Family Time

Moses had a wonderful grandparents-filled time this past week. During the week, he saw two of his grandparents, and over the weekend, he saw the other four of his six grandparents.

It's wonderful to see that he's made such huge strides in feeling comfortable with his grandparents lately. Before, he was very timid and unsociable around them, but now, he'll ask for them to pick him up and freely give them hugs or kisses. It's so nice to see that he's coming out of his shell--it's only taken 1.5 years!

My Mom and Kelly visited with my sister Paige on Saturday, and Dave's parents came down with his niece Jasmin on Sunday. Unfortunately, I've been lazy with pictures lately and only have a few--of my Mom and Kelly's visit not Dave's parents. I really should try to pick up the camera more these days and give everyone a fair shot (no pun intended).




The only bad thing about our weekend is that Moses seems to have contracted Fifth Disease and started exhibiting the cheek rash on Saturday. He's feeling great now, but his cheeks are red in all the pictures. I think it's safe to say that by age two he'll have acquired all the immunities he'll need for a lifetime. I guess it's better he gets them out of the way now than have two sick boys.

-Lindsey

P.S. And, yes, I'm going in for a blood test today to make sure I've already got the Fifth Disease anti-body and I'm not ask risk for an infection while pregnant. I think the chances are pretty good I've had it before, but I still have my fingers crossed!

Some good news...

Yesterday, our allergist's office called with the results of Moses' blood test. The nurse said that his milk protein results were low and that he'll most likely outgrow the allergy, but in the meantime, we're to use rice milk and cut dairy from his diet to see if it helps with his congestion. I'm game for that move, but we'll see how Moses does with a new "milk."

However, the nurse also said that Moses' peanut results were positive and that we should still avoid all peanut contact. I expected to get a classification for the blood results (0-6) but she didn't give me one. Even though they don't indicate severity or sensitivity in an individual--only the likelihood for a reaction, I'm still curious and will ask the doctor at our next appointment.

-Lindsey

P.S. I'm finally done with school this semester. Let the fun (and cleaning) begin!

Reading Nuts

Over the weekend, I went to the library and picked up "The Peanut Allergy Answer Book," which is recommended by The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network that Dr. Herman referred. Since I'm one of those people who wants to know everything possible about a situation (or diagnosis), I was very pleased with the wealth of information this book provided. It taught me a lot about food allergies, most importantly:

"The reactions that peanut-allergic patients experience can vary from exposure to exposure: one time, an exposure may cause a mild reaction and the next time, the same exposure might cause a more severe reaction. The severity of a reaction and risk of anaphylaxis are not predictable by skin testing or RAST tests (blood tests) (92)."

Here I was expecting to learn just how bad it was from the blood test when that's not even possible--we just have to assume the worst can happen and safeguard Moses from all contact with peanuts. We've decided to avoid tree nuts too as a precaution due to the risk of cross contamination (i.e. made in a facility that also processes peanuts). You can never be too careful...

-Lindsey

Affirmative - Allergic to Peanuts (and Milk!)

Today we visited an allergist, Dr. Herman (Thanks Misty!), to see about the reaction Moses had to peanuts on Monday. We thought we were just going in for a consult because I was told over the phone that Moses had to be antihistamine free for seven days prior to allergy testing and since he had Benadryl on Monday and Tuesday we'd have to wait. However, once there and visiting with Dr. Herman, he said that we should go ahead and test since we'd still get a positive or negative reaction to allergens from Moses.

I was not prepared for that change in plans and my purse seriously lacked adequate distraction tools. Thankfully, they had puzzles in the exam room and a sink with little cups for Moses to drink from. Two hours of distraction--I'm exhausted.

Moses did really well with the prick test (it's changed so much since I had the test in my teens). He didn't cry and was content to play with the office toys and not scratch his back during the 20 minute testing period. He was tested for the 19 most common allergens--animals, grasses, trees, foods, etc.

After 20 minutes, the nurse and doctor came to survey the results. If you aren't familiar with allergy testing, there's a control "bump" that helps them gauge the reaction of the tested allergens. Moses' control bump rated a 2+ and was compared to the other 19 "bumps." The only bumps, or positive reactions, worth noting were for milk and peanuts--both rated a 2+. I was shocked about the positive reaction for milk since we've never had an issue with milk, but the peanut reaction was pretty much expected after Monday's incident. Dr. Herman said we should count our blessings that Monday's reaction wasn't more troublesome because his vomiting was a sign of anaphylactic shock.

