Winter Hats

So, it is a little early for wearing winter hats, but since I have no other projects to work on while I wait for the baby to be born, I have been crocheting some for the kids.  I made this one for Caitlin last summer and she wore it last winter.  I had no idea what I was doing (and still don't), but I think it turned out really cute!  (The camera phone picture really doesn't do it justice.)

Here is a picture of it now, after several washings.

Here are some pictures of her wearing it last December.

Last summer while I was making Caitlin's hat, Aiden asked me to make him one.  Caitlin's winter hat was the last of several crochet projects I had been working on and I felt a little burnt out, so, since Aiden already had several winter hats, I told him that I would make one for him some other time.  Just the other day, while playing with the children in their room, Aiden pulled Caitlin's hat out of the closet and stretched it onto his almost 3 year old noggin.  He was so comical, prancing around the room, smiling and wiggling his head.  Suddenly, he stopped, as if he had just remembered something.  Aiden:  "Mommy, you make me a hat?  You make me a hat, too, like Tway-lin?" (Caitlin- he can't make the C sound yet.)  It tugged on my mommy heartstrings and I felt a bit ashamed that I had yet to fulfill my promise so I said, "Sure I will, Bud!"  Aiden:  "Yes?  Yay!  You make me a green one?"  I rifled through my stash of thrift store bargain buy yarn skeins and found one skein of dark green.  A few days later, (with my figure-it-out-as-I-go-self-taught-crochet-skills) this green hat emerged.

Aiden was as pleased as could be, and for the first few days, he only took it off when "his hat got sweaty" as he put it.  Partway through making his hat, I got a little tired of seeing green, so I took a little break and thought I would make a tiny hat for Caitlin's baby doll.  I had most of a skein of beautiful multi-colored yarn that I had purchased in February and used to accent Caitlin's birthday invitations.  I soon realized that I was making the hat too large for her tiny doll, so I decided to just make a full sized one for Caitlin.  I finished it last night, and, to my great disappointment, I made it too small!

I am too smitten with it to sell it and none of my close friends have little baby girls, so I guess I will just wait and see if this baby turns out to be a girl, or perhaps the next one.  I really am disappointed that it is too small for Caitlin, so perhaps, if I have enough yarn left, I will try again and make a bigger one that will actually fit her.  P.S.  I just discovered this ruffled edge technique while playing around with how to finish the edge, and I love it!  I am definately going to use it again in the future.  Another P.S.- To Mom (you know who you are).  Someday I will search out and find some more of that neat speckled purple yarn and finish your last-year's-birthday-gift mittens.  I promise!  If not, I might revamp the entire project and just use a different color.  I still have a month and a half until your next birthday! : )

The Pregnant Pooh Bear Lady

Here is the 41 weeks picture that I promised.

Just Kidding!

Here is the real picture.  Do you see the resemblance?

I am officially the Pregnant Pooh Bear Lady (except in this photo- amazingly!) because I do not own one single shirt that can cover the entirety of my now super-sized baby belly.  There was a bit of tugging and rearranging of my shirt and pants to be able to cover everything modestly for this photo-op, and believe me, after taking two steps, my waistband snapped back down, and my shirt started to climb "the belly".  This drives me nuts because it makes me feel like I look unkempt and slovenly.  I have given up caring whilst walking around the house, but it makes me terribly self conscience when I go out and about.

I had my weekly appointment with my midwife yesterday and she said everything seemed fine, but asked "So, do you wanna induce, or do you wanna give it some more time?"  Of course, I am going to wait some more, but she did send me over to the hospital (right next door to her office) to have an ultrasound to measure the level of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby.  I warned the ultrasound technician that we do not want to know the gender, and asked if she could let me know if she was going to be looking in that region, so I could look away.  She reassured me that everything is so squished in there at this point that it is usually very difficult to see the gender.  After a few minutes, she said she was surprised at the amount of fluid I had.  She said that she measured the fluid level at 19.15 (oz.? gallons? who knows...) and that a healthy level is between 10 and 20, but that it usually starts diminishing when you pass your due date.  She continued, "In fact, there is so much fluid that this baby has a lot of room to move around- you should probably look away or you might spoil your surprise."  Then she turned the screen.  So-  I guess that explains the Pooh Bear belly.  My uterus is just a giant fishbowl where my baby gets to practice his/her water aerobics : )

After the ultrasound, they sent me upstairs to the New Baby and Mommy Ward (Family Birth Center) to have a Non Stress Test.  I did this 3 years ago when I was overdue with Aiden, but they were so busy that I got shoved behind a partition in some unknown hallway for the test.  This time, as I walked to the testing room, I passed a few new mommies with their sweet and teeny newborns.  They were so small!  It is amazing that even though I just had a baby 18 months ago (and another one 18 months before that) I forget how itty bitty they are when they are newborn.  Well, it was a bittersweet experience, because I of course want to be holding my little newborn, but I know I can't be pregnant for too much longer (right?) and I'll soon be holding mine.  Anyway, for the NST, they strapped a fetal monitor around my belly and gave me a little button to push every time I felt the baby move.  I was there for an hour before they were satisfied that they had seen all of the activity that they wanted to see, but they did let me go with an appointment to come back on Saturday for another NST, if I do not have the baby by then.  I also have an appointment for another fluid-measuring ultrasound next Wednesday, but seriously, I'll surely have had the baby by then, right?!?

