Better Look

Here's a better look at my henna belly.

Henna Belly

Yesterday I found out that one of the midwives I'm interested in talking too was going to be at a baby fair in downtown Orlando. So I drove out in the torrential rain after Curtis was napping and checked out the fair. Unfortunately I only got to talk to the MW assistant since she was off catching a baby, but one cool thing was that a doula was there advertising her services and giving free henna belly tattoos. I decided WTH, and got one. It's not a great pic but you can get an idea of what it looks like (and how big I'm getting). After all I've learned about how a message or blessing affects the food and drink we eat I decided to get a message of love with some heart shaped vines to send some love to my boy inutero. I think it turned out pretty cool and it is supposed to last 2-3 weeks. I probably never would have paid for it but since it was free and I was in the right place at the right time it was a fun thing.

T

toddler poncho

I finished this knit toddler poncho the other day. It will be a Christmas gift for a neice. I am desperatley trying to make all of our Christmas gifts before Oct 1st so I don't have to worry about them once I'm 8+ months preg. This ponch was easy. I added a small button and didn't seam it up all the way in the front so it can go over heads easier but otherwise it's just two rectangles, CO 30 stitches and knit for 16 inches each. It's a nice soft slightly varigated purple yarn.

I've finished my own poncho in crochet for this Fall/Winter but I never took a pic. Once I get DH to take a pic of me in it I'll post that. Right now I'm working on knit booties. I plan to make one pair for a friend and one for my little boy inutero.

Tara

Belly on Vacation

Here's what my belly looked like on vacation last weekend. My MIL and her DH came into a little money and took the whole family to a resort in Daytona Beach for 2 nights. Curtis had a blast both on the beach and in the many pools they had. We also had fun playing skee ball in the arcade and won some neat little prizes. No one got sunburned and Curtis slept in a big boy bed in his own room in the hotel for both naps and night. We had a two bedroom suite and I was amazed at how easily he went down in the hotel bed. I guess he's ready for his big boy bed.

We tested out some green paint we had left over on his new room but it was too dark so we'll have to go paint shopping this weekend. There is only one window in that room so we want something lighter. Curtis keeps asking for yellow so I guess we'll see about that. I'm sure we'll make our deadline of having him moved in and in his big boy bed by the time preschool starts. The computer is moved and the old computer desk went out to the curb since it was already broken in a couple places. All that is left is the CD cabinet in there and I'm still not sure where that will be moved to. He'll keep the guest bed as his new bed and the dresser in there for his clothes. His Paw Paw (MIL's DH) is probably going to make a small little table and stool for him to also have in there to play or color on. We will move all his sports themed decorations over and keep the crib and changing table in his old room for the baby. That room is blue and I'm going to put up a few underwater themed decorations up for the baby. After that all that is really left is to get an infant carseat since we got rid of the one Curtis used. I feel much better about our progress now-a-days.

T

breakfast of yarn

Here's something I whipped up a while ago as a toy for Curtis. He likes to make egg sandwiches and "feed" them to me. He also thinks it's super funny to put the "bacon" in the "juice" cup and then say a really emphatic "YUCK". I couldn't find the second bacon I made but I wanted to show this anyway. I thought it was a cute idea to make food in crochet. I got the egg pattern in a pattern-a-day calendar but the rest I made up.

Weighty Issues

First off, 66 hots dogs is insane. I can't believe we actually have a contest each year and people put 66 hot dogs in their bodies. I did eat a hot dog yesterday at an Ole Time Fourth Celebration in Winter Park, FL. One was enough for me (combined with the chips and watermelon and lemonade). I just shiver with disgust when I see news of the contest and the men who eat that much at once. Really one is bad in itself considering what a hot dog really is.

We also went to a friends for a pot luck yesterday evening and I ate like a pig on such great food. Curtis had a blast with his best buds Cece and Nicholas and we all had fun chatting and eating. Afterwards we sat on the end of our driveway and got to see some awsome fireworks. People in our neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods really go all out and buy some seriously professional fireworks to put off. Curtis didn't like the really loud ones but he did like the sparkly ones and had fun watching even if he was up way past his bedtime and very sleepy. This pic is what we looked like watching them.

Now I weighed myself this morning and was quite surprised. At 21 weeks I've gained 18 lbs total. This is surprising since I only gained 26 lbs total with my first pregnancy. It's looking like I've gained 5 lbs in 3 weeks. It worries me some, especially since I feel hungry all the time. I eat a lot now-a-days and it's not always what I should be eating. I obviously have a tendency towards high blood glucose and have no right to be eating donuts and cookies and such. I have very little will power and whenever I go to a cook-out or pinic and see all the great desserts and snacks I can't stop myself. My baby is so important to me and I don't want to do anything to harm him and yet I keep eating and eating. I feel so guilty. When I saw that # on the scale today I made a pact with little baby boy (Wesley, Clarke, ???). I came home and ate high protein for lunch. I hope I can keep this up. I will be taking the GTT again soon and I don't really know what to expect. My boy's health is most important and I need to keep that forefront in my mind. A girlfriend of mine who was due the day after me with twins lost her two boys a couple days ago. It hit home for me and now I feel like I need to get serious about my diet. I excersize regularly still and get plenty of rest so all that is left on my part is diet. I MUST do better no matter what picnic, BBQ, holiday comes by.

Tara

Progress

Things are progressing here.

Our 2 day plumbing job turned into a 4 day job that finished this morning around 11am. Everything looks good but Curtis and I have been feeling a little nuts being stuck here for almost 4 days. Plus add the chaos of having men in my house cutting and working and all of my cupboards had to be emptied. A couple of holes were cut in walls but they patched up nicely and were in very subtle spots (like inside a closet). Overall I'm happy with the work but unhappy with the lies. On Sunday they told me they had 1/2 a day left. Well they worked all day yesterday and half a day today. I think they should be able to estimate better than that and they were just trying to tell me what I wanted to hear instead of breaking the bad news to me. Remember my water is turned off this whole time and I'm a preggo who pees a lot. There were other things they down right lied about to make me happy when I'd rather just hear a disappointing truth first thing. Needless to say tomorrow we are celebrating our independance and indoor plumbing.

Also about our pool. I did take some advice and took a sample to a pool store. What happened was I got algae (not sure how) and killed it on my own but then there was/is dead algae in my pool making it cloudy. We are running the pump longer now during the day and cleaning the filter often and hope to have clear water soon. The good news was that all the levels checked out fine, so I must be doing the chemicals right. I had no idea you had to be a chemist to own a pool like this. It's been a learning experience that I'm sure will continue.

So that's my update for those reading. I hope everyone has a happy fourth and enjoys the day off, if they get it. We are looking forward to a BBQ at a friends house tomorrow afternoon and some quality family time tomorrow morning.

T