A Long Weekend

We are officially out of our old house (except for extracting Ninja, our stealthy black cat who's been hiding under the house since the moving mayhem started). Before we could leave that house, there were a lot (read: TONS) of things in the garage we had to get rid of since we had no interest bringing them with us to the new house--a garage sale seemed like the perfect answer. We'd wanted to do one earlier in the moving process, but Dave and I were too tired to get everything together before this past weekend.

Our garage sale was both Saturday and Sunday from 9-3, and I don't think we've ever been so tired following a day's work, even Moses crashed at 7 p.m. both evenings (very uncharacteristic of him since the time change). The weather on Saturday was projected in the mid 70s but instead was in the cool 60s so we didn't have as much traffic as we'd expected. It finally warmed up around 2, but it was too late to energize our sad sales. I ended up get burned on the forehead and nose in the few hours of sunlight I saw, but strangely (and fortunately), Moses escaped sans redness. Sunday was a much prettier, warmer day, but it wasn't great for sales either since we had to compete with church hours and lazy Sunday activities. I applied sunscreen on Moses numerous times because I was sure Saturday's unscathed skin was a fluke but then forgot subsequent applications for myself and now my arms look like a lobster's. Oh, the sacrifices a parent makes! All in all, it wasn't too bad an experience, and we did make some money for our cast off belongings. What we didn't sell we happily dropped off at Good Will (thanks, Phil, for your help).

Moses had a great time perusing our old junk and enjoyed dragging it out and "helping" us at times. When he wasn't playing with golf balls and hiding them in various objects (like an old mailbox), he patiently sat along side us in his own little chair and chatted with us using mostly nonsensical words.





We're now completely in our new place, but it's a wreck since all of our belongings are finally inside. I liked it much better when it was just our furniture and essentials. I need another week of nothing in order to get this place organized, but that's a tall order considering school is starting back for me this week and I have projects galore awaiting me. I have one month of classes left, and then I'll have four whole weeks free to get this place under control. I'm already counting down.

-Lindsey

I heart the 80s

Tuesday afternoon, I took Moses outside to play in the backyard. Considering it's been chilly for weeks now, I bundled us in sweaters and close-toed shoes before heading outdoors. Within seconds of walking outside, I turned us around for a wardrobe change--into shorts, t-shirts, and sandals! It was in the mid-eighties and has been every afternoon since! We've enjoyed every minute of it, and our new backyard makes such wonderful weather even better.






Don't ask me why he still has a bib on--the absurdity of it occurred to me later than it should have so I'll have to blame pregnancy brain for that silly lapse in logic.

I got a kick out of him in his new "big boy" swim trunks and sandals (we've only been storing them since last summer's sales), and Moses enjoyed watering his toes or the grass or Bella if she wasn't paying attention. I got the little watering can at Target several months ago to use in the bath (it's a fun rinse tool), but he really put it to good use outside where it belongs--if only I can teach him to water my potted plants that I forget about too often.

-Lindsey

Ch-ch-changes

With all the excitement of today, I couldn't wait to change the header on the blog to reflect our family's gender imbalance. Some might think I'm getting ahead of myself, but I'm not the least bit superstitious in that respect. I'm sad to see "Stop and Smell the Moses" come to an end, but it's time to embrace the foursome we'll become in a matter of months. Sure, "Babe in Boy Land" doesn't have the same ring (no pun intended) as "Stop and Smell the Moses," but it's an accurate depiction of our future familial status. I can't guarantee I've settled on that name, but it'll do for now. I hate that searching for "Babe in Boy Land" returns less-than-family-friendly results so my brain will be working overtime until something better crops up.

On a side note, Harry Potter fans will appreciate Dave's current nickname for our yet unnamed second son--he's been referring to the boy as He-Who-Has-Not-Been-Named (and HWHNBN in print). As a fellow Harry Potter fanatic, I had a good laugh at his brilliance. Of course, in no way are we calling our son evil; we just enjoy a little pop culture reference every now and then.

-Lindsey

I would have lost the farm.

It's a boy! Yes, Moses is going to have a partner in crime. Here's the sweet face and profile of the newest edition to our family (note: he resembles Moses--even the technician commented on the fact that they looked alike as she was scanning his face):



I would say that we're surprised, but we're not really. This pregnancy is much different than with Moses, but that was the only thing that served as a possible indicator of a girl so both possibilities were fair game. My mother's intuition was wrong, too, but I'm sure that won't be the last time (shh, don't tell the boys I said that). At any rate, we look forward to endless fort constructs, camping adventures, reptilian requests, and sports events with our boys (it's so fun to say our boys, plural).

The best news is that the baby's development looks wonderful, and he's the picture of health. I'm measuring a few days ahead at this point, too, so maybe we'll see him earlier in August. As for names, don't ask. We have no clue what to name a second boy! We still have Moses' original name in reserve, but we don't even have a long list started.

