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September 21, 2005
Window watcher
If you've been to our house you know we have a built in alarm for when people are at the door, that is our dog. She goes crazy when people first come and she knows the sounds of our cars so is even crazier when she knows we are home.
Caleb has quickly learned that when Katie is barking, someone is here. And when she's going really crazy, that daddy is home. The cruel part of this cute little game is when Katie goes crazy and Caleb thinks daddy is home, but he's not. He stands so expectantly at the window looking out. Being the one coming home and seeing that little face peek out of the window is one of the cutest things ever. Melts my heart and Bob's too.
Posted by michellew at 04:56 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 19, 2005
Shoes and Bargains
Talking with my sister this morning made me realize that maybe I should be trying out some shoes on Caleb's feet. Her boys are walking, but refuse to keep their shoes on. They just aren't used to them. Which makes sense. Caleb isn't walking yet, but I got these shoes at the Jack and Jill Sale, so I'd thought we'd try them out. He was kind of excited about them and we walked around for a while (me holding both of his hands) with them on. Though he walked a lot more slowly because of the shoes. This was right before nap time, so he got tired of it and tried to take them off, but couldn't get them. So maybe that's a good thing? Anyway, here's some cute pictures of my big boy with his "new" shoes. You can see he got a little tired of it. But that won't keep me from trying again!
Oh yeah and I have to report more bargains found at the Jack and Jill Sale. Its a consignment sale held every spring and fall for kids clothes, toys, baby garb, anything you can think of for raising kids. Anyway, we got a baby swing for 10 bucks! We borrowed one before, but those friends moved away and I thought for 10 bucks it was worth it to have our own. I also scored some fun winter baby girl clothes for not much money at all. And I got Caleb some clothes for this fall and winter on Tuesday. Saturday is half price day there, so I think next spring I'll just go on Saturday, there was still plenty of clothing to pick from. The prices are a bit more than thrift store prices, but you can't beat the selection, organization, and being able to clothe your kid for an entire season in just one (or two) outings. I love the 50 cent deals at thrift stores but you have to go back again and again to get all that you might need, and they aren't always very organized. So we're ready for winter clothes wise after I pick up a few long sleeve onesies for the baby girl at old navy.
Posted by michellew at 12:43 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 16, 2005
Bob tagged me
10 years ago: I was a freshman at Geneva College, loving the fact that you can start fresh when you start college, leaving all that highschool baggage behind you. My roommate, Erin Mollenkof Bindewald, and I had tons of fun hanging out doing crazy stuff like karoke at midnight. (our suitemates didn't like that so much). And now Erin and I are pregnant together, she's due 10 days before me with her first, and hers is a girl too!
5 years ago: Bob and I were living with the Crosses awaiting the cooler weather as it was so hot in our living room with no AC that we lived in our bedroom for the summer. I was working for EDB (Esperanza del Barrio) learning a lot about cross-cultural ministry and how hard it was to truly communicate in Spanish on a daily basis. But also I was really enjoying my job, especially since I was working with Sarah B. every day.
1 year ago: We were still getting used to life as parents with our newborn baby boy. About this time my sister Liz just left and so we were out on our own to discover our new life with baby. I remember being in a sleep fog and wondering if it would ever lift. 3 months isn't all that long, but man when you're in it, it seems like an eternity. If you told me this time last year that I'd be a little over 2 months from my due date with our little girl, I would have laughed, and literally never believed you. Isn't it good that God doesn't tell us EVERYTHING that's going to happen? We just wouldn't be able to handle it.
Yesterday: Hmmm.....my short term memory must not be as good as my long term. Oh yeah, Caleb and I went to Linda's Fruit stand and scored a huge deal on spaghetti squash. Its usually 99 cents per pound and 4-5 pounds each. Well Linda's had it for 79 cents EACH, not per pound. I bought their 4 biggest ones and saved about 14 bucks. I know, I rock! I'm going to make my first "preparing for baby" food with them. Then we went to wally picking up diapers and food stuff. In the evening I went to my friend Julie's house for a Usborne book party. It was fun to look at the books, and there were some good ones that I'd like, but we are currently on a spending freeze so we won't be buying any. Though I'm considering having a book party here, they really are cool books. Anyone interested or know anything about Usborne books?
5 snacks I enjoy: Uhh this is hard because on my diet snacks are my hardest food. So let me change this to snacks I eat and most of the time like: apples, peaches, peanut butter on the spoon with a glass of milk, yogurt and blueberries, hard boiled egg.
5 songs I know all of the words to: Lots and lots of David Wilcox songs, though its been a while, Come Thou Fount, All for Jesus (stole those two from Bob's list, but I know them too), Sweetly sings the donkey (HATE that song!!), lots of praise songs.
