BGC2 - week 26

Ok - apparently the length this week is that of a English hothouse cucumber - around 14 inches from head to heel.  And that lovely 14 inches likes to burrow into my hips - and then punch anything in my pelvic area.  Baby girl is moving non-stop.  She wages war with the belly belt and takes her frustration with that out on my bladder as well.  Pilates is still good but my tailbone is getting more and more sore, especially if I sit for a long time.  Of course if I don't sit enough, my feet swell.  But my blood pressure is good and measurements are fine and her heart rate was 157 last week - probably would have been the 160 it had been if she hadn't just taken to kicking my intestines.  But still good all around for both of us.  Now if I can just get some of the stuff sorted so I can have a yard sale and get things out of my house to make room for this princess!!

OOh - we did get some exciting additions - our pepper plants finally poked through enough we could get them outside.  But something has been digging in our garden.  And we're not convinced that it isn't the dog chasing the lizards.  We've started seeing more frogs though - and bunnies and squirrels.  Zoe is beside herself most days.  And inside, we got a beautiful green bookcase for Beca's room (picture soon, I hope) to which she promptly pouted and sulked because she wanted a pink one.  I convinced her it would clash with her new pink curtains once we were able to get those.  Ha.  Well, maybe she's convinced.  We'll see.  She's still not convinced that all the books in the house that are not mommy and daddy's shouldn't be hers entirely.  Sharing the books is just a little hard.  I am hoping to convince her with a large stack of chapter books - Ramona Quimby, Anne of Green Gables, and some others that I know she will like once we finish Charlotte's Web.

Last week

Oops - skipped a week.  Last week was crazy and my Wednesday night was to crop and finish Beca's 1st album.  It's only the first month of her life through her baptism but I love how it turned out - and she loves looking at it!  I still have some writing to finish up in it but at least the book is together.

Then Thursday was my birthday - a weird day.  I won a Barnes & Noble gift card from work (and 9 other people) and got an invite for a special event.  I also had everyone cancel on lunch for me - all with good reasons so I wasn't upset.  And work was odd all morning.  So I went shopping for a dress - found one that would fit the belly, well, really the boobs - but then had the lady tell me its scheduled arrival date is the day I need it but they have been getting them in early.  But lots of phone calls and well-wishes and the magic of turning 33 is over.  One of my favorite gifts is the Arbonne cleanser and moisturizer that my mom can get for me because it is one of the only products that I don't break out with and it isn't cheap so a gift of it is better than having to pay - and I like consumable goods as presents.  It's always nice on my birthday because I get to hear all the neat Earth Day stuff.  Plus my grandmother was in town so its always fun to have a 4 generation celebration!
The next night we had tickets to Wicked (the musical).  Well, we thought.  When we got there, the tickets wouldn't scan and the lady finally looked at them and said "these were for last night".   I was proud of myself that I didn't burst into tears.  Steve was attempting to figure out what could be done to see Wicked that night and finally called me to the ticket counter.  Now, granted little Miss had wiggled herself into a position so as to push everything in my abdomen up and out as far as she could get it, but when the ticket lady said "Oh honey, when are you due?" and I said "oh the end of July" and her eyes got really big and she said "WOW - are you having twins?", I thought I was going to fall out and gave a tentative "Um, no."  We ended up with seats for me and Cynthia in row P just to the left of the stage - very good seats - and 2 balcony seats for Steve and Jason, though they had to sit one behind the other.  I really didn't care who I sat next to - it was a great show!  However, we all agreed on one thing.  My mother would not like the monkeys.  Not sure how the torture started when she was a child, but the monkeys in the Wizard of Oz really freak her out.  She won't watch the movie usually.  We were very proud of her when she made it through the musical, though to be fair the monkeys in that are adorable little kids wearing sweet little chin strap costumes so their little faces stick out and they have the little pill box caps sat jauntily to one side.  The monkeys in Wicked are scary looking things - they have masks and fly about and jump around.  Not sweet or lovable at all.  And they are throughout the show.  She's been duly warned so it is now up to her as to whether she will go, although the music and story are definitely worth it.  And the actresses playing Elphaba and Glinda.  Amazing.
Saturday - 4 generations went to the Spring Daze festival at Bond Park in Cary.  It was nice and there were some beautiful things but I really wasn't in a buying mood, after having spent the morning clearing the stuff off the shelves that were int he baby's room so Steve could take them down and start sanding.  Beca got a huge flower bow - a pink peony - and a lavender bow to go with her dress for her uncle's wedding.  And lots of free stuff - she liked when she got to go around and get stamps but she was confused when they wouldn't give her the piece of paper back with the stamps and only got a flower pot and some seeds.
Sunday, I found out after it had happened that Beca had been invited to a playdate but Steve forgot to send me the information.  Forgetting emails regarding our child and happenings in and about her life, school and friends has been a common theme.  I was ready for the several days of disappointment to be over.  I was also accused of just sitting around on the computer when someone finally came downstairs after sleeping in because it was a long night on the video game trail and apparently failure to recognize that the 4th load of laundry was in the wash and that the other three were put away really wasn't important.
Sadly, I was happy for work on Monday.  Maybe this should have gone on my private venting blog but oh well.

finally picked a color!