And finally, this week's belly pic (I don't have one from last Monday) at 20 weeks 1 day:


-Lindsey

Killing Time

I should be working on my paper (or, really, selecting a topic for that paper), but I can't concentrate on much of anything at the moment--I'm too excited about our appointment this afternoon. To distract my mind, I decided to post some pictures of our living and dining rooms--before and after. It's a bit of a tease, I know, but those two rooms are the only ones I'd consider camera ready. Moses' room is nearly done, but I'm waiting to hang his curtains before taking a picture because his windows are currently covered with newspaper and as much as we'd like to promote our daily rag, I'd rather not introduce his new room to the world while it's covered in the classifieds.

These before pictures are courtesy of Dave's parents. I'm glad they thought to take pictures; I didn't.




And after:



I really do love this house. It's such a great space and has wonderful character. I was sad to give up our wooden floors in the old house, but this one has more to offer in other places. The work we've put into the house so far has transformed its energy and potential tremendously, and it feels more like home now. The bathrooms and kitchen still need some TLC (paint mainly), and I hope to make those summer projects if Dave will commit to being my handyman-extraordinaire since he'll be free all summer.

Well, thanks for the distraction. I'll post more house pictures as I complete rooms--it's much more difficult to get work done with a curious toddler roaming around and a growing baby inhibiting my workload. Case in point, Moses drug out each shelf liner I painstakingly cut to size and placed in each of the kitchen drawers--I later stumbled across a veritable shelf-liner graveyard in the kitchen. I'm hoping the newness and excitement will wear off soon so I can stop re-doing things.

I'll be back this afternoon to post the results of our "big" ultrasound. Pray for healthy baby news!

T-minus 2 hours...

-Lindsey

Not-so-smooth move

Well, this move has been a rollercoaster so far. I took Moses to the doctor on Friday for another ear infection. Dr. Gray prescribed Augmentin, a drug that's new to us, this time in hopes of stopping these ear infections for a bit. The antibiotic is much stronger and tougher than we're used to giving Moses, and within two hours of his first dose on Friday night, Moses was vomiting--frequently. Vomiting was a potential side effect, but after consulting a nurse and our pharmacist the next morning, we had two possible causes of the vomiting, 1) Moses picked up a stomach bug in addition to the ear infection and the time of his sickness was coincidental 2) Moses was reacting to the drug and the vomiting would disappear after the first or second dose. Hmm, the waiting game--how fun--what will the cause be?

Saturday was my first day of painting/cleaning with Sally and Maegan in the new house, and I was excited to get started even after such a rough night with Moses. Painting started well but went slowly. The house has very textured walls that made it very difficult to paint. After six hours, we were still in the same room (a large room but, whoa, still?)! The good news was that Dave informed me that Moses hadn't gotten sick anymore so we thought we were out of the woods. Sally, Maegan, and I continued working all night and finally went home at 11:00--a fourteen-hour day!

The next morning, I woke up and met Sally and Maegan at the house again for day number 2. The painting went much quicker as the texture on the walls in other rooms was much, much thinner. By the end of day two, we'd put in 11 more hours and were nearly done.

Around 2 a.m. on Monday, I woke up feeling very hungry, and thinking I was just famished from my days of hard work, I ate nearly everything I could get my hands on and I was still hungry--nauseatingly hungry. Then, I got sick to my stomach. Yup! That was a stomach bug Moses had--not a side effect to the medication--so for the next 10 hours I couldn't keep anything down. At 1:00 p.m. I was feeling better and decided to risk going to my doctor's appointment because I was concerned about dehydration and knew that hearing the baby's heartbeat would help me get through the week. Everything checked out okay: the baby's heartbeat is still in the 160s and he/she is very active. After my appointment I was feeling better but not up to working at the new house so I went home and rested. Thankfully, Sally went to our new house and continued to work on the walls so they'd be finished by the time I started (hopefully) to clean the next day.That same night, I began to run a 101 degree fever and feared I was getting the flu, but fortunately, it broke over night and I felt fine this morning.

Today, I was able to get most of the cleaning done so that we'd have everything situated for the movers tomorrow. I still haven't cleaned the kitchen or bathrooms well, but I will knock those out once the furniture's in. The house looks 120% better with fresh paint, and it's made it seem more like our home. I can't wait to show off our new house once we get settled. It'll be our home for the next three years!

Wish us a better week as we finishing moving into our new house and out of the old! And, it's less than a week until our big ultrasound. I'm thankful for our busyness--I'm hoping this week will pass quickly and we'll have that ultrasound before we know it.

I also have to take a moment to brag on Dave. He's spent the last four days (4!) watching Moses from sun up to sun down--even administering Moses' medicine and putting him to bed at night. Dave's really been patient with my need to paint and clean well and then tending to Moses and I while we were sick. He's such an awesome husband and father!

-Lindsey

P.S. Hopefully I'll have some pictures for everyone the next time I post. We'll be off line for a couple of days and I'm sure I'll lose the camera or parts of the computer for some period of time, but I should have my act together soon!