Oh well, I suppose this baby will come when the Good Lord sees fit and until then, as long as he/she is still happy and healthy inside their little fishbowl, I will continue to waddle around the house, making sure everything stays clean and ready for his/her arrival...whenever that may be!

Tasty Treat Tuesday: A Healthy Alternative to Kool Aid

It's so cheap and easy to mix up a pitcher of Kool Aid on a hot summer day, but did you ever wish you had an alternative that was a little healthier (and for us parents- a bit more sophisticated than "Wild & Wacky Cherry Berry?")  I've found a better option that is not as healthy as drinking real juice, but is certainly less expensive than real juice or even frozen juice concentrate, and is just about as easy as making Kool Aid (without the Red Dye #40.)  It is basically the same premise as iced tea, but instead of using caffeinated black tea, you use fruity herbal teas, which are naturally caffeine free.  I picked up a couple boxes of assorted fruity and herbal teas at the store this morning.  The Bigelow Assorted Herb Teas cost $2.62 for a box of 18 tea bags in various flavors such as Lemon, Orange Spice, and Pomegranate.  The Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sampler cost $2.44 for a box of 18 slightly larger tea bags in various flavors such as True Blueberry, Country Peach Passion, and Wild Berry Zinger.  Sweeteners aside, it costs 10 cents to make a pitcher of Kool Aid, and about 40 cents to make a pitcher of fruity herbal iced tea (if using 3 tea bags as I do.)  Cheap, store brand frozen juice concentrate costs around $1.00 at my local grocery store.

Here's my method:

• Steep about 3 herbal/fruit tea bags in 1-2 cups of very hot water for 5-10 min or until tea looks quite dark.  You can mix and match flavors.  Today I steeped Lemon, Country Peach Passion, and Wild Berry Zinger together.
• Mix in desired amount of sweetener (your healthiest option is probably honey- that is what I use.)
• Add enough ice and water to the pitcher to properly dilute the sweetened tea concentrate.
• Enjoy!

My favorite part about this is that I can serve my family something that isn't artificial or loaded with processed white sugar (each 2 quart pitcher of Kool Aid contains an entire cup of sugar!)  Also, there are studies linking artificial food dyes to behavioral issues in children and some people are actually allergic to them.  Early on in this pregnancy, I found I was suffering from unexplained headaches.  I did a little detective work and  discovered that I only got the headaches after I ate/drank something with artificial food coloring in it!  I don't know why that happened, but it is all the more reason for me to steer clear of that stuff as much as I can.  Also, I certainly enjoy the fruity herbal tea flavors better than any of the Kool Aid flavors.  I hope your family will, too!

P.S.  No, I have not had the baby yet, and I am not in labor, either.  Tomorrow I will be 41 weeks and I certainly expect to go into labor at any time!  I will be sure to post an update if that happens.  Today, as my husband kissed me on his way out the door to work, he said:  "Oh, could you please go into labor today?  Think baby thoughts."  I told him I'd do my best!

Fun On Grammie & Grampie's "Farm"

We took the kids up to my in-laws house yesterday which we tease is becoming a farm.  They live in the foothills about 20 min from the edge of our city on 5 acres and they have slowly become what would be classified as "hobby farmers".  They have a chicken house with a fenced in yard, goats with their own house and fenced in yard, a dog (of course- what farm is complete without one?), and most recently, a couple of pigs.  It is great fun to go up and see the animals, and even more fun to watch my children around these quirky creatures.  Here are some pictures of our afternoon.

Here is Aiden sitting on a barrel just outside of the pig pen.  I think that was about as close as he wanted to get to those big smelly guys.

Caitlin had just gotten up from falling down.  She has recently become very aware that when she falls down outside, she gets dirt on her hands, and is quick to show us her hands each time.  Such a little girl already : )

I love this picture.  The children are following Grampie, single file, to the goat and chicken yards.

"Hello goaties!  Can I come in?"  Caitlin loves to "talk" in her baby garble to all animals.  She talks loudly and with an inflection in her voice that makes me think she really believes they can understand her.  I think she will be an animal lover like her mother : )

"Hey!  There are chickens in there!"  Caitlin (both of the kids, really) thought it was neat how the chickens go inside their little house and settle up high on their perch when the sun starts to set.

