Monday, June 27, 2011

Daybook June 27

Outside my window...sunshine keeps flashing through the clouds but ominous dark clouds hover nearby. Expecting rain to come pouring down any minute. But we'll see. This is the Ozarks after all and the weather is unpredictable at best.

I am thinking...about trust and faith. Sometimes the two hardest things in my world I believe.

I am thankful for...sister-in-laws who nicely fold my daughter's laundry for me. A little gesture--a big blessing.

From the learning rooms...[or in our case--the learning brain]...There has been a lot of tongue sticking out this week as well as ever increasing mobility. More than once Blueberry has begun to let go and stand for a few seconds on her own before sitting down (sometimes hard) on her rump. Mommy has been learning a lot (again) on diaper rash treatments. Think we've maybe finally hit on something that seems to be doing the trick in clearing up this stupid rash for good.

From the kitchen...not our kitchen but a friend's kitchen...came Blueberry's first experience with a tryptophan-high. They made a yummy, yummy turkey for lunch the other day (to which we were invited), Blueberry chowed down, and then became glaze-eyed and incredibly chill. Put her down for a nap and she slept solidly for 2 hours. Hee, hee, hee...I love a new baby sleeping trick!

I am wearing...sweats and a t-shirt. Not very glamorous today I'm afraid. Had a distinct need for comfort over glamor.

I am creating...(finally) a monthly menu plan. We'll see how it works out in the end, but it's at least a start. I really should take it one step further and plan it seasonally, but we'll see how it goes.

I am going...back and forth between my house and my bro and sister-in-laws house today. Fortunately not too many times. And fortunately they live only half a mile away. But still. Why? See Around the House.

In my mailbox today.. .was junk. How boring.

I am reading.. . the second book in the Rhineland Inheritance. Really enjoying the books so far. Good writer. Good research. Yay for a enjoyable series. Also introducing Blueberry to Paddington Bear. Here's hoping for a long term relationship in her life.

I am hoping...to figure out what to do with this crazy amount of doctor/hospital bills.

I am hearing...Blueberry crunch on puffs and hum to herself as she does so.

Around the house...our flooring is fixed! And, praise the Lord, we didn't have to buy new boards or anything. All the old flooring went back down nicely. On the bad side, though, our washing machine is leaking. Not sure what's going on there yet, but I'm trying to ignore it's existence. Utilizing my sister-in-law's machine today.

One of my favorite things...peanut butter brownies. mmm.....

A few plans for the rest of the week:
  • First Wee One's class on Tuesday - that should be fun.
  • Wednesday - dinner with a friend during which we will get to meet her new adopted baby
  • Thursday - crazy day - I have a lunch date with a friend as well as a birthday party in the evening, to which I will have to go late as I also have another Wee Ones class at the studio. Phew.
  • Friday is Date Night - need to set some plans for that one
  • Saturday I'm going with one of my best friends to help her start her baby registry (yay!)
Phew. Got to fit some groceries in there somewhere.

Here is picture (or more) for thought I am sharing...

Imagine the Turkey-High...


Want to join in? Go check out The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

PinUps and Pinspirations (Vol. 2)



PinUps: My Top 5 Pins of the Week


1. Words to live by in my new phase of life:


2. I want this. I love it.


3. I also want this for Blueberry. How cute can you possibly get?
Source: etsy.com via Hanna on Pinterest


4. For some reason this really tickled my funny bone. I think I may have to have a baby in October at some point for the sole purpose of being able to dress her/him up in an outfit like this for Halloween!


5. Click the link. Read the story. Just wow. That's all I can say.



Pinspiration:
(i.e. a Pin I've actually used in some way)

I saw this idea. I loved it. I bought chalkboard paint. I've now tested it on one jar, still love it, and will be soon taking on the madhouse of GF flours residing in my cupboard as the sticky labels I am currently using don't stick.

Friday, June 24, 2011

7 Quick Takes (vol. 19) - In Which I Have a Minor Pity Fest



#1 - As of Thursday night, my living room now looks like this:


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#2 - My dining room now looks like this:


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#3 - And my garage now looks like this:

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#4 - The Story: 5 am I go to Blueberry's room to nurse her and stop half-way through the dining room, arrested by an odd sound. Insert eye roll. "Chris must have left the water running again." Insert sigh of exacerbation. Go check out faucet. Dry as a bone (incidentally this saying has always bothered me. I understand how dry bones can be if left in the ground or in the sun, but what if it's a soup bone?).