5 things I'd do with 100 million dollars: Pay off all debts, get a bigger house to hold more kids and more easily have people over (house guests too), have someone clean for me every 2 weeks for the rest of my life, plan for future (kid's college, retirement, etc), help family, tithe, pay for our churches building program, and give lots and lots away. Ok that's more than 5, but man I'm a DREAMER, I can't help it!
5 places I'd run away to: Lake Bomoseen VT, the mountains, Italy, a huge cabin with all our friends for a couple of weeks, home.
5 things I'd never wear: I so agree with you all on NO fanny pack (I've given Bob a hard time for wearing one in the past, now his fanny pack days are over I believe), a bikini (at least in public), a banana clip (remember those?), flip flops (they hurt my feet), gobs of jewelry all at one time (you know like Mr. T).
5 favorite TV shows: Baby story, Decorating cents, Crafters Coast to Coast, Wheel of fortune (though not so much any more), Alias.
5 biggest joys: life in Jesus, my wonderful husband and life with him, feeding Caleb his bottle while feeling baby girl kick (its like interacting with the both of them already), watching Caleb and Bob play together, naps, good time with friends just talking.
5 favorite toys: bread maker, all things crafty, things to play music on (radio, stereo, guitar), internet (blogs etc), my car.
5 people I want to pass this on to: Lynn, Laini, Rebecca, Steve, My mom, my sisters.
Posted by michellew at 10:43 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Big Brother
Its the real deal folks, this baby is coming and my baby Caleb is going to be a big brother! Wow, helps it all sink in a little more. Thanks to Ramona for the cute big brother shirt, as you can tell, Caleb loves it.
Posted by michellew at 08:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 08, 2005
29 and counting
I'm 29 weeks pregnant today. Went to my midwife yesterday and I'm supposed to be back in 2 weeks. It seems crazy that I'm already to that point in my pregnancy where I have to go that often. I still can't believe how fast this has gone. Its been a completely different experience this time around.
With Caleb's pregnancy we had SO much preparing to do: registering for gifts (and making decisions about what we need/don't need/want), baby showers, organizing clothes given to us, getting his room ready (sewing up a storm for it), went to Bradley classes once a week, visited hospitals where we might want to deliver, went to cpr and breastfeeding classes, and read lots and lots of books. I was also pregnant at the same time as my sister, so we talked at least a couple of times a week to see how each other was feeling. So all of that really kept me focused and I guess somewhat prepared emotionally for Caleb to come. His room was all ready, so I could in some ways picture him there. Though I was still clueless about what it was really going to be like to be a mom.
But this time is completely different!
I think it took 2 entire trimesters for Bob and I to even remember on a daily basis that I was pregnant. All our energies are focused on Caleb, plus we have all the baby stuff we need, so we don't have to go through all of those decisions and organizing stuff. We've borrowed a crib for her, that fits in our room and I made a slip cover for a potential nursing chair, but that's about it!
So I guess its due to not always talking and reading and preparing for this baby to come, that it really doesn't feel like she's coming. Don't get me wrong, my stomach shows me there's no doubt that she'll be here in a couple of months, but it doesn't feel quite real. I don't think it will until she actually arrives.
There are some things that I need to do before she comes:
-clear out dresser drawers to make room for her clothes
-go through Caleb's clothes to see what she'll be able to wear
-then figure out where I'm lacking in clothes and let people know
-maybe read through our bradley workbook to help remind myself what labor is like and how to cope through it
-make some meals to freeze (thanks for all the great meal advice everyone!)
Well I guess that's it. Doesn't seem like a whole lot really. Which I guess is a good thing. Maybe I'm missing something? Well if I am I'm sure it'll be alright. So ready or not, this baby will be here in about 77 days!
Posted by michellew at 11:13 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 01, 2005
Good food
When preparing for Caleb's arrival I cooked up a storm and froze it all so I didn't have to worry about food and dinners for a while after he was born. (I think I had like 20 days worth of dinners in the freezer!) Now I'm not sure I'll go quite that crazy this time. But I do want to make some meals ahead of time.
Here's where YOU come in! I'm really wanting some new recipes. Preferably one's that freeze well and don't include heavy starches like rice, potatos, beans and pasta. Though I do eat whole wheat pasta. But I can't eat the rest of that stuff, or sugar for that matter. Do you have a favorite recipe or two or three that you could send my way? And if it does have some ingredients I can't have, I'm pretty good at tweaking things to my hypoglycemic diet. Casseroles and soups are especially good for freezing. But I'm bored with what I have. So step up and help this mama get ready for her baby girl to come!
Posted by michellew at 05:13 PM | Comments (16) | TrackBack