Phone Photos: Cute Summer Outfits
Morella just got this breezy little number this past weekend from her Grandma. I think she likes the fact that it’s like wearing nothing!
This is the outfit she wore today — I bought it from Gymboree last month or so because I had a 20% off coupon. She got so many compliments on it today … and it was just SO cute on her. I don’t know if the camera phone really captures the cuteness of it. I might have to take another photo with the real camera another day when the outfit is clean again.
A couple weeks ago we dog sat Zilla — the deaf bulldog. Morella loved being able to lay next to the dog and on her because Pluto (our dog) is such a old fart dudebag. Anything, here she had put down a monkey, a doll and then herself in a little pile up. This kid cracks me up.
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Today was a great day. We got up, well rested and in good spirits. Since it was going to be warm I was able to dress Morella in that adorable outfit, and then we went to check out a new restaurant called Daisy’s Cafe and Cupcakery. It was bright, airy and cozy, the breakfast menu looked good, and I ordered an omelet — it came with fresh fruit, a wonderful baked bread….uh…brioche…and roasted potatoes. The coffee could have started a rocket and it was free refills (they refilled it for you). I also had a cupcake and that was …. good, just not my kind of cupcake. I expect a little more than fluff to my icing. Morella ate 1/2 of it though without a problem, but for $2.50 a cupcake, I want it to knock my socks off! And it didn’t. Still, I would go there again, just not get a cupcake.
After that, I did a quick diaper change in the back of the Scion (from a cloth to a sposie) and we headed downtown to the Capitol to attend the Wednesday Farmer’s Market. My plan was to park in the public parking lot next to it, but that backfired when I pulled in and realized it was full. Nutz. I figured out a way to turn around and ended up across the Capitol in the parking lot on top of State St. I parked and loaded up Morella in the stroller and slathered her in sunblock — I used enough that she looked like she had dried powder on her in parts — but they say you are supposed to put that much on! After that we stopped at a coffee shop so I could use the bathroom and get a iced tea for the road. The Capitol was crawling with hundreds of school kids there for their end of the year field trips and Morella liked looking at them. Ahhh that will be her one day!
At the Farmer’s Market I got lots of plants. Morella was great through it all. Halfway back though she signaled that she was done with the stroller and wanted out. I figured no problem, I would let her play in the Capitol lawn for a while to stretch her legs, except when I got to it there was signs saying it was freshly pesiticided.
I made it up to her by making a stop at the Children’s Museum for 20 minutes to let her play. After that she willing went the extra block to the car, played with her baby laptop on the way home and fell asleep 5 minutes before we came ot our house. I transferred her successfully to her crib and she took a 3 hour nap! Awesome!
I was so in love with life and happy. I even told Tim how happy I was…then the afternoon progressed. I started feeling hot and kind of ill. I am thinking maybe heat and pregnancy aren’t such good companions…
At 5:30ish Morella wanted to take a bath, going so far as to to try and climb into the tub. I said okay and ran a bath for her. She was in it the bath for two minutes before she started to point to the door (meaning she wanted out). I needed to wash all that sunblock off so I started to do that, all the while she begins screaming bloody murder. Ugh.
Once she was out, she wall smiles and went running around the house naked. We let her have at least a good hour of naked time, and she even ate the 4 bites of dinner in the buff (but sitting on a cloth diaper). We think she might be realizing when she needs to potty because she gets a concerned look on her face and grabs towards her crotch. Tim thinks putting her over the big potty is going to get her to go…but I am thinking we might need a kid’s potty. Should I buy one and have it now or wait two days to get one at a garage sale….I don’t know….so far I haven’t really liked the ones I’ve seen…
Anyway. That crying of her to get out and screaming suddenly made me feel bad. She has been kind of picking at her ear all week. Is she sick? Does she have a raging fever and I just didn’t notice? I went through all the signs of sick and started to second guess myself. Then I started to feel really anxious about it all and sort of just stayed in the bathroom and tried to read an article to get my mind off of it. It didn’t help. I went to start dinner — steamed asparagus and tuna salad sandwiches, and wash the dishes. While I was washing I noticed that I wasn’t feeling better but in fact feeling worse and worse. Tim came in and started to help with dinner by making the tuna salad and I had to step away and start crying! I couldn’t help it. I did say right before I started “I think I am having a mood swing. I can’t shake this. I feel bad…” I cried for about a minute feeling completely foolish and disliking every second of it before going back to finish the dishes. It eventually faded and I was able to move on. We went outside to play some more while Tim started to mow the lawn, I put some jammies on her, kept her window open a bit and left the overhead fan on medium and she went to bed, and I came here.