Growing concern. Begin to hunt for the sound of the water. Track it to the refrigerator. Heart begins to thump wildly.

Lean down to look at the floor. Cannot see water.

Give fridge a push.

Get sprayed on the arm by water.

Call for Chris and with his help quickly discover that our stupid ice-maker has sprung a leak and is spraying water. All over the floor.

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#5 - For those who aren't familiar with our history of our dining room floor, please see this post here: The Dishwasher Catastrophe of 2007. It's funny, I would swear that experience wasn't that long ago, but apparently it's been four years. Let me now throw in a worn out cliche and say: "My how time flies."

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#6 - The upshot of the current situation: The water had seeped all the way through out dining room floor (again). Probably is under the (thankfully now tile and not laminate) floor under the kitchen. And this time, due to the location of the leak, it also went under the wall and has soaked the wood underneath the laminate in part of the living room.

The blessings:

(a) Because we caught it (relatively) quickly, most of the laminate should be reusable (with a bit of drying), so at least we're not going to be looking at hundreds of dollars replacing that (again). The tile should be able to dry out on its own without having to take any of that up.

(b) Because it was just the ice-maker and we don't actually use our ice-maker, we don't have to worry about fixing a major appliance.

(c) Have I mentioned my brother has his own business fixing things? Because, he's once again saving us.

Although I must add that I had an interesting thought as we dragged laminate out of the dining room into the garage--perhaps we need to hang out more with him sans major catastrophes and my house would quit breaking itself and needing rescuing? Hmmmm....must contemplate this idea. And must find time in his schedule for serious discussion of this concept :)



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#7 - Blueberry and I will be spending most of the day at a friend's house tomorrow (thanks Heather!) as short of living in-between her room and the study, there is nowhere particularly safe for a 10 month old of steadily increasing mobility and curiosity to be exploring.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Daybook - June 22

Outside my window...the sun is shining brilliantly. However, the air is delightfully cool (in comparison to what it has been at least). Perfect day. Outside my back window is a garden that is finally growing! At least we're hoping it's growing. There are plants in it either way. Now to just keep them all alive...

I am thankful for...a friend who I can talk to about anything and everything and who knows my deepest, darkest secrets, my ugliest, craziest thoughts, and who still loves me.

From the learning rooms...[or in our case--the learning brain]...comes so much. It seems like every day Blueberry is learning to do something new. Practicing a new sound. Pushing new boundaries. Most if them are little things, but they all add up to a quickly changing and growing little girl.

From the kitchen...I just made Peanut Butter bread. Not bad. It's not amazing. But it's edible. *Amendment: I've decided that I don't like this recipe. At all. Will work on drying it out and making bread crumbs out of it. I think that it would be pretty tasty that way.

I am wearing...brown yoga pants and a white t-shirt. Haven't gotten "dressed" for the day yet as I've been working on several rather messy

I am creating...some things with my sewing machine. Yay! Very exciting! We'll see how it actually turns out. Details and pictures to come.

I am going...to start taking Blueberry to her first dance class! Kind of. At the studio where I teach, they are desperately in need of another teacher to know the Wee One's class (ages 18 months up to 3 years). So starting next week (and for the next 6 weeks), Tuesday mornings I'm going to take Blueberry with me to the class while I start learning it and then Thursday nights I'll also go (sans Blueberry) for the same purpose. Then hopefully in the fall I will at least be able to substitute for the class or potentially even be teaching it (depending on how some other details work out).

In my mailbox lately.. .Came a fun quilt and umbrella for Blueberry to sit on outside. Rather timely as we've (a) been spending a lot of time outdoors and (b) she's obviously inherited her father's sensitivity to grass as every time she has tried to crawl through the grass she winds up with a rash on her feet and knees that takes awhile to clear up.

I am reading.. . the first book in a five book series called Rhineland Inheritance. It's a historical, Christian fiction series based just after the end of WWII. So far it's rather good--which is nice as I tend to not be a huge fan of a lot of Christian fiction. I hate to say it, but so often it's poorly written, and that really bugs me!