After it was dark and our outside fun was through, the kids rummaged through their box of toys in the living room.  Aiden decided to sport one of his uncles' old hockey helmets.  Aiden is familiar with hockey stuff since its the only sport that Tim is interested in, so he was very proud to wear a helmet and be a "hockey guy" as he says.

I will close with this news: 

There is no new news.  I am still pregnant with no apparent signs of going into labor anytime in the next century.  Okay, a possible overstatement : )  But, seriously, this kid likes it in there and doesn't seem interested in coming out!  I will keep you posted and also try to get another pregnant picture up soon, now that I am over 40 weeks.  Pray that I don't make it to 41!

The Watched Pot

My husband called from work today, telling me that he'd be finishing at work early and that he has tomorrow off.  He also politely asked me to "get cooking" (the baby) and that his boss had hinted that it would be great if I had the baby soon, since the next few work days were going to be slow.  My mother also called today "just to see how I was doing" and after she was thoroughly convinced that I was not in labor, she quickly scooted off of the phone.

So, I am officially the watched pot.

The other day, I finished the last of my sewing projects that I really wanted to complete before the baby was born.  I switched off my sewing machine, threw my hands up, and said: "Okay, now I can have this baby!"  I have to admit that I sort of expected to go into labor that night (I usually wake up around 3 am in labor.)  I was a little surprised and disappointed to wake up the next morning having no contractions, and still just as pregnant as ever.  Perhaps I was under some subconscious egotistical illusion that I was able to hold the baby back until I had finished my "To Do List."

Well, it appears that I have no control over when the baby comes after all, (although, if I had the baby tomorrow, he/she would be born on my Grandma's birthday and I think that would be a great gift, don't you?)  I'll let you know if that happens, but don't get your hopes up : )  So I am mostly trying to stick close to the home front, and keep myself busy (but not so busy that I get overtired) and keep up with laundry and all of my usual chores so that everything will be in order for when the baby comes.  I have to admit, I can't help but watch the ticking clock myself...

What Will Our Little Baby Look Like?

I have been thinking about different aspects of the impending birth of our new little one and some questions come to my mind such as:  Will it be a boy or a girl?  How big will the baby be?  Will the names we've been considering fit our new little one? (Don't ask me about this one, you will know soon enough!)  Today I am wondering:  What will our baby look like?  While pondering this, I am reminded of a story that I forgot to share with you all:

I created the above layout as my desktop background a few weeks ago.  With our first baby (Aiden) we shelled out the money for a 3D ultrasound and it was so neat to see his little face before he was born.  His ultrasound picture is really a spitting image of my little guy!  With our second baby (Caitlin) we were not in the position to afford a 3D ultrasound, which was fine with us, because we had done it once before.  As I got farther along in my pregnancy with Caitlin, someone in our family asked if we were going to have a 3D ultrasound like with our first, because they had thought it was so neat.  We explained that we weren't and they said they'd really like to pay for it if we were interested in getting it done.  We were right at the cut off for the time frame that you could capture good images (they don't recommend 3D ultrasound past about 33 weeks because the baby's face becomes rather squished looking.)  We quickly scheduled the ultrasound and were so pleased that we were able to have a sweet picture of our little girl's face.  I used it as a focal point and motivator during my labor with her.

This time around, we decided that a 3D ultrasound was an uneccessary expense.  I thought that I wouldn't get to see his/her face until it came out crying.  I felt a little sad that I wouldn't have that 3D image for my focal point during labor, but I felt content that it must be the Lord's will.  When I was about 35 weeks, I went to my prenatal appointment and saw a different doctor than my usual midwife.  He thought that I was measuring unusually large for date, and ordered an ultrasound to be done.  I saw my midwife a week later, an hour before my scheduled ultrasound.  She measured me and everything and was about to leave the exam room without mentioning anything about my size.  I told her what the other doctor had said and asked her if she thought I was measuring large, and she replied that everything seemed fine and on track.  She said I could go ahead and have the ultrasound if I liked, but that she wasn't concerned about the baby.  I had the ultrasound done (I got the results a week later confirming that the baby was measuring right on target) and before I left, the ultrasound technician said, "Oh, just a minute, I'll go print you some pictures of your baby."  When she came back, she brought the clearest 2D images of a baby's face that I had ever seen in any of the ultrasounds that I have had done.  I felt that this was a special blessing from the Lord to me, so that I could have a picture of our Little Baby's face like I had wanted.  The neat thing is that I hadn't complained or even prayed that the Lord would supply us with an image of the baby's face.  I just accepted that it wasn't meant to be.  Well, it just goes to prove what the Scriptures say:  God loves His children and loves to give them good gifts!