I edited some phone images using GIMP for the first time (hurray!) on the laptop and then just wrote this really big, long post that is really probably more for me than anything.
I guess when pregnant women say they are hormonal I just figured that was the same kind of thing as PMS. You know, you might get a little cranky. You would act the same if you were overtired or really hungry or not feeling well. Sure I haven’t been feeling great this afternoon — it’s been off and on, more off if I take it easy and try to cool off (making me think that the heat really is having an effect on me — total bummer). But to suddenly feel so absolutely crummy, sad and worried all of a sudden? Sigh. Maybe the euphoria about how wonderful my life was just a mood swing too. Well, at the very least, I knew what was happening and braced myself with the mantra of “it’s will pass, this isn’t real, it will pass, this isn’t real.” It was kind of like riding over a big wave in a little rowboat.
My lap is getting hot from the laptop, and my hands are feeling swell … I need to go to Woodman’s to get some milk, fruit and what not. I know I should have gone right away when Morella was in bed and Tim was done mowing the lawn, but I got all caught up yapping over here. Maybe I will still go after I have a big drink of water and see what Tim says.
And Laima, they were Black Radishes…they are super hard, and I can’t imagine just eating it for the sake of eating it raw. I wonder how else they can be prepared though?
Oh and the creeping charlies were actually wood violets. Ha ha…no wonder they looked so much like violets.
div>
One thing about not feeling well is that I was good to not push it. The house is a bit of a disaster again but I thought that making myself feel worse for the sake of a tidy house is just not worth it. Right? Besides, it was probably the big outing this morning that pushed me over the edge. Out in the sun in the middle of the day, pushing a big stroller up big hills …. yeah.
I am really hungry this evening…heck this whole day. I’ve been good though — lots of fruit. Cantaloupe, banana, peanut butter….Morella however was bad. She ate TWO chocolates. Two of my Mother’s Day chocolates with her insistent little pointy finger. I ate the other two so that the temptation will be gone. Plus you know, gotta eat them when they are fresh, right?
So. My last snack was a breakfast bar. I am thinking about heading to bed early so I stop eating. Maybe get some sleep — I haven’t done the napping thing during the day in a while. I sort of miss it sometimes — other times I like having that time back to myself. Today’s nap was only an 1.15 hour. Not quite enough to have a happy little girl the whole day, but enough to have a tolerable one where I was able to stave off tantrums. Lots of cuddling on the floor, which was nice. I like cuddling with her, even if she only wants to sit on my head and say “Awwwww.”
I talked to the mail man today. He’s been MIA for the last couple of weeks and our mail now comes late in the day. He said it was because they made his route longer and so he had to rework the entire thing where our house is last now. He remembered my address and name! He also said that he had a baby this past March …. and he has a 10 year old and an 18 year old! Wow! First he doesn’t look old enough to have a 18 year old and second, what spacing huh? He said “built in baby sitters”. No kidding.
Overall though, it was a beautiful day. I love Morella so much — it’s hard to believe that she lives with us. I feel like she is a little guest sometimes. Yeah.
Not that much happened today otherwise. I took a shower, did a load of laundry, made dinner (swedish meatballs and egg noodles, boiled radishes and steamed broccoli), picked up foam stickers 8 times (like literally hundreds of them), caught up with some emails, took a walk and popped in on Emily and Leo. Yeah. Okay. I have to go potty — Crouton is wreaking havoc in there!