I've known that I wanted BGC2's room to be purple and green for the longest time.  And it will have wainscoting.  Today I finally got to match the paint color for the walls.  It's called Quite Lilac.  It's a pretty color.  And the curtains and crib skirt are Beca's - so they are green gingham.  that's the basic outline.  Past that, I'm not sure what else, though I did register for a bunch of things at Pottery Barn Kids - like the pink gingham blackout panels that I need for Beca's room in order to move the green gingham to the baby's room.  that's all things I want.  We haven't figured out what we actually need.

my favorite new clothing item

Yes, this blog is generally info for everyone on Rebecca and the house and now the baby girl.  But I also don't take notes like I did 5 years ago with Beca.  First failing to my second child.  Though I do work significantly less than I ever did when carrying Beca so BGC2 gets a bonus and I do write things down by typing them in - less stress on the joints.  If you don't want to read about my fabulous undergarment find, then skip the rest of this post and find one about just the girls.


In 5 years there are some awesome maternity things that have changed/improved - and baby things for that matter.  I got an item today that I absolutely LOVE!  I am wearing a lot more dresses this time - mostly because my position has changed.  I've had Spanks to wear under my dresses before but they don't work with the belly.  I found a pair of Mama Spanks today on a shopping trip and oh my - how awesome!!  So comfortable!  I learned most of the basics with Beca - get things that fit as soon as regular anything gets pinchy and tight, etc etc.  Wish I would have just bought these sooner.  I knew they had them and I just never took the time to get them.  Next stop will be bras that really do fit since I am both smaller (band) and bigger (cup) than I was with Beca.  Geesh - this can't be all easy.  Except that now stores actually carry a wider range of sizes and that will be good for me!

favorite foods, "gartering" and some new additions

So Beca and I both go through Cranberry Pomegranate juice and some fabulous ice cream - Harris Teeter Naturals brand has a Southern Milk Chocolate.  Tuesday night is taco night.  We're trying to come up with other nights but it really just turns into I need meat protein of some sort plus mashed potatoes and pasta because Beca won't eat mashed potatoes and Steve doesn't like pasta.  And for some reason, I've taken to microwave mac'n'cheese in the middle of the night as a snack.  I'm disturbed by that so I made sure I had some more cereal around.  I pretty much don't hone in on a particular food for more than 2-3 weeks, although hamburgers are always good.  I'm curious to see what the scale says this week.  And terrified.  Regardless of what I eat, BGC2 is already pushing enough that every afternoon I get heartburn.  yippee.  the intensity changes day by day but I think I'll be asking for something to help with that, right after I tell the doctor to ignore the weight thing.

Hopefully later this summer we'll have some yummy foods from our garden!  Steve spent most of a Saturday a few weekends ago building a garden box while Beca and I made starter greenhouses of watermelons and tomatoes.  She really likes to "garter" and keeps her "gartering" bag with gloves and tools plus her watering can handy near the back door. We planted Sunflowers right in the garden box and still have some Orange Sun Peppers to put in as soon as the little plants are ready.  The watermelons went in next to the sunflowers are we're already seeing the little vine leaves starting to come out of the plants.  The tomatoes are supposed to be cherry tomatoes and they are all in pots on the back porch.  There's also some random flower seeds (some are old so we're just going to pour them onto the ground, cover them with dirt and see what happens) to mix into a bed that currently contains 2 camellias and a cedar that I put too much into a corner but haven't bothered to dig it out and move it forward yet.  In May, we'll be able to sow some pumpkin seeds and green bean seeds!  Beca really likes helping me water the plants most nights and checking on the size of the plants.  I thought the sunflower plants were so cute with their little seed hats!  here's some pictures of the process:

We've been starting some new additions around the house.  Outside, besides the garden box, there is a new willow tree.  She sits right over the spring that pops up in our back yard.  Her addition means several pines will probably get removed but that's really ok - we're all so sick of Zoe chewing on pine cones when she's bored.  Steve figured out that having someone come and spread weed killer and fertilizer was actually cheaper than him buying the stuff and once he read their tips for a green lawn and put it into practice, our yard is a pretty green color with a few patches that still need some TLC!  I was hoping to pull out some azaleas (mostly because I don't like the color of these and they were planted too close together - originally had 5 plants that are spread out over about 8 or 9 feet max) and put in a new rhododendron but there were none at the 4H plant sale at the Fairgrounds.  I did get violet geraniums (ok more of a hot pink) and yellow Gerber daisies.  they are fun and bright.  Hoping to get the 2 red geraniums into some pots near Beca's playset.  They help so much with the mosquitoes.