I am hoping...(and praying) for God to answer a prayer quickly and with little mess.

I am hearing...birds singing in the backyard. Hum of the fan. Silence otherwise as Blueberry is napping.

Around the house...I have laundry in the dryer. Diapers that need hanging out on the line. And the vacuum is sitting behind me as I'm waiting for Blueberry to wake up so I can vacuum her room and finish that job for the day. I also plan to work on cleaning out our disaster area of a garage. Well, at least start working on it as I'm pretty sure we're looking at a several day project here.

One of my favorite things...perfect summer days like today. It makes me feel good to be alive and full of energy (despite being slightly sleep-deprived).

A few plans for the rest of the week: Lunch with a friend tomorrow. Got to go CVSing as well. Saturday lunch with a different friend (and husband). Much funness! Blueberry and I have also been biking every morning this week--just around the neighborhood to stay close to home as she's gotten used to the idea. However, I plan to get the bike rack reattached to the car and go out to a park on Friday (weather permitting).

Here is picture (or more) for thought I am sharing...





Want to join in? Go check out The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

On the Subject of Food

Just got back from grocery shopping. Very tired now. Blueberry is down for a nap, I'm eating a rather late lunch, and decided to take a few moments to write.

I attempted price matching at WalMart today. It went rather well. Granted, I wasn't price matching a whole bunch of stuff, but the few items that I had to match went pretty smoothly. The only minor hiccup I had was when I gave them a catalina from Price Cutter for some almond milk. The lady didn't want to accept it at first, so I was going to go and pull out the WalMart policy and all that, but she called a manger over, and the manager told her it was just fine. Yay!

The advice I read on price matching was to put all the items you're going to price match on the belt at the end, so you can make sure you catch each item as it gets rung up. I also will be putting sticky notes on the items I am price matching (easier for me to find and check and for the cashier). You technically don't have to bring the ad in any more, but I did to be on the safe side and also so I could double check the ad.

I think I will probably do this once in awhile, but not all the time. As I've said before, WalMart is not my favorite place to shop, and they don't have the good meat sales that other stores do. Now price matching will kind of help that, but honestly, the best meal sales I get are the specially reduced items, and you can't price match something like that. However, for those weeks when I need stuff from WalMart already or even for the times when all the stores are having great sales all at the same time, this will be a decent solution.

In other food news. I did make Blueberry some baby food bread. Tried two recipes. The first one I wasn't to impressed with; although, I think if I made it with regular wheat flour instead of GF flour, it would come out better. I haven't tried gluten yet with Blueberry. We were actually going to try this week, but given the nasty diaper rash she's been getting over, I decided I better wait a few more days to make sure that's all cleared up first.

Any ways....recipes. The second recipe I tried came out beautifully. If you're interested, here's the two recipes.


Baby Cereal Cookies (GF/DF/Egg White free) - Variation on the actual recipe

  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup vegetable puree (jarred baby food) with a smidgen of oil
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup GF flour mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups infant cereal
  • 6 Tbsp water
Mix together. Form the dough (it has a spongy texture) into little patties and place on a baking sheet. Bake 375 for 9-10 mins. Remove immediately onto cooling rack

BABY CARROT BREAD - Parenthesis are my notes/adjustments

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (I used GF)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. sugar (I used 3 jars of pureed applesauce/pears)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 c. water (no water--not needed with the extra moisture from the baby food)
4 sm. jars of pureed carrots (baby food)
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. chopped nuts (left these out)
1 tsp. nutmeg
4 eggs, beaten (used 2 egg yolks - again, didn't need as much due to the added moisture above)
1 c. vegetable oil (no oil)

Sift together flour, soda, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Combine eggs, water, vegetable oil and baby food. Add to dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into 2 well greased loaf pans or into several smaller sized loaf pans. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Again, I was really pleased with how this one in particular came out. Very moist bread that holds together pretty well. And (depending on the day), Blueberry really likes it!

OK, break over. Must go be productive now.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Quck Take #8--in which poop features strongly

I had to post an additional Quick Take today because I need to get this out of my system. Or I shall cry. And I'd rather not cry. I prefer to laugh. And if I can make myself laugh by writing--all the better.

Little Miss Blueberry has not been at all obliging with her naps today. Basically it went like this. She gets very sleep. We go through nap time routine. I put her down. And she proceeds to howl. And poop.

