this side of that dark line

caristy @ 2009-11-24T08:21:00

2009-11-24T13:21:48Z

I got tagged!

Heh, I never get tagged. Or poked, or prodded, or whatever. I don't know what it's called, but Emily has sweetly reminded me that I haven't been around in awhile, so,

Things have been ... busy. Moving is a lot of work, who knew? We're doing well getting things unpacked. The closets and garage are going to take awhile, but the rooms are in decent shape. Pics here: www.flickr.com/photos/caristy

I love the house. I love the space. Having a playroom and yard gives me a lot more to do with Jack during the day. I love the layout. The kitchen is open and next to the family room and the laundry room is right there and don't you dare laugh at me, but it is so damn convenient and I can get so much more done this way.

I'm writing for my old company again. Just one 2,500-word paper, which is about all I'd want to take on right now. Well, really, the timing couldn't have been worse unless they'd asked when Maggie was a newborn, but who says no to a little extra cash around Christmastime plus a chance to keep my network on life support? It was oddly nice getting out to a meeting to plan the brief and a little part of me thought about how finding a job two days a week would be nice, but then the part that realized two days a week isn't really feasible was just glad that I have the option to be home with the kids since that's been working for me.

I've decided the ideal job would be one that Matt and I share where he works Monday and Tuesday, I work Thursday and Friday, and the kids are in full-time daycare/school on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Perfect, right?

Matt and I are going on a date Friday night. Woot! We love these kids but we are also very, very done. We are enjoying every minute, but I'd be lying if I didn't say we occasionally daydream about the day they'll be a little more self-sufficient. When Jack was born, I couldn't imagine not having another baby and getting to do it all over again. Now that Maggie's here, I can't imagine getting pregnant and having to do it all over again.

Maggie and Jack are doing great. I don't know what I can say about Maggie that won't sound gushy. Her defining characteristic so far is that she's happy. She loves to chat and smile and giggle and coo. During the move, I kept putting her down in the bouncy near me and then inevitably my Mom or Matt would call me away to ask where something should go. Fifteen minutes later, I'd realize I'd left Maggie alone, just staring at the wall and her feet and eating her hands and I'd wonder what strange kind of baby was she? We never could have done this move when Jack was a newborn, that's for sure. He wouldn't have let me put him down long enough to rearrange my bedroom, let alone move an entire house.

Some days, that makes me sad that Maggie is growing so fast. I could keep her this small forever. Who wouldn't want this sweet girl to carry around all day? Whenever I need a boost, I just look at her and we both smile and laugh. And so do other people. It was kind of a pain at the mall yesterday when all I wanted was to buy some books and the older woman cashier couldn't stop laughing with Maggie long enough to ring me up. "But, your baby is smiling! Look, look at her! She smiled again! LOOK!" Yes, I appreciate that and I know I look like a terrible mother not wanting to soak up every smile, but my 2.5 year old is tired and cranky and hungry and please can you just let me pay for these Dr. Seuss books before he realizes I'm buying his Christmas presents in front of him? Okay? Oh yes, well, the baby did just make the cutest cooing sound. Okay.

Jack is awesome. He watches too much tv and he knows how to push my buttons and some days I am ready to sell him to the gypsies, but 2.5 is so fun. He went through some big mental leap this month and now he's even funnier than before. He picks up the funniest sayings and hearing this little toddler voice say "What's up in here?" and "Daddy, how was your work? You had a good day?" is cuter than I can describe. He's all about pretend play, using his play tent as a fire station and "rescuing" me and Maggie from a fire fifteen times a day. We play camping and cook our food over the fire, we play sleep (my personal favorite) on the floor with all his pillows and blankets and stuffed animals. We have tea parties and build things with tools. His obsession with tools has gone over the top thanks to moving and Handy Manny and he asked the mall Santa for a tool bench yesterday, which is good because I just ordered him one the other day (go Mom!). He's obsessed with toys. We talk about being thankful at Thanksgiving and giving gifts and love at Christmas, but mostly he wants to talk about TOYS and how he neeeeds them. All of them. The other day he said "You need to buy me a dinosaur. The one that you push the button and it moves and it stomps. You get it at Target." Yeah. I'm in trouble and why didn't anyone tell me my baby wouldn't seem very babylike at 2.5? I thought I had longer. He's active and chatty and wicked smart. He's loving and sweet when he wakes up, which he should be doing any minute now, and I'm sure he'll ask me to pick him up and hug him and he'll tell me he loves me and Maggie and Daddy.

Life is good.

caristy @ 2009-06-17T14:46:00

2009-06-17T18:51:10Z

Here's the baby today:

My Mom was with me so the tech was sweet enough to let us see the profile and double check that she is still a girl :)

My cervix is 1.8cm long. It was around 2.2 last time, so a little smaller, but not bad. The dr said to just keep doing what I'm doing and stay laying down as much as possible. We want six more weeks so she's full term, but I can probably ease off bedrest a little in five weeks if all goes well.