Counting Down

There's a lot going on in the next few weeks so I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to update this site. Here's a rundown of the coming weeks:

1) Tomorrow we get the keys to our new place, but before we can start moving in, Sally, Maegan, and I are going to paint the walls to cover up some hideous hunter green walls and freshen up the white ones.
2) Monday or Tuesday we hope to have our belongings in the new house and we'll begin the settling process.
3) Monday I also have a checkup at 19 weeks 1 day.
4) Thursday or Friday, Dave's going to Roswell to play a crazy man in his friend's movie--a movie whose script has been lying around the house for months and Dave has grown his hair out for.
5) Next Saturday, 3/22, we plan to have a garage sale. We have so, so much in our garage that we don't want any longer and hope that we can sell some of it before donating it to charity. We think by then we'll have a good idea of what we won't need in our new house so that we can sell it rather than drag it along with us until the next time we're crazy enough to have a garage sale.
6) Monday, 3/24, is my big diagnostic ultrasound where we'll learn about our growing baby's health and the gender! I'm both nervous and excited. I think it's a girl because this pregnancy has been much different and because of plain ol' "mother's intuition" but I wouldn't put money on it.
7) Wednesday, 3/26, I'm hoping to have this place (the almost-old house) clean enough to turn the keys into our (almost-old) landlord.

It doesn't look like much on paper, but I'm curious how we'll get it all done. Not to mention, I have a theory paper due the last day of March that I haven't even chosen a topic for. Procrastination runs deeps in this family.

-Lindsey

Life's a blur...and so is Moses

Here I am at 18 weeks 2 days--notice the blur behind me.


It seems he's going nonstop these days. I'm pretty sure I have him to thank for my slow weight gain this time around. I think I had already gained 20 pounds at this point with him and currently, I've only put on 6 (in addition to the 15 I had left to lose of the jaw-dropping 70 pounds I gained with Mos).

If this baby comes as early as Moses did, I'm officially at the halfway point today. Yikes! Time's really flying.

Our *big* ultrasound is only two weeks away now. I'm ready to find out if this little one's a boy or girl but nervous for the diagnostic part of the exam. I'm just praying for a healthy little baby.

-Lindsey

Vaccines, Schmaccines

At the suggestion of a fellow mom, I just finished reading The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. It provides impartial information concerning the immunizations recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, informing readers about the vaccines, what they protect against, the risks of not vaccinating, risks and rates of adverse reactions, ingredients used to produce them, why some choose and others choose not to vaccinate, and, lastly, Dr. Sears gives his perspective (the only bias found in the book and meant to help the indecisive).

It was really helpful to read about why we're even told to vaccinate our children and what our options are as parents, and it feels good to be more proactive in my son's health care decisions. I do very little these days without first doing some research so why shouldn't I also research something so crucial to my son's well being?

For Moses, he will be getting the DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis) and Pc (pneumococcal) vaccines this Thursday. HIB (haemophilus influenzae type B) was on my okay list too, but they are experiencing a shortage and not giving that vaccine now. I feel like the ability for a doctor to decline certain vaccines during times of shortage shows how inconsistent the whole pro-vaccination argument is, but that's my opinion. Don't think I'm anti-vaccine, I'm just anti-doctor-knows-best.

As for other vaccines, we're delaying Polio and Hep A until he's at least two, the MMR until he's four (with a second dose of measles two years later), and declining the Chickenpox and Flu vaccines. Even though the State of Texas requires children to have certain vaccines before they enter day care and/or kindergarten, it allows parents to object to vaccinations based on philosophical beliefs as long as they file a waiver with their child's school. Since we're delaying and declining some of the vaccines, I've already requested an exemption waiver for Moses so I won't have to worry about child care objections. I was appalled to learn that Mississippi and West Virginia require that parents vaccinate their children or the state can take the children from them! Sounds like we won't be moving there any time soon.

I'm still trying to figure out the best schedule for "Chuck" but figure I have a few more months to decide.

Sorry to be on a soap box with this post, but I can't help but feel passionate about immunizations and the government's involvement in our role as parents.

Questions? Comments? I'll be glad to share what I've learned.

-Lindsey

With a little help from my friend

We're getting ready to move to our new, bigger house next weekend so I've started packing boxes here and there. Moses is helping where he can, but I'm not sure he understands the concept of packing. Here, he's using one of the empty boxes to pack up his diapers, diapers he'll need for the next week.

Silly boy.

As for the new house, we're super excited about it. We found it last month and have been anticipating this move ever since. It's still only a two bedroom, but it's 1400 sq. ft. as opposed to our current 900 sq. ft, and it's got a second bathroom. It has two living areas with a neat fireplace in one, both bedrooms have walk-in closets, there's a dishwasher (hallelujah!), a sun room, and a fabulous backyard that Moses and Dave can't wait to play in. I'll be sure to post some pictures once we get in and make "ours." Until then, we'll be packing up--diapers and all.

-Lindsey

With Child

I'm 17 weeks 1 day. I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is progressing--in just 3 weeks we'll find out if we're having a boy or girl.

I couldn't take a clear picture today for anything. This must have been my 10th attempt at clarity, but I still failed miserably. I'll try to start employing Dave as hubby-cum-photographer.



-Lindsey