I get her up. Clean her up. Calm her down.We play a little bit. Read a book. Have a cuddle.

Her head is drooping. Eyes are shutting.

We attempt nap again.

Repeat earlier steps for the fail.

Give up in disgust for the morning, go out, buy some plants, and come home. Have lunch.

She gets extraordinarily sleepy (not having napped yet today). We go through nap time routine. I put her down. She naps for 20 minutes. And then she proceeds to howl. And poop.

I get her up. Clean her up. Calm her down.

She's desperately tired.

Try to lay down with her. No good.

Finally decide that whether she likes it or not, she's going in the crib for awhile to attempt another nap ((because my mind is about to flee from me and my patience is one howl away from being snapped).

Put her back down to attempt nap again.

Immediate howls.

I grit my teeth and tell her to tough it out. Take a nap. Because Mommy needs to walk away for a little while.

Proceed to get the plants out of the car so they wouldn't die. Talk to someone who understands.

She does not nap during this time. She howls. Angrily.

I finally have calmed down enough to deal with my child in an appropriate manner.

Go into her room.

She is standing up in her crib. Howling.

Covered from head to toe in poop.

I guess her anger was reasonable in this case.

New rule: No putting Blueberry down for a nap in just a diaper. Onesie must be present at all times.

She had managed to get her diaper off, pooped, and then spread it all over the crib. And herself.

Spent next hour cleaning up her (of course she's mad and not impressed with anything at this point, so that was not an easy chore), the bed, and 2 other dirty, poopy diapers that were waiting in the bathroom to be cleaned out because between her howling all day long, I hadn't had a chance to clean them yet. Tossed one stuffed puppy that was in the crib with her that was not going to be cleaned because he apparently can only be damp cloth wiped down. Not going to work in his case. Damp cloth clean only? Really?

By the time I got to cleaning up her bed and the other diapers, she was much happier. So happy that she was (thankfully) willing to play on the floor by my feet.

Except all of the sudden she decided that the toilet was fascinating and she needed to get her hands into helping mommy clean out her poopy diapers.

Proceed to clean up child for the second time.

Finally clean up self.

Sit down to write this because...well....I needed to. Because it's come down to either crying or laughing.

And I have just realized that she's gotten her hands on the cell phone and turned it off. And I can't turn it back on.

Shrug.

7 Quick Takes (vol. 18)



#1 - She's only 10 months old and she's already discovered the prize in the bottom of the cereal box. Which she proceeded to try to eat (the prize not the cereal--incidentally the box was empty).

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#2 - This week has been crazy for me. Recitals every night (including last Saturday). The bad thing is that because of the constant adrenaline rush backstage of getting the kidlets dressed, entertained, on stage, in order, and avoid letting them maim or kill (accidentally or on purpose) each other, it takes me a good while to wind down after a recital. So I've been having a severe lack of sleep all week due to going to bed late.

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#3 - Last weekend we (finally) got the soil into my square foot garden beds. So this weekend I get to start doing some planting. Late, I know. But hey, at least I'm doing something! It's a start, right? As Blueberry is not settling down for a nap this morning, I'm thinking we're going to go out and get a few plants (starting so late, I decided to go ahead and cheat a little with transplants for some plants).

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#4 - Fluttery thoughts of first birthday parties have been flitting through my brain the last few weeks. We're thinking a good theme might be "Hey! We kept her alive for a whole year!" Really need to start planning that as I hate throwing together a last minute party.

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#5 - I've been working on scrapbooking again. Last night I had fun following a blog train to download some new supplies. The title was "Read All About It," so I really couldn't resist. I'm also getting to be guinea pig for Bohemian Bear's Ninja Kitty Studio scrapbook stuff. So much fun! You can see the one page I've done over at my scrap-blog.

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#6 - We've had a bad eczema experience again. I was trying dairy out for myself last week and had made myself some kefir pancakes (needed to use up the kefir in my fridge). Well, my little Blue imp stole one from my plate (remind me to be really careful how close my plate is to her high chair!) and ate the whole thing before I realized it. Not a pretty end result. Final prognosis--no dairy for her (or mommy still for quite awhile). Sigh. The cheese I had earlier did taste really good.