My cervix was 1.8cm at 26 weeks with Jack, so hey, we're five weeks ahead of that. That has to be good.

I hate bedrest with a red hot passion, but we had a good babysitter interview last night so I'm hopeful we'll have someone coming in from 10-12 every day to help wear Jack out starting next week. The hardest part is knowing the only thing I have to look forward to is this baby being born and that I'm hoping that's 6 weeks away. I miss the little things like running errands, taking Jack to a new park, looking forward to just doing random shit with Matt on the weekends. It's a long time to just sit around and wait, and my hormones keep getting to me when I think about how my one-on-one time with Jack where we could run around all day and do stuff is over. Obviously, he's still here with me and we'll do fun stuff when the baby comes, but I feel like our life as we knew it ended too abruptly and before I was ready.

Blah blah blah. Come on full term!!!

26 weeks...

2009-05-13T18:07:25Z

Like y'all saw on facebook, my cervix is behaving! It's at 2.8cm, so it's down from 3.2cm three weeks ago, but the important thing is that it's still over 2.5 so no bedrest! I go back in 3 weeks and until then, I'm taking it easy to hold onto those 0.3cm. I suspect it could even dip a little below 2.5 and we still wouldn't need bedrest because I'll be further along , but we'll see. At 26 weeks with Jack, I was at L&D finding out my cervix was down to around 2cm. By comparison, today is a wonderful, wonderful day.

The doctor said right now my cervix is "slightly short" but it was practically an afterthought. He was much more interested in talking about how the baby is measuring spot on for 26 weeks and how my placenta had moved up (no more previa!) and how I'm clear to have sex. What?! What the heck is that strange little word? I don't know if we remember it around here. Actually, the word he used was "intercourse" and I'm grateful since Jack didn't even try to say that one. He's been mumbling "glucose" all day and I am positive he would've been fascinated by a word as cool as sex.

So yeah, it's a GOOD day! I'm going to celebrate by going through the huge box of baby girl clothes that my Aunt Carla brought down last weekend. Fuzzy purple sleepers, flowery pink short sets, and white knit dresses with rosebuds on them. Love.

caristy @ 2009-04-22T13:44:00

2009-04-22T18:09:21Z

At my appointment yesterday, my cervix was the same length as 20 weeks. Still over 3cm and nice and closed. Yahoo!!!!! I go back in 3 weeks to check it again. That means for now, Jack doesn't need to go to daycare, I can take him to music class, I don't have to miss his birthday party in 2.5 weeks. I am so so SO happy, so relieved, I was singing the whole way home in the car.

I bought the cutest little purple onesies before my appt because I was afraid I'd be on bedrest before I ever got the chance to enjoy shopping for her. When I showed Jack the clothes and asked who was going to wear them, he said the baby's name with a big smile. Be still my heart. It's better than his new favorite activity - trying to give me a wet willy in my belly button. Gross dude.

Jack really likes to use my growing belly as a pillow ("Mine pillow, Mommy. Mine pillow!") but so far he hasn't been in a position to get kicked. I tried to put his hand in the right spot, but he insists the only places worth touching are my belly button and one small freckle he calls my "tickle spot" after a song we sing. He says a lot of full sentences and does pretty good renditions of a few songs like itsy bitsy spider, rain rain go away, and if you're happy and you know it, but my favorite thing he says is "sit downing" and "clean uping" instead of sitting down or cleaning up. He's also really keen on putting his index finger to his lips and saying "hmm" for a long time whenever presented with a question. So cute.

caristy @ 2009-04-12T21:24:00

2009-04-13T01:24:54Z

My grandmother brought her laptop - whee! It's superfast but I can't get used to the keyboard. Love/hate.

Here's our really awful family pic:

Running around the nature center:

Loving his first steps in the ocean:

caristy @ 2009-04-09T20:12:00

2009-04-10T00:45:42Z

Current pregnancy freak-out: from what I can find, my cervix length at the last appointment is in the 5th percentile. And the thing is, everyone's cervix shrinks throughout pregnancy. So, since I've got about 3.2-3.0 cm of length left when most women have 4cm, and most doctors consider bedrest when it gets below 2.5, I'm feeling like it's inevitable that I'll be laying down for a big chunk of this pregnancy. I have another appointment on the 22nd, so I'm going to ask them more about the plan then.