So I dropped Morella off at my friend Hilary’s and went to the clinic for the 3 hour test. Learning about what constitutes a carb was definitely interesting, and I followed the 150 at least carb rule for three days prior. I guess it’s a good thing they say to do that because you know I would have gone overboard and not had ANY carbs for those three days. Ahh.. That said, I am so thankful that I do not have diabetes. I feel kind of bad for my Mom who has it, but then again she doens’t bother trying to control it so she might as well not have it — right? (she uses insulin)
Over all it wasn’t too bad. I was able to get some cross-stitch time in, write in my journal, and write a few postcards. It kind of sucks that you can’t drink coffee though … that would have been perfect. At the end I called DH for a food suggestion and he said Noodles and Company. I love noodles but never go there. However, I needed to pick up Morella before 1.15 so he called ahead and ordered for us — I got the Bankock Curry and Pan Noodles both with seared chicken and just let her pick. I would eat both of them, and indeed when we ate I scarfed mine down so fast and was still hungry that I *could* have eaten both of them. I was seriously shaking! I couldn’t believe how hard it was to start eating. I got the results of the test later this afternoon after they called to relay the good news. It’s interesting to see that the last blood draw has my blood sugar below the normal range — that would certainly explain the shaking. I always wondered if I had a problem with low blood sugar and so it’s kind of cool to see that it does actually happen. OH yeah and I had 1/2 a cookie, rice krispy bar and a small piece of rocky road bar …. then I felt satisfied and tried to take a nap. I think I got a few minutes in there, what with the neighbors working hammering their house and Migo’s yowling.
GLUCOSE, FASTING my number was 81 normal range is 65-95 mg/dL
GLUCOSE, 1 HOUR my number 113 normal range is 90-180 mg/dL
GLUCOSE, 2 HOUR my number 92 normal range is 75-155 mg/dL
GLUCOSE, 3 HOUR my number 61 normal range is 70-140 mg/dL
So hurray!
Still, back to one treat a day and eating healthier.
There was supposed to be a maintenance outage for blogger today — I wonder if it messed things up…. [test one...pass] [test two - photos...pass] [test three: template change...pass] Hurray!
Today was a good day. I kind of wish today had been yesterday for Tim and Morella instead of that rainy, depressing day we had. Morella was an absolute gem. A little wonder. Happy, ate well, drank well, energetic, napped on schedule and was so friendly and outgoing. This morning we went to Lazy Jane’s to meet up with someone but they didn’t show. Instead I had a glass of iced tea while I watched Morella play with the toys and interact with the older kids there.
Hold on…I have to switch to the desktop while Tim downloads and installs GIMP onto the laptop so I can have some kind of photo editing program. There. Here are the toddlers from this afternoon’s playdate at Elmside Circle Park. We like to check out different parks around Madison. We are going to be experts by the time summer is done!
So yeah. The person I was going to meet didn’t show up at Lazy Jane’s so after an hour of Morella playing, me watching and having the other kids eventually all glom onto me — or as one of the Mom’s said with a strange tone “They seem to be drawn to you” we left and headed over to Woodman’s to pick up a few things like milk, fruit and potatoes. I am very proud to say that I didn’t buy any sweets at Lazy Jane’s (even though they are so delicious) and I didn’t buy the usual array of junk food I’ve been indulging in at Woodman’s. Why might you ask?
Because I went and failed the one hour glucose challenge test for gestational diabetes yesterday. I was 7 points over their cutoff and so now need to take the 3 hour challenge, which I plan on doing Monday. Let’s be clear, I am 95% certain I do not have GD — it’s really just a matter of bad eating choices the day before (waffles, brownie, cinnamon rolls, chocolates….). At first I was really bummed about it and even shed a few tears about how stupid and far off track I’ve gotten. I mean, for the longest time, until week 22 to be exact, I felt like I had no appetite and so I was happy to eat anything — whether or not it was good for me. I didn’t care because for 20 weeks I had barely gained anything. Obviously that changed, I started to feel better but instead of slowing my sweets pace, I kept at it. This really was sort of a wake up call, to quit it. Go back to one sweet a day — no more multiples. Sigh. It was fun while it lasted.