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#7 - Our other adventure this weekend will be for me to take Charlotte out (well, to try it out myself first) on her new bike seat! Super excited about this. I've been dying to get back out on my bike after about a year and a half hiatus. We would up getting her the iBert front seat.




I started out researching the options. Front seats are not as well known in the USA apparently; however, of the three options (rear mounted seat, front mounted seat, or trailer), the front and trailer seems to be considered the safest (front over rear mostly because of how the center of gravity is less drastically affected and how a bike rider has more control over the front of the bike than the back. Plus you can see the child at all times). I considered a trailer but there were several things that really bothered me about them despite how many people tout them as being the safest option.

1. You're really far away from the child and so knowing what is going on back there is much more difficult.
2. As far as safety goes in terms of tips or shocks, people will go on and on about how fantastic the trailers are, but as I did more research and reading, I found a lot of reviews saying that if you didn't spend the money on a really good quality trailer, they are not safer for a child. Because the child is closer to the road, all bumps and dips are greatly magnified for them and unless you've got great shocks on the trailer--can be very dangerous for little heads. Also, you've got to make sure you've got really secure flaps over the front of the trailer or you're just going to be kicking up dust, feces, oil, etc in the kids face. As we didn't have $300+ to spend on a trailer--I decided against it in the end.

So we'll see how the front seat goes. Perhaps we'll hate it and have to go in a different direction. But so far, I'm hopeful! More on that later.

Monday, June 13, 2011

PinUps

OK, ok, I know. You're sick of hearing about Pinterest. Well, to bad. Because you're probably going to be hearing about it on a regular basis because I love this website!

One of the reasons I'm finding I really enjoy it is I feel like it's another outlet of expression. Pinning the pictures of things that intrigue me, that I enjoy, that evoke some kind of emotional response in me...I feel like it's a way to express a part of who I am without having to say anything.

A second reason I'm enjoying it is that it seems to be giving me the inspirational boost I've needed to do some stuff. Ideas that I'll read about on a blog or in passing on a forum I used to think, "Oh that's a good idea." Maybe I'd bookmark it. Or I'd make a mental note. And then promptly forget about it. I'm finding I don't forget about these because it's easy to revisit and get that quick reminder. And truthfully, I don't want this to just be a time-wasting website (which it could easily be...I'll admit that! Timers are very good when playing with this website), but a website that I take the ideas I get and use them (where applicable of course).

So, partially to just share and partially to check myself that I'm not letting ideas and concepts that I enjoy slip by me but I'm actually doing things--I'm going to be doing a regular Pinterest post.

I want two elements in this post. My five favorite pins of the week (or weeks, depending on how well I'm doing blogging!), and my most recent Pin-spiration.

In the meantime, I give you my pins of the week(ish).

Top 5 Pins of the Week:

1. I wish I had the skill to make this for Blueberry's birthday.



2. If you haven't been following the Old Spice Guy commercials, this particular Pin will make no sense to you. If you have, you will probably understand why it made me laugh so hard:



3. I'm going to take this picture with Blueberry. Asap.

Source: flickr.com via Hanna on Pinterest




4. There is something about this picture that deeply touches me.

Source: 1x.com via Hanna on Pinterest




5.This is another Pin that is on there because of how much it makes me laugh.



Pinspiration:

I'm going to list two Pinspirations (I love coining words) this time.

1. My office in a closet was totally Pinterest inspired:



2. I found this tip the other day and am now (slowly) putting it into practice. Put your matching sheet sets (and all pillowcases) inside their appropriate pillowcase and store that way. Brilliant!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Price-Matching

So I'm considering a new venture in the world of coupon and money saving. The problem I've run into of late is that I just don't have the time to go to a number of stores. But if the good prices are scattered at different stores--how do I manage to keep our costs down (especially now as it seems like every time I go to the grocery store, the prices have gone up)? The only solution I have come up with so far is price matching.

Here are my conundrums with this concept:

1. I have to go to Walmart. Not my favorite place to shop at regularly.
2. Walmart doesn't have the good meat sales that some of the other stores do, so I'm definitely still going to have to go to at least one other major food store (not counting the health food store or CVS--where I'm pretty sure I would still save more money at no matter how much Walmart price matches).
3. I'm nervous about it just because WM isn't always known for its friendly customer service when it comes to coupons and such. I'm hoping to not have a bad experience, but I'm also trying to mentally prepare myself for it.
4. Do I really want to support Walmart's business so exclusively over other stores?

