Hobbit-ish Potpurri: A Whole Lot of Weekend

Howdy Humble Readers...

Well... another weekend come and gone.  It was busy, but productive.  I was able to cap off the weekend with making a family secret recipe (as in... no, it will NEVER be featured on Foodie Fridays).  Ribs with homemade bbq sauce.  I only make them once or twice a year, partly because it's a fair bit of work, and partly because I don't want it to become commonplace.  I did, however, think ahead and made a double batch of the bbq sauce, so I've got some to use on chicken  or pork chops later in the season.  Ginny had her first taste of ribs and sauce, and she lurved it!

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I think we're as ready as we're going to be.  I've packed my hospital bag and the small diaper bag.  The nursery is as close to done as we can get for right now.  It's crowded, but such is life.  I keep reminding myself that people raise children in smaller places.  I refer you to this post, from a year and a half ago, for a tour of what the nursery originally looked like. 

This is what it looks like now. 

From the doorway... change table, bookshelves, and Ginny's crib

From by the closet, Ginny's crib & the Halfling's Crib

Ginny's dresser has been moved into the closet, and the change table has been moved to where the dresser used to be.  As of tonight, Ginny sleeps under the window (please let her ignore the curtains, please let her ignore the curtains!).  The new crib came with a little dresser that will do for now to hold the Halfling's clothes. 

And speaking of clothes, this wee one had better like pink... we don't have anywhere near as much gender neutral newborn stuff as I thought we did.  I'm sure we'll make do, but I was surprised.  On the up side, when I was going through the box of newborn stuff, I found one of my nursing bras.  Yay!  I thought maybe I had thrown it in a donation bag by mistake. 

Oh, and we found out that we will get to use the family cradle again.  I had thought that it had gone back to BC this past summer, but my MIL has it and is bringing it with her next week. 

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This is the blanket that I knitted for Halfling 2.0.

It's the same as the one I made for Ginny, just different colours.  Basically a really big knitted washcloth.  I'm not an experienced knitter by any stretch.  But I'm glad to have something that I made for this little person. 

The pics don't represent the colours well... it's really a funky combo of purple, gold, green, blue, and pink.  Sounds awful, but it works!

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We have our new couch.  It's so strange sitting on a sofa that actually has some support in it.  Sadly, the couch is a little too big, so for the moment we are having to live without one of our side tables.  I have a plan for how to fix things, but it involves moving two of our bookcases which are currently bolted to the wall.  That plan will have to wait until late June or early July before it gets put in place. 

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Ginny's teething is still going strong.  Her gums are so sore, poor girl.  And I don't know if it's a teething thing or if she's finally come out of this hyper-extended growth spurt she's been on, but she's not really into napping at all.  She was super tired this afternoon after church, but just refused to go to sleep.  It makes for a long afternoon and evening with a cranky wee girl. 

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A couple of cute Ginny moments today... First, while we were at church, she and I were hanging out in the nursery/playroom while my Beloved was teaching his adult sunday school class.  I was sitting in one of the arm chairs, and for the first time ever, she crawled right up in my lap.  She never does that!  She was adamant that she had to sit with me almost the whole time.  She kept getting down to get a toy or a book, but then she would just come right back to me, and crawl up. 

And, tonight after her dinner, while my Beloved and I were still pigging out on ribs, she was having her milk and some chocolate goldfish crackers.  She started trying to dunk her goldfish into her milk, but sadly her sippy cup didn't really make that possible.  I'm not sure where she got the idea... (there may or may not have been some oreos in the house a couple of weeks ago, and I may or may not have allowed myself to have a couple with some milk, but that was a while ago, and I'm not admitting anything).  It just goes to show that little ones really do watch everything we do.

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Oh, and I promised the obligatory pregnancy pic... here you go!

Feeling Enormous!

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What was the highlight of your weekend?

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Questions & Minutia

Hey Humble Readers,

Old Man Winter has deemed that we have had enough of a break from his presence, and has come back with a bit of a bite.  After our really cold stretch (wherein Tilly the Toyota froze up completely) we had an amazingly long stretch of almost spring-like weather.  No snow and mild temps for almost a month.  Then last week the snow started again, but it was still not too terribly cold.  Now we're back to more seasonal temps for the frozen flatland... and it's been snowing pretty much consistently since Thursday.  We haven't gotten much for accumulation, but it's our normal mid winter type of snow... dusty, dry and powdery.  Apparently we've lucked out though, because Big City to the North has gotten slammed with snow.

