Rhinestone Armadillo

Still Pregnant

Yes, I'm still pregnant.  This is starting to remind me of being pregnant with Violet.  After all the trouble trying to keep her in, now it's looking like it may take a while to get her out.  Nonetheless, I'm very glad to be considered full term and not have to worry about having a preemie.

 

We finally had our hay baled.  Due to the drought, we haven't had it harvested in over a year.

 
I like seeing those round bales sitting in the meadow.  They're so cheerful.

My mother gave two dresses she knitted and crocheted for me when I was a little girl.  Violet will be able to wear them soon.  I remember wearing the green dress with cowboy boots.

Ug.  My poor herb pots are so dead and neglected.  I look forward to being able to have pots of thriving herbs again some day.  Maybe I can manage some by autumn.  We'll see how things go with the new baby.

Auntie Grandma Marcia found Violet a car with appropriate people.

She loves that there are 2 car seats.  Violet seems to be working a lot of things out through playing with the little girl and the new baby.  Violet Doll spends a lot of time telling Baby Doll 'the way things are around here'. 

If you have kids, you know how careful you have to be around them.  They pick up everything you say and do.  It's sometimes a little disturbing to have a little person mimicking your every action.  It makes you pretty aware of your good and less-than-good habits.  Apparently, I say "O-Kay" a lot.

Someone watches Daddy like a hawk.  Note the yogurt shaving cream beard at breakfast this morning.  Goodness.

What blogs do you LOVE?

I have a question for you guys:

What blogs do you LOVE?

I have my tried-and-true favorites, (I never miss A Fanciful Twist,  Posie Gets Cozy, and No Big Dill) but I always like to check out new blogs.  Especially now that I am in 'hurry up and wait for the baby' mode.

I like blogs about families, crafts, art, photography, sewing, knitting, cooking, traditions, fashion, decorating, and Halloween. 

Any suggestions?

Mother's Day Gifts

Violet made me Mother's Day gifts at her nursery school this year.  They are extra dear to me because she actually made them this year, instead of just helping 'present' them.  Also, it's probably our last Mother's Day with her being the only child.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Huge

I was at one of those dollarish type stores today and had an encounter with two ladies.  (Playing the role of the ladies today will be Gabrielle Sidibe. She rocks on The C Word, by the way.  Just imagine her as two people.  And imagine one of them not wearing a bra and the other one wearing house slippers.)

The ladies are on the far end of an aisle from me.  I'm buying glitter pens, in case you cared.  One of them smacks the other in the arm, then points at me.

Lady #1: (in a super loud voice)  Oh, gurl----look how BIG she be!

Lady #2:  Uh-HUH.

Me:  (shouting down the aisle) I can hear you!

Lady #1:  You HUGE!

Lady #2:  Uh-HUH.

Me:  Like I hadn't noticed.

Baby has dropped!

The baby has dropped, so it won't be too long now.

No, not dropped like that. (I Googled 'baby drop' and the first photo was Britney Spears demonstrating her stellar parenting skills.)

  This isn't me below, but you can see the big difference in the baby's position.  Now the baby isn't smushing my diaphragm and lungs as much as before.  It's such a relief to be able to take a nice, deep breath.

Now I just have to pee an extra ten times a day more than the thirty times a day I was already going.  And there's this very intense pressure in the pelvic region now that her head has descended.  AND I'm waddling like a penguin due to new gravity issues.  MAN---being pregnant can be UNCOMFORTABLE!

I may be wrong, but I think if men had to have the babies, there would be a lot of only children out there.

Soon

I saw my wonderful doctor again today.  She says SOON.  She wants me to 'try to stay pregnant one more week'.  So....back to bed I go.

I'll get back to blogging post-baby, never you fear.  For now, I need to veg.

Pinata shots

The nice ladies at the Greenville Public Library (LOVE that place!) sent me some photos of Violet whacking the pinata.

It was such a nice day outside, too.  Don't they look excited?  And everyone waited their turn so politely...I was impressed.

That was one sturdy pinata.  It took a long time to burst the sucker open.

Super moon baby?

There will be a super moon tonight.  I'd never heard of one before, but apparently, the moon will be 14% closer to earth than normal.  Here's some info about it.

This is not a super moon---I took these photos last year during a really pretty full moon.

So....will I be having a Super Moon Baby?  I am just over 8 months pregnant now.  I had to make an emergency trip to the doctor yesterday due to a number of factors.  Baby #2 is still staying in for now, but who knows for how much longer?  I'm under orders to take it easy, so that's what I'm doing.