He also said that Moses can continue with milk products for now, but we might have to cut them out of his diet if his "numbers" are too high. Also, his milk allergy might be the cause of all his congestion and ear infections of late. We're to avoid peanuts at all costs and carry an EpiPen in case of an allergic reaction. The good news is that he's not registering for any hay fever type allergies at the moment, but Dr. Herman thinks he has a good chance of developing them when he's a little older since Dave and I both suffer from inhalant allergies. We'll still take this brief reprieve even if that's the case!

We're still waiting to hear about the severity of these allergies pending a blood test Moses had today (with the smallest needle I've ever seen--he did so well). The results of the blood test will determine what part(s) of milk Moses is allergic to and whether or not we can continue having milk products. The test will also tell us how allergic he is to peanuts and give us a "number" to watch over the years. Dr. Herman said that in some cases kids can grow out of a peanut allergy and watching the "number" over the years is the best indicator of such possibility.

That's all the excitement we can handle for one day. Moses is conked out and I wish I could take a nap too, but school work is calling me...

I'll keep you posted on the results of the blood test. Keep your fingers crossed that we see low numbers.

-Lindsey

P.S. Here are some pictures from our gardening adventure yesterday to counter the unwelcome news of today's post. I have to say that it's hard to communicate "be gentle to plants" to a 17-month-old boy--thank goodness the water hose, dirt, and my Taco Bueno cup were more fun that my newly potted plants.

In case you've missed his mug

I haven't been so great at taking pictures lately, but I thought I'd post the few I have taken recently.

The first set is from our craft time yesterday. Moses has a real marker fetish and loves coloring on anything and everything. Usually, sitting him in his high chair with washable markers and paper works wonders but this time he confused his high chair with hunger. I was making lunch in the kitchen and came back to this...


Thank goodness my little clown is using non-toxic markers.

This second set is from today when I tried to photograph his "rain curls." No picture does them justice but I tried. There's also a cute picture of him finding my belly button or "bell butt" as he calls it.



-Lindsey

Meet the Weathermen

Each member of this family has some bodily quirk that allows for rain prediction with uncanny accuracy.

Dave: An old football injury to his shoulder makes it ache when precipitation is imminent. This makes him sound much older than his 28 years.

Me: My epidural entry-point aches like some sort of bone bruise for days leading up to ominous weather. It's made me reconsider drugs for this second child but only for a second...

Moses: His hair kinks up into dreamy curls the day of a downpour. Maybe I should check for some cancellations at our local photographers? One girl's picture-day nightmare is my boy's opportunity for unworldly cuteness.

Bella (the dog): She freaks out and shakes uncontrollably for hours before it begins until it passes. She also won't leave our side, or she'll hide in the bathroom. I imagine her reciting the mantra, "think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts" in a doubtful, girly inner voice for the duration of a thunderstorm.

I didn't mention our cat, Ninja, but I'm sure if we could extract the prescient behavior from the psychotic we'd learn she's also got a talent for weather prediction. And, while not a member of the family per se, my van starts running funny up to a day before the rain comes.

So, I think we're overdue for a surname change and possibly an exhibit at your local freak show. Look for us, the newly-christened Weathermen (or Meteorologists, but the boys may have a tough time learning to spell that one), coming soon to a city near you.

Weathermen or not, I'm looking forward to today's daytime storm: nothing's better than a nice shower and a cup of coffee (decaf).

-Lindsey

Oh, nuts!

Moses might have a peanut allergy.

I can't even fathom that sentence since there's no family history of food allergies (although the lengthy history of hay fever doesn't bode well for him) and well, Dave and I love nuts.

Last night, Dave fed Moses some peanuts. I told Dave that I didn't think Moses had had an actual peanut before, only foods that have been in peanuts' proximity, so he stopped. About fifteen minutes later Moses' eyes were itchy and red with a rash, his voice was raspy, and although his breathing wasn't labored, it was noisy. I called our doctor's on-call nurse and she said to give him Benadryl and take him to the ER. On the way to the ER he vomited but seemed better afterwards.