But then Hilary said she would baby sit, and then I got to thinking about how nice it would be to sit in one place for three hours with minimal interruption (to get a blood draw every hour for three hours — a total of four blood draws that include the fasting one to begin with), and work on a project. I could work on cross-stitch. I could write a letter or two. I could work on finishing some cards I have been trying to finish for months. I could read. I could do puzzles. I could stare into space. I could look at the folks there. I could … well you see, it’s like a mini vacation! The only price is time, blood and hunger pains. I know, I could have asked to have the 1 hour again, but really that is why there is a 3 hour challenge — to make sure. So, we might as well make sure, right? Besides, I needed to stop the sweet binge otherwise I would have gained a gazillion pounds and that wouldn’t have been fun.
Crouton is kicking up a storm lately! I woke up this morning with a foot being jabbed into my rib cage. I don’t remember that particularly happening with Morella, probably because her placenta was attached to the front and muffled sharp, pointing movements. But Crouton, this active little bugger is getting to places I don’t think we should talk about. 
For three days I have to eat at least 150 carbs a day. This is the first time I have ever taken notice of carbs, and luckily a friend of mine gave me a handy little book that I can look at over the weekend to count carbs. I think I hit the 150 mark today as practice…so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. It’s been a bit of an education, I’ll tell you that.
Well, I should hit the hay. I gotta spend some time paying bills tomorrow and looking at finances and go to the bank to deposit a check. I have mostly moved to paying most of our bills online and saving a stamp — stamps I’ll throw on postcards and send out. Oh speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve sent a single post card out this week! I have been busy working on two packages. Both are boxed, but but still need cards, to be wrapped and addressed and then taken to the post office. Maybe those should make my top 10 goals for tomorrow.
1. Take Pluto to dogsitter.
2. Find and write cards.
3. Wrap Mom package.
4. Wrap Jessie package.
5. Go to post office to mail.
6. Playdate with Hilary and Cullen in the morning.
7. Update spreadsheet for May bills.
8. Pay some bills.
9.
10.
The last two can be filled in later….yeah. Okay. Night!
oh man. This kid. She has gotten into the garbage several times, refused to get off the changing bed, eaten dirt, wanted to come inside, wanted to go outside, wants some kind of magic food, wanted to be in her crib, didn’t want to be in her crib, etc. All resulting in huge meltdowns and tantrums. But in between comforting, playing and distracting her ….
I did manage to get dressed, fix the futon complete with an array of stuffed animals, got Morella dressed, changed her diaper (hence the diaper post) and found my easy grip.
Other things accomplished:
- Brought my shelving unit I got a garage sale for $3 bucks outside, found the green paint, painted the edges and one side of three shelves (one super long) twice.
- Made Morella lunch
- Ate some waffles
- Baked some brownies
- Washed a rack of dishes
- Put diapers away, changed the diaper changing bed’s sheet, put away all her clothes, vacuumed Morella’s room and picked up all her toys. Her room is now clean.
- Put together a photo essay and posted it
- Got together gifts for my friend Jessie and her kids — even manage to wrap one of them.
- Found a box to send it in
- Texted and talked to Tim a few times
- Went to the bathroom at least 6 times
- Made some crystal light
- Talked to Emily and convinced her that Morella is not good company, nor is my house clean.
Okay. Now for the rest of the afternoon my goals are:
- Cut down some liliac branches and put them in water so the house smells great.
- Put dishes away.
- Figure out what’s for dinner. Maybe tofu … a stir fry perhaps?
Geez…a meltdown in progress AGAIN.
Cloth Diapering Morella
A. Disposable diapers stock for overnight, long day trips and travel trips.
B. Stack of prefolds
C. Basket of diaper creams, disposable/flushable/biodegradeable diaper liners, toliet paper, and prowrap diaper covers
D. Fleece liners
E. Diaper pail
F. Flannel wipes
G. Wipe solutions (witch hazel, water, tea tree oil)
Closer up ….