Two weeks ago, I was thinking I couldn't possibly do bedrest because of what it would do to Jack and how it would turn his world upside down, especially if I'm hospitalized, which is what this practice tends to recommend. Then, this little girl started moving more and more (oh my gosh, the girl can MOVE!) and my Momma-bear protective instincts kicked into high gear. Part of it is that we're still 3 weeks from even having any hope of viability and there is just a lot of time to go until full term. One way or another, my most important job is to keep this little girl safe and I'll do whatever it takes.

In happier news, we painted the nursery! Which is also part of what freaked me out - I hate tempting fate. But hey, I am promising myself to harness the power of positive thinking and visualize a happy future and all that other hokey stuff, so here is the pretty lavender place I've been sitting lately, picturing a sweet, small newborn snuggled up asleep with her head close to my heart:

Nursery in progress:

It's pale lavender with pink undertones - it's hard to see on the computer but I flove it in person. We have green gingham curtains and a matching crib skirt.

Sheets:

Hamper we just got:

Lamp we're thinking of getting soon:

In other happy news, we are outta here this weekend (well, once we get the house clean enough for the house/dog sitter, who isn't used to the mess of a toddler and two dogs). My Mom and Grandmother rented a condo in Myrtle Beach and Matt, Jack, me, an in-car dvd player and a gazillion dvds are driving down Saturday to spend a week with them, the beach, and their indoor pool. OMG, it's our first family vacation--long car ride, possible mini-golf and aquarium trip, too much family time, and all. And I didn't even need to buy a maternity suit ;) Here I am rocking my pre-pg tankinis, and by "rocking," I mean "praying I don't bust the seems before the week is over."

Belly pics: 13, 17, 21 weeks

With Jack at 13, 16, 19, 24, 28, and 33 weeks.

caristy @ 2009-03-31T11:12:00

2009-03-31T15:26:11Z

We had our 20-week scan today and our little girl is definitely a girl

They gave me these pics:

Everything looks perfect with the baby. My cervix is a little shorter, but the doctor said that's totally normal and they're not worried. They'll have me back in 3 weeks instead of the usual 4 to keep an eye on it, and I have a low placenta (marginal previa) they want to watch too. They said in 90% of the cases, it goes up on its own.

OMG, I'm really having a girl! Jack came with us and really liked looking at pictures of the baby. When we got home, all he wanted to do was poke at my belly button and say "baby" but when I asked if he wanted to say hi to the baby, he looked totally freaked out and said no

caristy @ 2009-03-30T09:17:00

2009-03-30T13:28:04Z

Update:

He did it! We didn't hear a peep until 7:30 this morning, when we heard him knocking on the wall next to his bed. No idea what that was about. We waited a minute for him to come to our room, but then he started crying, so we went in. He always, always cries when he wakes up - he hates waking up, just like his Daddy. But the big boy bed seems to be a success, at least for one night. We're going to take it one sleep at a time and see how it goes. I'll let you know.

I, of course, spent the whole night dreaming that Jack was roaming the neighborhood and crossing the street all by himself. ;)

He wanted lots of company in bed this morning, and for me to hold all his "friends"

He's sleeping where?!?

2009-03-30T00:59:42Z

Matt came downstairs from putting Jack to sleep and said he's sleeping in his big boy bed! What?

Apparently, Jack "insisted," so Matt figured why not. He thought Jack would end up coming out of his room and we'd put him in his crib, but after a few minutes of chatter, there was silence. It's been quiet for an hour.

I need a video monitor!! I wasn't planning on him sleeping in there for another 6 weeks. The room is babyproofed and at least his bookshelves are bolted to the wall, but I would have taken the papasan chair out, locked the closet, moved his bed away from the window/curtains, etc.

I'm going to lock the guest room and bathroom doors before we go to bed, leave our door open, and maybe have Matt go in and check on him. Little noises like opening his door wake him up sometimes, but he's usually pretty deeply asleep around our bedtime. I don't think I can sleep if we don't check on him.

This is such silly timing. We're going to the beach for a week starting Easter, and Jack has to sleep in a pack and play. You know that'll mess up his sleep regardless. We also spent today cleaning out the guest room for baby#2 and I think that's part of why Jack wanted to sleep in the big bed. So many changes around here, he's probably a little unsettled. Twice this week, he's called little girls at the playground by our baby name, and he seems to be thinking about the whole baby thing a lot (and has just started saying that she can't come live here, though other times he says nice things too).

Everyone place your bet. Will Jack make it through the night in his big boy bed? And if he doesn't, will I make Matt deal with him alone, or will I cave and go in to help?