Inside, we're progressing slowly, but the master bathroom is closer to actually being really finished because most of the trim has been painted.  Still don't have a completed kitchen ceiling but it's only been 22 months so is it really all that bad? (Umm, yeah - it's annoying because I can't get on a ladder and just fix it myself now).  Thanks to one of Beca's bazillion pictures that she is taking now with our little camera (she takes really good pictures with this one - much better than on her kids one) for this shot.  There's actually only a handful of tiles to finish gluing up - then the putty nightmare begins.

Beca's bathroom has had some little friends start invading the walls.  I bought them before she was born and never put them up in Pittsboro.  Good thing - they are pretty cute here!

The nursery is taking a lot of time because we have no where to put all the junk that has been in it.  This means yard sale.  But where to put everything until we can have a yard sale and so we can sort it and price it is difficult.  And by "we", I mean mostly me with some help from my mom because Steve would rather throw everything in the trash.  I think yard sales are beneath him.  But to get rid of some of the stuff in the garage, etc., I think a yard sale might be our best bet.  Now to find a place to sort it in order to yard sale.  The nursery is also going to take some time to remove shelves and putty holes, paint and add wainscoting, along with a closet organizer.

Beca received a neat package in the mail for Easter from Aunt Dawn and Uncle Glenn.  It was in the mailbox on a day that reached 87 degrees. By the time we opened it, the multicolor chocolate flowers were a box of mush and the pink ballerina was indistinguishable.  All the chocolates were from Repperts in PA.  We put them on the table and Beca actually took this picture.  The chocolate was still edible once it was re-solidified and we're slowly working on it.

More later on Beca's great picture taking...

week 23+ and I've never really heard of the terrible 4s and 5s

Oops - sort of at week 23.5 but oh well.  Baby girl doesn't like when I wear the belly band and she thinks mid-afternoon heartburn is a good schedule.  She's beyond active most of the time and Beca got her hand kicked by baby girl one night before bedtime.  It was neat.

I'm already tired of the name question.  We haven't decided completely and probably won't until we see her.  There's so many other things on my mind right now to get done that have to be done (or at least would be a good idea).  At least we told you it's a girl.  So deal.  In the meantime, my grandmother is having the most fun with names - she isn't badgering but she has some sweet suggestions every week - see sidebar.  Now I'm wondering just how long she can keep it up and/or if/when she'll ever pick one of the top choices.

I'm starting to believe that with Beca there is no such thing as terrible twos or threes and that her entire single digit years will all be terrible.  I rarely ever have a sweet and behaved girl.  There is always something with her.  Every morning there's an argument over what she wants to wear (so sorry you can't wear your fancy mostly white dresses to school - its not happening because I paid enough for the Hanna Andersson collection you have and it will actually come clean in the wash with no effort or damage).  Every playdate or birthday party or event comes down to Beca having a meltdown because someone isn't playing with her the way she wants or they aren't doing something the way she wants or they called her a name or today's was they said she couldn't count because she was referring to ordinals rather than straight digits (which was brilliant because she was lining them up but they made her doubt her counting abilities which is one of the things she does well).  Most nights we have to fight her about what we are eating (unless it is taco night).  There's constant whining about everything.  The biggest problem I have is that the girl has limits and boundaries from both of us and from her teachers.  One day something works and the next day it doesn't - we take away TV, computer, dessert and dresses enough - the punishments have an effect of about 1-2 days and then we're right back to taking everything away again.  And I'm too exhausted to have the energy to figure out another strategy.  She is so going to be called a baby and like a hundred other names at school.

singing and games

Every night when Beca gets her hair washed, she sings at the top of her lungs.  Right now it is "Don't Fence Me In" and "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain".  I don't think she's watched that sing-a-long DVD in a while but for some reason, this is the medley we get each night.  She's actually got good pitch for it though until she gets silly and screams or yells it.

Beca has also learned how to play UNO with some Princess UNO cards that Santa brought her.  Generally when someone says "Do you know how to play it?", they are answered with "Yes I do and it is a game that's really only for a 7 year old but I'm 4 and I know how to play it!"  She doesn't quite have all the finesse down (occasionally she gets a win) and we had to borrow a card holder from another game so she can hold onto her cards but its a lot of fun when we can all sit down and play.  Provided she isn't in trouble and getting fun activities and dessert taken away.  I can't wait for a 4 generation UNO game in a few weeks!  Should be fun!