Potential solutions: There are times when going to Walmart is pretty much a must. Certain items I know they carry whereas I could search for them in other stores and may or may not get them. And other items I know that they are absolutely cheaper at Walmart. Plus we get our dog food there, so that's a trip once a month (no upset doggy tummies by changing their food, thank you very much). So perhaps just do this the one time a month or so that I already know I have to go?

Not sure.

Bah! This grocery shopping thing is frustrating.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Double Digits

My Blueberry turned 10 months old today. I find this frightening. Because that means in 2 months she's going to turn 1 year old. How is that possible? Where did this year go? My baby will no longer be my baby. I'm going to have a toddler!

Heaven help me.

That's all I have to say.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Daybook - June 6

Outside my window...the sun is shining brightly and very warmly. Need to go outside when Blueberry wakes up.

I am thinking...of all the things I "should" be doing while I'm busy writing this. And then I'm thinking that I'm enjoying writing, so the "should do's" are just going to have to get over it.

I am thankful for...some new dresses. I love dresses, and my wardrobe has needed some serious help the last few months in terms of warm weather clothes that are convenient for nursing. With the permission of my husband, I got a few new dresses (he's definitely a dress fan--dresses on me that is--in case you needed clarification for some odd reason), and am very happy! Shirts and even skirts I can find cheap at thrift stores. Dresses that don't make me look like I'm 60 or don't require a prom or wedding to wear--not so much.

From the learning rooms...[or in our case--the learning brain]...I can barely keep up. As I write, Blueberry is discovering our CD shelves. Dandy. Something else to pick up. I will admit, they do make nice plunky noises when dropped.

From the kitchen...comes two roasted chickens (some for freezing for future meals) and a Brown Sugar Spice Cake (gluten free of course). I hope the latter tastes good as it's for dessert tonight with company. I really shouldn't attempt a brand new dessert with company, but spice cake just sounded so yummy! Oh, and I made meatballs with oatmeal (baby style) as the base for Blueberry. She loves food. It's rather amusing. Need to look up more recipes to make with baby food. We get lots through WIC, and she's beginning to definitely prefer not-pureed foods more and more.

I am wearing...a blue nursing dress. No shoes. or socks. Thank goodness.

I am creating...organization out of chaos! I got inspired by some Pins about having a closet office, and so I am officially coming out of the closet. OK, bad pun. And technically it's wrong. I'm actually going into the closet. With my desk. Right now it's functional (nicely functional) if slightly utilitarian. We'll work on pretty later.

I am going...to my brother's house for dinner tonight. Some old (and by old I mean, they were missionaries in Thailand when we first went out there when I was only 3 years old) friends are going to be with us. One of them (the daughter of the missionary--few years older than me) is bringing her newly adopted son! So excited to see them.

In my mailbox today.. .was a bill and a receipt. How boring.

I am reading.. .The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel. So far, in love. Good humor, fascinating subject. Really enjoying it. I also recently waded--skimmed?--through The Strong-Willed Wife: Using Your Personality to Honor God And Your Husband. Interesting book, but I quickly realized that it wasn't really something I needed as much as I sometimes think I do. Which was kind of a nice realization. That one will get listed on Paperbackswap shortly.

I am hoping...that this phase of Blueberry sleeping 7 or more hours in a row at night will continue. It's been three days so far, and I'm loving it!

I am hearing...Blueberry chattering to me. She just woke up from her nap and is crawling around the floor while I finish writing this. Must get off computer quickly. Don't like being on the computer when she's awake.

Around the house...Piles still exist. But they're getting worked on, so that's what matters, right?

One of my favorite things...unexpected friendships. I love it when a relationship just suddenly begins to blossom. That makes me happy.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Enjoy the sunshine. Hang out with a friend tomorrow night. Hopefully see another friend later in the week. Next week is recital week at the studio. Going to be busy every single night. Exhaustion.

Here is picture (or more) for thought I am sharing...

Before:


After:


Want to join in? Go check out The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

In the household news...

Since Blueberry's surgery (and my last blog)....