My ob/gyn said many of her (and the other doctors') patients are having wacky labor stuff going on right now.  She thinks there is something to it, so now I'm curious how many extra babies will be born during this weekend.

Mama & Violet Day

Adam and Violet have "Daddy Daughter Dates", and Violet and I have "Mama & Violet Days".  I especially want to be sure to keep up with these once there is a new baby in the house.  I'm guessing it's pretty hard to be 3 1/2 and have a new baby show up and disrupt your life. I'll try to spend a little solo time every day reading with her, or just snuggling a bit. However, maybe these Mama/daughter days will be a little extra special something for Violet to look forward to.

We went to Braum's for breakfast.  If you're in a hurry and don't want to eat a heart attack breakfast you might give the oatmeal a try.  It was a healthier choice than the usual fare.  I saw people eating ICE CREAM before 9:00 am.  Ah, Texas. 

We went to Story Time at the library.  Unfortunately, we had to stop by and talk to the children's librarian.  Violet (gasp!) drew in two of her books, so we had to go 'confess' and pay for the books.  "Henry in Love" is her current favorite, and she gave it some good scribbles.  Oh, for shame. 

She also wrote in this one.  I was frustrated with her about the first book, and she proudly showed me this one, saying, "I colored this one, too!"  So---we had to have a long talk about how we take care of our books.  From now on, she will also not have access to the books directly.  She'll have to ask for a story, and I will get it for her, we'll read it, then I'll put it back in her library bag--out of her reach.

The library was more fun after our confession, since they were celebrating Cinco de Mayo.  There were great books and songs and dances, followed by a PINATA!!!!!  It sure is fun to whack a little unicorn with a stick until candy rains out.

We stopped by to see our dear friend Marcia who is forever embarassing us with too many gifts.  Do you hear us, Marcia??? You're spoiling us!  And we're running out of room.  Violet is quite enamoured of her new fairy purse.

Violet has been into my lotion lately.  She really, really likes lip gloss and scented lotion.  So, I decided it was time for her first Bath & Bodyworks trip.  There are always great printable coupons online, by the way.  We both liked "Pink Chiffon" the best, and got a little lotion for her and a spray for me.  We also picked up a few of those antibacterial hand gels.

She rode the horses.  She got on, was terrified and begged to get off, then immediately wanted back on.  The music was pretty loud, and it lurched into motion, so I can see why it might have been a bit startling.

A tiny ice cream cone is never a bad way to end the day.

I love you, my little girl!

Remembering Baby Violet

I'm trying to get ready mentally for the arrival of Baby #2.  We've been showing Violet lots of her own baby photos to help prepare her for the new addition.

Adam is an expert swaddler.  Here is the preferred 'burrito wrap', complete with earplugs.  Violet was LOUD!  Really, really loud.  I truly think I have some hearing damage from when she was an infant.  This time around, I won't hestitate to wear earplugs during crying spells.

Violet had her first reading of Winnie the Pooh at 5 days old.  

Violet was born just a few days after Christmas.  It was an uncomfortable holiday, but I was excited.


Here I was in labor before we left the house.  Not a happy camper.  Labor.......eeek!!!!  They say, "Oh, you forget the pain."  Hey, guess what----I haven't.  Don't think I ever will.  I had Violet 100% naturally.  I will NOT be doing that again.  I'm really, really looking forward to pain meds this time around.

I remember being totally exhausted and looking like crapola after she was born.  I lost a lot of blood during the delivery and was a strange gray color for a few weeks.  I looked like a zombie.  The black and white shots camoflague the deathly pallor.

She was so tiny!

I think Violet was 8 days old here.  I'm now over 8 months pregnant.  The new baby will be here soon!  I'm not looking forward to labor, but I'm getting excited to meet her. 

I wonder what she'll look like. 

Violet was so alert, even at just a few days old.


 I wonder if she'll have fair hair like Violet, or dark hair like us. Violet informs me her hair will be green.

It's so strange to think I have a tiny little person in me right this very moment.  She probably doesn't look too different from the photo above of Violet.  She might be in that exact position right now, eyes open and everything. 

The surreal part is that moment when she goes from being inside to being outside.  Not the birth part, but the fact that she goes from an idea (very real, but still internal and unshared) to being a living, breathing person that is part of our world.