that day, and three days later it's trashed again. Ugh. But the bed feels so nice under my butt, I don't care right now.

I've been going through my list of "pre-baby" things. You know, the things that I need to get out of the attic, and the items that I need to buy before he gets here. Of course I have almost everything from Ardyn that I could need, but there are a few things that are different. Double stroller. I have it picked out and it's on my "to get" list. I am also going to get a video monitor. I know it seems extravagent, and we didn't need one for Ardyn. But it is more for Ardyn than for the new baby. Now that we are moving her to her big girl room, she can easily get in and out of her toddler bed. Since the baby will be sleeping in the cosleeper with us for the first couple of months, Ardyn will be learning to sleep at night in the toddler bed. I would LOVE to be able to see if she is in her bed or up to no good, without having to creak open a door and try to check on her without waking her up. I feel that it's a good investment for peace of mind, safety, and eventually we will have to walk THROUGH Ardyn's room to get to the baby, so it will be nice to see what the two of them are doing and not have to disturb either one unless necessary. Our regular baby monitor is now malfunctioning, so we have to get a baby monitor anyway, and I have just been researching the video ones and think I have finally decided which one I want to get.

I have to sew my boppy cover still, and finish up making the postpartum pads. I need to buy leg extensions for the cosleeper, since our Restonic mattress is 6 inches higher than the Sealy we had when Ardyn was born. I need to cut fleece liners for the diapers (circumcision!) and stock up on some squeeze vaseline for the same purpose. I've got his coming home outfit on it's way (used from Diaperswappers), and a Moby Wrap that I bought used from a mom friend of mine. I am excited about that. A few weeks ago I got a new pair of nursing pajamas. They are BEAUTIFUL. The two I have are seriously worn out. I guess that two years of use between two pair of PJ's is pretty good, but they are also too big for me now, so they don't offer much support and aren't too presentable for visitors to see me in! It's hard to believe that he will be here in like 2.5 months.

Goodmama (our diaper of choice) has been having an AMAZING sale, buy two fitted diapers and get one free. This is a HUGE deal, and I have been wanting to get three for a while now, just to get one free. It's a really nice savings, and as soon as Marek grows out of NB size diapers (right around 10 pounds)he will move into OS diapers and will wear the same ones as Ardyn. Right now I have enough goodmamas to last Ardyn two days, but that means I don't have enough to last Ardyn AND Marek more than 1 day. And considering that breastfed babies use more diapers than a toddler, they might not even last a whole day. So I am trying to increase my stock of goodmamas steadily so that I have enough to last both kids for two days. I sold my old digital camera (YAY!) so I got three new prints- Yellow Iron, Paint with Water, and Groovy... (one was free) and two medium wetbags. I have been waiting for MONTHS for her to stock wetbags in prints that I like, and just today I saw a bunch of new ones. I got a "Merryville" Medium Wetbag and a "Songbird" Medium wetbag. Another baby means another wetbag. And I already wish I had one more wetbag because then I wouldn't have to dry them in the dryer (which reduces their life due to the PUL) and I could have one hang drying and one always clean. Same reason I have a second pail liner on my diaper layaway. Then I will have one to wash and another for the pail, so I don't have to dry them in the dryer.

Of course once we get Ardyn into the toddler bed, we will have to raise the crib mattress, put the bumper back in, put the mobile back on the crib, that sort of stuff. I have all the boy clothes and newborn diapers washed and ready. We have to bring down the sterilizer and some bottles. And pacifiers. I am SO glad that Ardyn hasn't touched a pacifier for eight months. I can't imagine trying to wean her from one while she had a new brother show up who has one of his own. Ack.

Today we had a family reunion for my side of the family. I hadn't felt good last night, and ate a sleeve of Saltines and drank a big glass of water. Once my stomach settled down, I started to get a headache, so I just took two tylenol PM and went to bed right after Ardyn. We slept late today and I was glad. Evan and I were actually awake like an hour before Ardyn. Bizarre. I could have gotten up, made food for the reunion, woke Ardyn up, and gotten on the road, but we were like "ahhhh...." and just lay in bed and waited for her to get moving before we started getting ready to go. We skipped the meal part of the reunion and just visited for a bit. Then we went to Evan's parents and visited, and had a late lunch. Of course, right after we ate, Ardyn was really tired and my stomach was in knots again. We came home and I have been laying low ever since. Ardyn took her nap and right now she's waking up and watching Dora while lounging on the bed with me. Her nose has been running something fierce today, and so she must have a bit of a cold. Evan and I are both suddenly stuffy again too. Ardyn ran a really low fever last week after she got home from daycare. I hope that a full week between exposures will allow her to build up some resistance from whatever she is exposed to and hopefully limit her actually catching anything. AND to limit ME from catching anything.

My maternity suit came from ebay and it FITS PERFECTLY (thank GOD!) and Ardyn's swim diaper is here too. I am hoping that we can go swimming this week. It's supposed to be almost 25 tomorrow, so that's plenty warm to get out and swim. Especially since just a couple of days ago it was -25. I also have a Midwife appointment this week. Otherwise it will be a good time to lay low. And do laundry. I swear laundry never ends. I always give Evan a hard time because he wears more clothes than Ardyn or I do, and it seems like I am forever washing loads of black and navy blue t-shirts, not to mention his jeans and socks. But Ardyn and I each generate about one load a week. A load of good clothes for me and a load of her clothes/blankets, etc. And she also generates diapers.

I got some great suggestions from the diaperswappers website on improving my attempts at green cleaning. Now that I am doing all my own, (ack) I have been trying to eliminate non-green cleaners. I've gotten down to baking soda, vinegar, murphy's oil soap, and some clorox green works products. Those Clorox products are highly controversial in the green community, several studies say they are green, others say they are not, some sa they rate higher than Seventh Generation Cleaners, and some say that no matter how clean the Clorox Green Works cleaners are, the actual company Clorox still produces and makes millions from bleach and other toxic chemicals and cleaners, so they aren't really green at all. It all depends on how far you want to take it.