We hung out in the ER for an hour-and-a-half before we decided to go home and call his pediatrician in the morning since his eyes were looking much better and he was playing vigorously. He obviously wasn't experiencing anything life-threatening, and we thought he was probably just picking up more germs there anyway.

I called his pediatrician this morning and they are in the process of getting Moses a referral to an allergist. We should hear something about an appointment in the next few days.

Dave and I are both hoping it was something other than the peanuts that caused his reaction since a peanut allergy is lifelong, potentially life-threatening, and requires a lot of food scrutiny, but I think our optimism is just hope. Maybe we'll get lucky...

-Lindsey

Well, he had the worm...

Feeling more like himself than he has in weeks, Moses got up at his somewhat-usual time, 6 a.m. I guess he's not used to being such an early bird again because this was the scene at 8 a.m.:


At this rate, he's in for a long day.

-Lindsey

Stop and smell the roseola

As it turns out, Moses has Roseola.

Soon after I updated that his fever was gone, it came back. It was bizarre because he was cold as ice that morning, but then very warm at 101.7 degrees just hours later. That weaker fever stayed with us until last night, but after showering with Moses, Dave noticed a rash forming on Moses' lower trunk. As the night went on, the rash worsened and sleep was hard to come by. Moses and I stayed up until 2 a.m. before I could finally get him to sleep, but even then, he slept fitfully and was constantly tossing and turning.

This morning the light-pink rash is still present but doesn't look too bad. I called his doctor who confirmed it was Roseola and said the good news was that he was no longer contagious. Whew. Being stuck in the house for nearly a week hasn't been fun. The rash might last up to 3 days, but the the end is near. And, Moses now has a lifelong immunity to Roseola--at least I won't have to worry about caring for two cranky, restless boys with it.

He's playful this morning and seems to have forgotten the terrible night. Hopefully, we'll have good days and nights from here on out.

-Lindsey

The name is Dish. Petri Dish.

Well, once again we've contracted an illness over here. Moses came down with 102.8 degree fever (his favorite temperature apparently) after his nap on Saturday. I thought he had another ear infection because he was exhibiting all his usual symptoms except this time gagging accompanied the fever and fussiness. Lovely... Well, after two terrible nights of sleep and a persistently high fever despite the alternation of fever reducers, I took him in to the doctor.

The good news is that for once, an ear infection isn't the culprit. His ears were "perfect," in fact. This time, however, he has a viral infection (correction: we have a viral infection). This bug causes fever in children for 3-5 days and creates an obnoxious amount of congestion, which causes a sore throat. He also has viral conjunctivitis (pink eye), which makes him look especially pathetic.

For the most part though, he's in good spirits and happily plays so long as his fever isn't spiking. The rough part comes at night when I'm not so diligent with the Tylenol or Motrin. He spends most the night rolling around and whining, and I spend the night making sure he gets some sleep. I think he'll be better soon, but it's just a matter of time before I die of exhaustion...

I look forward to summer and days void of day care.

UPDATE: His fever broke last night so he's doing much better today. Hooray!

-Lindsey

The swing of things

Dave and Moses spent some time outside recently. It's been really windy here lately, but every once in a while, it's very pleasant--perfect for swinging.

-Lindsey

The Scoop

Moses' current obsession involves anything spoon-like. He'll take the average dinner or wooden spoon, slotted server, or shovel (of any variety) and attempt to scoop up and carry anything he can with his selected utensil/tool. Yesterday he carried blocks; today, balls. It's pretty cute, except that he frequently gets frustrated when the object falls off while he's walking around, and he has to scoop it up again and again. I was very close to taping a ball to his wooden spoon tonight out of sheer desperation for quiet, but that would make me a bad mom. A mom who makes things too easy and turns out a son who expects the world to fall at his feet. Right? Right.

Here he is "cleaning up" with me before bed:

These other pictures are from this morning when it dawned on me that I dressed him for a fictional government holiday. It's not evident in these shots really, but you should have seen the rest of the outfit--complete with a red, white, and blue jacket and pair of shoes. Isn't his mountain of curls fabulous?