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It's Oscar night tonight, and as usual, I'm going to be cooking up a bunch of appetizers for my Beloved and I to munch on as I drool over the dresses and (hopefully) laugh at Billy Crystal.  On the menu tonight: Baked Crab Rangoon, Creamy Chicken Puffs, Nachos, and Fresh Veggies with Hummus.  I'm ashamed to admit, this year I think I have only seen one of the major nominated films.  I've already informed my Beloved that as they come available on VOD, we will be renting!  Normally I try to see as many of the nominated pics as possible.

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My Beloved and I have a bit of a quandary before us.  It's not pressing, but we are trying to make a decision about sleeping arrangements for Ginny and the Halfling.  Of course, for the first few months, the Halfling will be in our room.  But by next fall we'll probably be looking at moving him/her in with Ginny in the nursery.  At that point, Ginny may be ready for a toddler bed.  Here's where the questions arise... should we buy Ginny a toddler bed, or should we buy the Halfling a convertible crib (one that can become a toddler bed, and eventually even a full size bed... like what we bought for Ginny)?  To buy a crib will cost a bit more now, but it may be more cost effective in the future.  A toddler bed would be cheaper at the moment, but maybe not as smart for the long term.  No matter what, the little ones will have to share a room, for at least a couple of years yet, as we aren't in the position to be looking for a new house.  Thoughts? 

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You may have noticed the new tab up there at the top, my "Massive To Do List".  It contains all the stuff I feel I need to get done before the Halfling makes his/her appearance.  One of the items on my list is to make a bunch of freezer meals for the first few weeks at home.  The thing is, most of my usual freezer meal ideas are more wintery types of food (lasagna, chili, etc).  Do any of you have any good suggestions for lighter spring/summer freezer meals? 

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Another item on my To Do list requires some help from my friends who knit.  I'm a very inexperienced knitter, and I have a problem that I need to fix.  Some of you may recall that I knitted a very basic baby blanket for Ginny before she was born.  Sadly, Ginny has pulled a couple of big snags in it, to the point where I can't let her use the blanket in her crib because I'm scared that she could hurt herself with the long loose strands.  I want to fix it if I can, but I'm just not sure how.  Experienced knitters... do you think it's possible?  And if so, how should I go about fixing it?  Or should I just give it up, and knit her a new blanket?

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Thanks in advance for all your input, Humble Readers!  I appreciate it!

The Nursery: The Grand Tour

Howdy Humble Readers...

I know it's been an incredibly long time in coming, but today I welcome you into the Halfling's space.  There's still one or two things that we need to get, but we are pretty much ready for this little one to make his/her appearance.

I feel like there should be a drumroll or something...

First up, this is where the Halfling will be sleeping for the first few months (in our room as you can tell by the red).  This cradle has been the bed for all the C family grandchildren.  It hasn't been used in more than 20 years.

The next couple of shots are from the doorway. 

The three framed prints are from Etsy.  The lady I ordered them from graciously doctored up the colours for me so they fit with our colour scheme.

The book cases are still a little empty, but I know they will fill up over time.  The Halfling is so stocked for stuffies!  Especially sweet elephant stuffies... like the ones that Kristin made!  (aren't they adorable?  Thank you so much!)  And of course, there has to be a teeny tiny Mario Bros presence... just a little one. :)

I adore this quote!  I got this from Etsy, too.  The vinyl clings were challenging to get started, but so worth it when they were done.  (even if I did fubar one of the letters)  This is above the dresser.

Here's the Halfling's dresser, which is slowly filling with the sweetest of outfits!  My MIL and one of my BIL painted this and the change table for us.  I think they did a pretty great job.  That funky green egg is actually a piggy bank (minus the piggy of course) and was the inspiration for the accent colour.  I've had that sitting in a closet for more than two years. 

Okay, so I didn't iron the curtains before we hung them.  I'm terrible.  I'm still planning on steaming them at some point... but isn't the colour fabulous?  The change table was a tv stand that we added legs to.  The sliding cupboard doors are perfect for hiding away all our cloth diapers. 

The floating puff balls in those perfect shades of green are also from Etsy, as is the elephant vinyl cling.  The puff balls had to be puffed by hand (they came folded flat) and let me tell you, that was a *fun* night!   The crib, with it's fixed up leg, and the adorable bedding (thank you so much Callista for being my go between for that!). 