1. Blueberry is doing much better. The first few days were pretty rough, but she seems to be healing nicely. She has an inch plus scar, but when her pediatrician saw it a few days ago, she commented that she didn't think it would stay a permanent scar.

In fact, since the surgery, Blueberry is more mobile than ever. We're thinking that the hernia was slowing her up in terms of crawling and potentially other movement. Before her crawling was awkward. One leg was down in the traditional crawl position but the other was always kind of propped up. Now she's crawling like a normal baby. And getting into everything. She's also continuing to pull herself up on all things reachable and is getting good at moving from one piece of furniture to another. Even though we can officially say she is crawling now, I don't think it's going to last long.

2. In other Blueberry news, her latest tricks of the last month: clapping. She's started this thing of sitting in one spot and using her heels to rotate in a full circle. Rather funny to watch. Interesting conversations going on all the time. She has finally figured out the sign for "food". Refuses to learn "more".

3. My house is piley. By which I mean that there are piles of things everywhere. Part of this is stuff we need to put into our shed (box sitting for my parents while they're overseas). Part of this is partially finished projects that need to be completed (garage needs tidying out, master bedroom needs some work, I've just rearranged our study--more on that later). Must get taken care of. Beginning to get under my skin!

4. Am trying to determine the best action to take concerning her current pediatrician. I like the office we're a part of mainly because they let us give her shots as we like without hassle. However, her actual pediatrician is bugging me. I've had a few things in past visits that have kind of irritated me; however, her 9 month appointment (which we just had on Friday) really got under my skin. Am I over-reacting? I don't think so, but judge for yourself.

Basically what happened was we went in, they did the usual height/weight etc. Blueberry now weighs 14.5lb and is 28". The doctor came in and commented that she was getting "really concerned" about Blueberry's weight. I had to point out to her that when we came in the week before at the start of our hernia adventure, they had weighed her in at 16lbs (with her clothes on), and at the hospital, they had weighed her in at 15.5lbs (diaper only). And as she had just had surgery as well as having had several days of not eating well, was it really surprising that she had lost weight? Should I really have to be pointing this out to the doctor (who has Blueberry's chart in front of her as have this discussion)? Other than that, she has stayed within the same percentile for her weight basically since she was born. She's growing and gaining weight. Just at a lower percentile.

They then did the hemoglobin/iron levels test. Nurse came back in and said we were good to go. I got a call Saturday morning from the pediatrician's office. Apparently her doctor is concerned about her iron levels and was recommending we start her on iron supplements immediately. The nurse proceeds to give me the name of the supplements. I then start asking questions.

Question 1: What about constipation issues that are guaranteed if she's taking iron supplements? We have struggled with constipation ever since Blueberry has started solids (in hindsight this might have something to do with the hernia, but that remains to be fully determined). Their recommendation--another drug that will hep with the constipation. Really?

Question 2: What exactly was her iron levels at? Answer: 11.4. According to the nurse, normal levels are 11.5-13.

I also raised the question of the latest research regarding breastfed babies and iron levels, and increasing iron through food. No answer. I started getting annoyed, finished the phone call, and did some research on my own because a few things just weren't sounding right to me.

Issue 1: According to every thing I can find, normal iron levels at 9 months is considered 10.5-14 (12 average) NOT 11.5-13.

Issue 2: She was sick. Had surgery. Hadn't been eating well. Had lost weight. Oh look--4 things that each on their own can cause someone's iron levels to be lower than normal. But rather than giving her any time to just recover, the pediatrician wants to put her on supplements. Really?

Issue 3 (especially given the facts of Issue 2): She was 1/10 of a percent below their preferred levels. No recommendation regarding having her eat foods high in iron. No. No. We need to put her on drugs. BAH! Just irritating.

Issue 4: It really irritated me that the pediatrician couldn't take the time to look at her levels and have this conversation with me while we were in the office. No, I had to talk only to the nurse from home. This has bothered me greatly.

Any ways, given that this isn't the first time I've had some questions about how our pediatrician works, I have to wonder what to do now.


Well, that's about it in the land of quickish updates. Lord and baby willing, I'll be on here more in the coming weeks.

Six More Months of Shuffle and Change

The last post I wrote was July 2018. We were settling into routine, finding a groove, and trying to fit our family of five into a two-bedroo...