Here's a belly shot from tonight, too, at 22 weeks 4 days. I know I haven't posted these for a couple weeks, but this house is absent a full-length mirror so I have to enlist Dave, and I simply forget to ask.


-Lindsey

Soliciting Stroller Reviews

We're now starting to think of the things needed for two children. We're fortunate in that we are set in the boys' clothing department and other things needed for first time parents, but we're stuck when it comes to stroller options.

We're looking for an inline, double stroller that's compact enough to fit in my van. The single Graco Quattro stroller we have now barely fits in the van with the rear sit erected, and since Moses will be in the rear seat once his brother gets here, I need a double stroller that doesn't require me fold that seat down. I'd also like something a little more rugged since my new favorite warm-weather past time is walking with my son(s) in tow. Any suggestions?

My dream stroller is the Phil & Ted's Sport with Doubles Kit:

But, it's nearly twice as expensive as the Graco Quattro Tour Duo, the double's version of our original stroller:
I know we've got a lot of moms out there who read this blog and might have some input or other stroller suggestions. Please, please, leave a comment or email me with your thoughts. I like having some research before investing in something, and what's better than personal experience and word of mouth?

Thanks,
-Lindsey

Avoca-dose and more

Moses fell asleep while eating his afternoon snack of avocado. I didn't realize avocados were on the list of sleep-friendly foods. I must keep them in mind for bed time (insert scheming-mom laugh here).


Later in the evening, we had Mexican casserole and rice for dinner. Notice Moses' excellent use of the spoon--I think he's upped his food-to-mouth ratio to 50%. I can hear utensil mastery coming round the bend. Next, chopsticks...



-Lindsey

Toe-tally unfair!

This morning I broke my pinky toe running after Moses. The floor is still littered with things I need to put away, and I tripped over our game, Cranium Turbo Edition, which weighs the same as a small elephant, while chasing down the source of cranky screams. I'm not proud of the words Moses heard from my mouth when little toe met box, but I was in whole mess of pain.

So, now, my once favorite game is forever "the enemy," and I've decided toes are ridiculous--it's unfair that the only thing I've ever broken can't be treated medically.

(I say that my toe is broken, but without an actual X-ray, I guess it's my word against the toe's, and having the only mouth in the pair, I think I win.)

-Lindsey

Nutty = Sleepy

Nowadays, Moses gets downright goofy when he's sleepy. I think it's some form of delirium because he just giggles endlessly at nothing in particular, acts silly, and throws his body all over the place (pillows, couches, laps, etc.). When this stage hits, I know he'll fall asleep in a heartbeat if we go "night, night." This sleepy cue is much preferred over crankiness.

-Lindsey

My good eater

Since things are slowly settling around here and returning to normal, we're able to back on some semblance of a routine. I love preparing good lunches for Moses and I and hated that the last few weeks consisted solely of takeout, fast food, or, at the very least, odds and ends we had around the kitchen.

We don't shy away from giving Moses junk food but don't make it a habit either. I tend to think that restricting junk food makes it more "valuable" in children's eyes so we just permit it in moderation for the sake of him knowing what it is and curbing his interest. He's had fries, sipped on soda, and eaten a donut or two, but that's not what he loves. He's a sucker for veggies! Nothing can keep him from devouring green beans, carrots, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and edamame.

Today for lunch, he had chicken breast with BBQ sauce (I think of it more as finger paint) and Brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts! We enjoyed our yummy food while listening to Peter Frampton, and Moses hammed it up for the camera. We're sitting on the floor because our once clear dining room table is now covered in things I need to find a place for in the house.




Awhile back I bought the Bird's Eye Brussels sprouts packaged for individuals thinking I'd be the only one in the house who'd enjoy them, but I was wrong. Moses (my little beggar bird) ate the first ones I prepared, and I had to make another package. Since then, they've been a regular part of our diet and even Dave is a fan. Who knew Brussels sprouts were making a come back?

On another dining note, Moses is hugely interest in eating with silverware. He's not so great at it, but 1 out of 5 attempts is successful. It's so adorable to watch him concentrate so keenly on scooping his food and then making it into his mouth. When he succeeds, you can really see him beam!

-Lindsey

P.S. Doesn't he also look a bit tanner in those pictures? I think he does have Dave's coloring afterall--he just needed a bit of sun. Hooray!

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