And my last Etsy purchase... the diaper bag!  Since we couldn't afford to get the one I was drooling over, I decided to go with something that my Beloved wouldn't be totally embarrassed carrying.  And whether we have a he-halfling or a she-halfling, they will have no choice but to be part of the Rider Nation.   The bag was incredibly reasonably priced ($25), and included the personalization and a changing pad. 

So, there you have it.  The nursery... all done and waiting for it's little occupant.  When it was finished, I just stood in the middle of the room and bawled.  It's still so surreal that there is going to be a little person to make use of this room... soon!

Check.. Check.. Is this Thing On?

Hey Humble Readers...

Are you still out there? 

I know it's been a heck of a long time.  Two weeks since my last post. 

I wish I could say it's because my computer had died, or that we had crappy internet service.  But nope, it's just been plain old exhaustion.  The last two weeks of work just about killed me.  I was falling asleep on my lunch breaks.  I barely had the energy to get to work and to my doctor's appointments... let alone spending time online.  My poor Beloved has put up with a groggy hobbit-wife, and has hardly anything homecooked for days and days. 

I'm sorry I haven't been around.  Now that I'm done working, I'm hoping that I will see a bit of an increase in my energy levels again.  I slept almost all morning today, and I'm actually feeling a bit more human. 

Stories that need telling...

The GD GD: getting better, but it's taking a lot of insulin to do it.  My before meal sugar levels are pretty good (except for breakfast, although it's getting better too), and most days I'm doing pretty good with it.  I've had very few meltdowns about it lately.  My stomach is showing a lot of not so pretty bruising from the needles, but it's the easiest place for me to inject. 

The Nursery:  still in progress.  We now have all the decor bits I ordered from Esty, and half the furniture that needs to be painted is at my MIL's house waiting to be sanded and refreshed. 

The Ultrasound:  Got a good peak at him/her today.  I'll post the pics tomorrow.  Got to see little waving hands and it looks like the Halfling has my nose (poor kid!).  He/She is head down, facing to the right.  His/Her hands were in the way so we didn't get a lot of really good pics, but there's one pretty good one.

Pregnancy in general:  not too bad.  Other than tired-ness, things seem to be going okay.  I'll be doing my week 32 update tomorrow sometime.  Tomorrow we have our tour at the hospital, and we start prenatal classes on the 13th. 

I hope you all are well.  It will take me some time to catch up, but I wanted you all to know I'm alive up here on the flatland. 

I Found It...

... but there's a problem.

And I am hoping, Humble Readers, that one of you will be able to help me out. 

After what has felt like weeks of searching for the crib bedding that I want (light green, in polka dots, stripes or solid), I have found a set that I really like.  AND it's a reasonable price! 

image courtesy of diapers.com

The problem is, I can't find a single company that will ship it to Canada.  It's very aggravating.

So, I'm wondering... would any of my bloggy friends south of the 49th parallel be willing to let me use their address, and then ship it to me?  Obviously, I will cover all costs for shipping.  I just need someone to be my go-between. 

Drop me an email or leave me comment with yours... and know that the Halfling & I will heart you forever and ever and ever!

Week 28: In the Home Stretch

Greetings Humble Readers!  Long time no talk! 

I can't believe the third trimester is here!  Wow!!

Sorry I haven't been around much.  I've been taking advantage of my last week of vacation combined with the long weekend to get some much needed household chores done.  The kitchen is now sparkly clean (walls included, thanks to the efforts of my Beloved), a few little fix-it things are fixed, and...

wait for it...

the nursery is cleaned out and painted!  Woohoo!  I think I might still have to do some touch-ups tomorrow, but it looks good.  I was concerned as I was putting on the first coat that the grey looked a little too blue, but now that it's got two coats and almost dry, it looks how I wanted it to.  Next on the nursery list is to paint the repurposed furniture we are going to be using.  We're going to be stopping by Ho.me Dep.ot tonight after dinner (I'm soooo not cooking tonight... mexican here we come!). 

Here's the update...

How far along? 28w0d


Maternity clothes?  Of course!  A couple of shirts are actually starting to show some wear... hmmm...