I have been given several links from the mammas over there for recipes to make your own cleaners.... out of the things that I already use at home, including Oxyboost, Dr. Bronners, and BacOut.... and the usual products like baking soda and vinegar. Cleaning with things like Baking Soda and Vinegar is SO cheap and easy, it's amazing to me that more people don't do it. I have been most proud of myself for completely eliminating swiffer products and clorox wipes from my cleaning routine. I was a Cloroz wipe addict. I have forced myself to use a cleaner that I made myself in a spray bottle, and rags... so I have virtually no cleaning waste and everything is non-toxic. It was really simple. If I thought that Clorox wipes were not an option, it made it alot easier. As far as mopping goes, I was sure it was going to be impossible to get rid of the swiffer. But then I found a really nice O'Cedar Hardwood floor mop with washable microfiber pads, and I use Murphy's Oil Soap mixed with water in a spray bottle. After vacuuming, I just spray and then mop, until I have covered the whole floor. It's also so much better for the hardwood than wet mopping (which I have never done but I think my previous cleaning people DID.) Evan and I have discussed a steam floor cleaner for the hardwood and the tile/laminate floors. I am happy with the way I do the hardwood, but I still hate any kind of foam/sponge mop and a bucket. I don't feel like I am cleaning so much as pushing crap around the floor with a dirty sponge that keeps falling apart. I may be doing research in the future on the steam cleaner. All it uses is water, and it's really inexpensive.

Right now I am just wishing I felt better so that I could DO more cleaning. Hopefully this is just a bit of a bug and will be moving on shortly, especially if I lie low and wait it out. It had better not be permenant or I will have to ask Evan to mop the kitchen floor and clean the front porch. They are already driving me nuts, but it's hard to keep floors clean in the two entrances to the house, with so much cold and snow and salt. And it's been so cold that the dogs have been holed up on the front porch for a LONG time.

Back on Ardyn's birthday, we got her "My Mommy's Tote" and I have mostly kept it up where she can't get to it, because she was still in the "destroy that book" mode. Now she is much more deliberate and careful, so every once in a while I think I will get it out. She is playing with it now while sitting next to me, and has discovered that there is an Ardyn sized laptop, that opens up, and is complete with little keys drawn on. She pretends to type (with both hands, just like mom) and says "Click click" and "Mommy!" She loves that thing. Great buy. And a quiet toy that would be great for a Dr Office or Church.

There's really a certain irony in a toddler that wants you to give her a kleenex all the time so she can pretend to blow her nose, but as soon as she actually NEEDS her nose wiped, she runs for the hills at the sight or mention of a kleenex. How DO they get so damn smart? Yet the other part of the irony is that the booger sucker from the hospital is HYSTERICAL this year. Last year it was pure trauma. Now it's a giggle inducing object. I just gave her some saline spray and a good sucking out and she giggled the whole time. Silly, eh?

I have been working on Marek's blanket and it's coming along nicely. Last night I lay on the couch with my saltines and worked on it while watching Grey's Anatomy on Tivo. I ended up putting it down when Ardyn started getting tired, so that she could cuddle on the couch with me. I could be working on it now, but I have got lots of online research done, and finally blogged this weekend, so it's a good thing. I was surprised that I hadn't written since last Tuesday. Not sure how that happened. I could swear.... but nothing good really happened on Wednesday and Thursday that I can remember.

I also got Ardyn's "horse" towels from eBay. A mom had two land's end toddler towels for $8 a piece (they retail for $20-24 each) and I grabbed those for Ardyn. She LOVES them and was so excited to see herself in the mirror and wear one after her bath last night.

Both of us have been having eczema flare ups. When I picked her up from school last week, her whole face was beet red like she had windburn. It was too cold to go outside that day (10 degrees for a high) and when I took her to school I had her in her coat with hood and mittens, AND had a big fleece blanket over her head, because it was only 0 at that time of morning. But throughout the day her skin just got worse. She was feverish and restless that night, and I ended up being awake with her from 12:30 till 2:30, while she alternately slept in my arms and fussed. While she would sleep I would put lotion on her cheeks and around her nose every 20 minutes or so, and put chapstick on her lips. She would purse her lips in her sleep like she subconsciously knew I was greasing up her lips with chapstick. LOL.

At one point last week her lips cracked open in her sleep and her sheet was covered with blood. They are usually cracked open each morning, but at least she had never had bloody sheets before. We have a whole house humidifier, but her little humidifier in her bedroom had quit working. Hunter replaced it under warranty and it arrived late last week. Now we have had it running pretty much non stop. I have saved the tank from the broken one, and just keep a full tank on hand at all time so all I have to do is switch tanks if it runs empty. That has been helping her skin and lips overnight, but I really have to be diligent about getting the Mimyx cream (prescription) on her several times a day. Not only her face, but her back and the spots where her diaper touches under her belly button and on her thighs.... all get raw and break out. I can tell when she will have an issue because my own skin starts to be raw and feel like it is chapped and on fire, especially when rubbed by my clothes. I need to go to the dermatologist and get more of that super wonderful bath oil for us to use.

Right now she's standing in my closet, in the dark, putting a tube of chapstick in and out of a play peanut butter jar from her kitchen. She just dropped the chapstick underneath the stepstool in there and it might take her the rest of the night to get it out. I asked her if she's getting hungry and she said "Soup!" LOL. Okay. Soup it is!

Gotta go make soup and wash diapers. Have a great night and hope your weekend was good.