And your other close up …. the duckie hamper is a … a … well hamper.
Set out the wrap.
Fold prefold into thirds.
Cover with fleece liner.
Top with disposable liner.
Spray wipe with solution.
Put down baby, unzip and take off diaper.
Dirty diaper. Remove prefold from wrap. If there is poop, then you remove the disposable liner, put it on a bit of toliet paper while you finish the job and then take it to the bathroom to flush.
Drop dirty diaper in diaper pail.
Drop wipe in diaper pail.
Fight with baby to put new diaper on.
Let her roll of the diaper pad, and look out the window while I figure out what she is going to wear for the day.
All done!
Morella is being a fussy toddler today.
I flipped the futon mattress in the office because I am changing the bedding on it. It was hard. I need a break.
Motivation! I need to get some stuff DONE around here … and find a dog sitter for Pluto for this weekend. All of our usuals are unable to because of prior plans. Sigh.
–25 min later — okay this is obviously going to be one of those days where I need to poke myself into motivating. I should do another updating, as we go through the day post. Yeah. Morella is in her crib right now. She wanted to go…and is still there now screeching at me intermittedly. I was just in there putting away some clothes from last week. I didn’t do them all. The box for outgrown stuff is spilling over, and I need to sort through shorts, skirts and pants. The reason I left was to find the easy grip to pick up the socks that fell on the floor so I wouldn’t have to bend over (maybe flipping the mattress wasn’t a good idea so early in the morning) because I’m feeling like there is a sqiggley baby attached to the lower quandrant of my belly.
Okay … maybe over all goals in five steps at a time? Yeah right. Well, one can tyr. 1. Find easy grip. 2. Pick up clothes off Morella’s floor. 3. Change her diaper and get her dressed. 4. Get myself dressed. 5. Finish making up the futon.
[ending post at 8:47a]
So Morella did end up sleeping the entire night through to 6.40a today. Amazing. That’s 13 hours of sleep … incredible. She also took a good 2 hour nap today after a trip to the park this morning for Monday Playgroup. I did something really stupid though — Morella had climbed up to the tall swirl slide and was about to go down. Not a problem except she seemed to be forgetting to sit her butt down this morning so I tried to climb up a slide to get to her. My shoes were sticky enough, but it was just a little too high and I just couldn’t do it. I totally over did it and now have been paying the price all day. Thankfully, another Mom got up there fast enough to spot Morella’s daredevil antics. Sorry Crouton … and sorry Morella … picking you up after that was hard. Heck bending over is hard right now.
My goal is to finish this lame post, go use my back massage pillow and then go to bed early. This afternoon’s nap felt like it was too short — an hour and half — and when it was over (Modog was waking up) I just wanted to keep sleeping with an intensity not felt since the early days of this pregnancy.
Aw crap. There is two super sized loads of laundry on the bed waiting to be put away. There is also diapers in the dryer that need to be brought up and sorted.
Sigh.
Dinner needs to be put away too.
The kitchen was bombed and there is stuff lying askew everywhere.
I did have a nice afternoon visiting my friend Lowen. We went over there after the nap so that Morella could explore her back yard while we chatted. We ended up picking what she thought is creeping charlie … but I don’t think so it. It’s a vine, with little purple flowers and it smells like mint. I always thought it was cat nip but it’s too little for that…[looking online to see what creeping charlie really looks like] … nutz, it IS creeping charlie. Well then what the heck is in our backyard that acts the same, but has smooth spade like leaves, and resembles violets but *isn’t* violets? Hm.
Anyway. We did that for two hours and it was very nice and relaxing. Afterward I came home and made dinner (ring bologna, buttered egg noodles for Morella, and ramps and chives sauteed in olive oil for our noodles with Parmesan) and steamed broccoli. Morella ate a great dinner on top of drinking a ton of milk today.
After that we piled into the car and headed to Erik’s bike shop to get a new bike seat for my bike, which is now the bike the kid trailer is attached to so that Tim is all set to go in accumulating Morella to the trailer and rides.