Body Oddities?  I think I'm finally showing more.  When I was painting today, I ended up getting more paint on my belly than any where else on my anatomy.  My hips hurt and crack/pop all the time.  Oh yeah, and apparently I have hit the wonderful flatulent part of this journey.  So special...

Sleep?   Still off and on... I was able to sleep in yesterday whicle is amazing. 

Best moment this week?  Ordering all the decor stuff we'll need for the nursery from Etsy.  It was so much fun!

Worst moment? When I realized that after this week off, I only have another three weeks of work, and about a month and a half worth of to-dos.   *Sigh*

Movement?  All the time.  I think he/she is turning a lot.  The Halfing has been transverse at a lot of my OB appointments, but I'm feeling movement in other areas now... more vertical. 

Food cravings?  Seafood, sushi, dairy

Rings?  Back on (and they look bee-yoo-tee-ful after getting prettified!)

Gender? Not going to find out, but I think it's a boy. Let me know what you think... there's a poll on the right.

Intense Dreams?  What is it with travel dreams?  Aside from the nightmares of death and loss, in all my dreams I'm travelling.  The other night, I was on my way to China with one of my staff... odd!

Medical Concerns? High blood pressure (on 50mg Trandate/Lobetalol, 3 times a day... bp holding steady at 130-ish over 70-ish), Gestational Diabetes (closer to getting it under control), on prescription Zan.tac for heartburn.

What I miss?  Being able to sleep on my stomach.  I miss this so much!

What I look forward to?  Being able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want it.  Getting the furniture painted.  Putting the crib together.

Emotional State?  I'm feeling pretty good.  More even keeled than I have been for the last few weeks.  I can still snap at the drop of a hat, but I'm not feeling so anxious or frustrated. 

Week 25: Halfling Update

Greeting Humble Readers! 

Your friendly neighbourhood hobbit is pretty tuckered out today.  But once I get myself motivated to get off this couch I'm planning on getting back to work on the nursery.  I figure if I go through my craft stuff today, then my Beloved can go through his immense set of junk drawers later this week.  When we get the room done, I'm going to post pictures for you all.  I just hope it turns out the way I'm visualizing.

How far along? 25w0d


Maternity clothes? Yup... The bella bands are starting to get a bit tiresome now, so I think come September, I will only have three pairs of pants to wear to work.  Oh well... I've also ordered 2 pairs of maternity jeans. 

Body Oddities? The stuffy sinuses are back, I'm going to have to start using the nose strip things again.  Weight has been all over the place, up, then down, but generally hanging out within 2 pounds of my pre pregancy weight.  My internal thermometer is also way out of wack... I feel like I'm living in a world that's 5-10 degrees warmer than everyone else's.  Leg cramps have been a real biotch too.

Sleep? I have a love-hate relationship with sleep these days.  I love sleep, but I don't feel like I'm getting enough.  One of the things that helps me sleep is my insanely huge body pillow.  It's one of those curly ones, so it hooks over my shoulder and goes between my knees.  It's great, except that I don't roll over at all at night when I sleep with it, so my hips end up being really really sore when I wake up.

Best moment this week?  Yesterday, when I realized I only have three more weeks in the second trimester.

Worst moment?  Finding out that I have the dreaded GD, being woken up from a dead sleep by leg cramps

Movement? He/she is most active in the morning when I first get up and then through the afternoon and evening.  My Beloved still can't feel the kicks and rolls yet, but I think it will be soon.

Food cravings?  Hummus, yoghurt, sweets (which I am striving to avoid as much as I can)

Rings? Still on... but I think I've only got a few weeks left. There have been a few mornings where I have woken up concerned that I wasn't going to be able to get them off.  I have put off getting them soldered, and to have them prettified, so I think now might be a good time.

Gender? Not going to find out, but I think it's a boy

Intense Dreams?  So many about loss.  Blood has also been a key image in my dreams lately.  I wish they would stop.

Medical Concerns? High blood pressure (on 50mg Trandate/Lobetalol, 3 times a day... bp holding steady at 130-ish over 70-ish), Gestational Diabetes (going to a GD clinic on Thursday to learn how to test my blood sugar, etc), on prescription Zan.tac for heartburn.

What I miss?  Chocolate peanut butter cups, being able to shave my legs in the shower, sushi

What I look forward to? the full hour massage I have scheduled for this afternoon, getting to start painting the nursery.

Emotional State? Still all over the place.  Laughing hysterically one moment, snarky the next.  Mostly tied to my energy level. 

Once Begun is Half Done

Or, at least that's what Grandma always said, Humble Readers!

We finally started working on the nursery for real today.  It doesn't look like we made a lot of progress yet, but it involved two trips to Va.lue Vil.lage.  Because the spare room had become a glorified storage room, it hasn't been regularly dusted or cleaned... so you can imagine there was much sneezing and rubbing of eyes. 

My Beloved had spent a big chunk of time a couple of weekends ago going through our personal files, purging and transferring them from file crates to an actual file cabinet. Said cabinet is now in our master bedroom closet.  We still have a 5' tall plastic drawer unit that my Beloved has just tossed stuff into for the last ten years that we need to go through.  And we need to get rid of a bunch of boxes of files that pertain to the condo building (Beloved is the accountant for the building, so there's lots of paper).

I need to go through a lot of my crafting stuff and decide what needs to be kept and what needs to go.  I also consolidated one huge box of photos.  So, now I need to go through them and decide what to do with them.  They go all the way back to college... Up to 17 years of pics!  Yikes!  At least I'll have something to do if I end up on bed rest. 

One of the hard things was getting rid of a lot of our wedding leftovers... invitations, thank you notes, place cards, etc.  I kept one of each, but it was tough to just recycle that stuff. 

My goal is to spend a little bit of time each day this week continuing to organize the rest of the room.  I want to be able to paint the room by the end of the month (yeah, I know, I know... I've said that repeatedly). 

Oh, and in case you haven't noticed... I've changed my mission impossible page to my list page.  I started combining all my small lists into one large list.  Double yikes!

The Ultrasound, The Nursery, and A Cake

Good Morning Humble Readers!

The ultrasound was a tad bit anti-climactic.  When we got to the medical imaging clinic, it was pretty busy, so I expected to be waiting awhile.  Oddly enough, I got called in right away.  Like the last time I was at this particular clinic, they made my Beloved wait in the waiting room for the first part of the scan. 

When I got into the room, I immediately told the tech that we did not want to know the gender of the baby.  She told me that she would take all her pictures, then show them to the doctor on site.  Then my Beloved would be called in and we would get to see our Halfling. 

I spent the next 20 minutes or so staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about my ever shrinking bladder.  The tech didn't say anything during that 20 minutes, so I was starting to get just a tad concerned.  Then she handed me a strip of three pictures of the Halfling and said that she would go talk to the doc and then bring in my Beloved.  I couldn't see much in the pics she gave me because it was so dim in the room,  She was gone for almost 10 minutes, so I really started to get worried. 

But when she came back in with my Beloved, and started scanning again she immediately said that all that she could see looked great, and that our little Halfling had been playing shy.  Talk about a sigh of relief.  She turned the screen toward us and we got to watch the baby twist around and wave at us.  Halfling gave us some great views of his/her spine and hiney, but kept turning away from the u/s.  We finally got a quick view of the head, then the arms and legs flailing about.  And that was about it. 

Like I said, anticlimactic. 

When we got out of the room, we were able to get a better look at the pics she gave us, and honestly I have to say...

they are the CREEPIEST ultrasound pictures ever!  No cute profile for our Halfling!  No way!  :)  Take a look for yourself...

The first is of Halfling's face... nice skeletal look huh?  Maybe we should have called the baby a Wraith instead.  The second shot is of his/her spine.  Crazy!

It was great to see the baby, to know that all is well.  When we left, on our way out my Beloved looked at me and said, "We made a real person!".  It was really cute.  I think it's starting to become a bit more real for him. 

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After the u/s, we stopped at the paint store to pick up some paint chips to help us decide on the perfect shade for the nursery.  Tell me what you think...

I'm trying to decide between the top three colours.  I want a soft grey.  Trim and furniture will be white, and the accent colour is going to be a bright apple green (curtains, bedding, etc).  

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In other news... You remember that recipe that I mentioned yesterday, the one from Kristin at Dragondreamer's Lair?  The one for a Blow the Diet cake...  Yeah, well, it's frickin' outstanding!  I wimped out and used a chocolate cake mix (my scratch cakes never ever turn out), and the next time I make it I will double the peanut butter filling.  I don't pretend to know how to ice a cake properly, so it turned out looking a tad sloppy, but it tasted sooooooo good!  It's calling my name right now, but I am successfully resisting.