Rambings about gender

2009-03-13T13:49:41Z

Finding out this baby is a girl was such a surprise. My thoughts in the last week have been up and down and all over the place. First, I was just so excited, so happy, so in shock because we didn't expect it. Then the fear set in. I've spent so long preparing myself for a boy, since Jack was born, or maybe even before. Mostly to protect myself because I didn't think we would have a girl. The day we found out, I just kept thinking of the outfits that wouldn't be worn again, the brotherly forts that wouldn't be built and the pirate battles that wouldn't be fought. The flag football games with just one son and not two. What if this sweet girl captures everyone's hearts and they forget about my wonderful Jack? What about raising a girl in this toxic culture? The mini skirts and midriff baring tops for six year olds. The entire aisle in toys'r'us devoted to handbags. The teenage years. Oh God. Girls are so complicated.

Then I started thinking about all the good things about having a girl. Like how I love our girl name, and how I can just see them playing with the kitchen Jack is getting for his birthday together. I loved playing with my boy cousins when I was little. And maybe there's less chance the kids will be compared, that everyone will expect this baby to be just like Jack. Maybe she'll like musicals and we can go see Annie and Beauty and the Beast. Prom dresses, wedding planning, maybe a chance she'll actually call me to talk when she's grown up. My daughter. Then I bought some pink. A little onesie with sunshine and rainbows. And nursery decorations. A ladybug sheet and matching wall decals with ladybugs, flowers, and dragonflys. And I felt her kick from the outside and thought about my little girl's little hands and feet and all the people who already tell me they want to paint her nails. Then, of course, I started panicking that it really isn't a girl.

My cousin thought she was having another girl until she was 28 weeks and they found a penis. Our next ultrasound is in 19 days, but we could go to a 3D place and pay to make sure it's a girl. Matt's very reasonable response was that we already know it's a girl. But. but. but. Do we? Are we sure? I saw it, but I should have asked for a picture to take home and analyze. I only kind of remember what I saw. Luckily, he remembers exactly and described the three circles he saw that looked like a hamburger. You're sure? Yep. Okay. It's a girl. Obviously Matt's untrained memory is worth more than the high-risk ultrasound tech with a top of the line machine and training who I trust to measure my cervix length down to the milimeter. Wow. A girl. Can you imagine?

Or you know, a boy. If I go on March 31 and it's a boy, I'm sure I will have another crazy week of adjusting to a new reality, but that's okay too. Healthy baby is all that matters. Just don't ask me not to think about it because that is the one thing I am clearly not capable of doing.

Here's me now:

And here's this pregnancy so far at 13 and 17 weeks:

And here's with Jack at 13, 16, 19, 24, 28, and 33 weeks.

$5 onesie:

Shoes ($11 from MamaBargains):

Ladybug wall decals for the nursery:

Matt says he only wants to paint the nursery one color. What do you think? Green or cream?

So....

2009-03-04T21:40:40Z

I'm back from my ultrasound and everything looks great. My cervix is nice and long. Of course, it was at this point with Jack too, but it's still nice to know. I got my first shot today too. It barely even hurt, though I have noticed a few little side effects since. Definitely nothing that's a big deal. We had a nice detailed ultrasound too with a bunch of different views, including these 3d pictures of her:

Did you catch that little pronoun I just used? I don't know if I can really believe it yet, but according to the tech, who seemed pretty darn sure, It's a Girl! *insert lots of shocked emoticons here*

I have my big u/s on March 31st (they moved it up one day), so I'll believe it for really real then, but it sure did look like a girl to me today too. I must have said "oh my God" about fifteen times :-D

If this little sprout suddenly grows a penis, I will still be beyond thrilled, but holy cow. A girl!?! Huh. I didn't see that one coming.

T minus 4 hours

2009-03-04T14:44:51Z

I have my dr's appt this afternoon to get my first cervix check and shot. Jack saw me getting my meds out and has been running around ever since yelling "medicine doctor BUTT! medicine shot Daddy! Daddy shot BUTT!" And whacking me in the butt for extra effect. Niiiice. He also offered up "Jack help." Aha ha ha. Yeah, that sounds perfect. Maybe if Matt has to work late one night, I can just hand Jack the needle and ask him to do it for me. That should work, right?

I had told him a little about the shots when we thought he was going to be coming to the office with me because I wanted him to be prepared to see it. I was worried it might upset him. I don't think I needed to worry. If anything, he's going to be crushed if he realizes he doesn't get to see it. I just hope he doesn't try whacking me in the butt after I get the shot.

How not to make a volcano with your toddler

2009-02-25T00:10:54Z

Lesson learned today: When you want to make an erupting volcano at home, don't spend half an hour watching volcano videos on youtube telling your toddler how scary and hot the lava is.

Jack's new playrug has a volcano on it and I realized he didn't know what it was. So since we had nothing else going on, I decided to make it volcano day.

Notice his eyes are closed:

He warmed up to the idea eventually and it was a pretty cool project, but yeah, probably much better for an older kid and one who isn't scared to death of it at first.

Mmm, vinegar.

How to: http://www.create-kids-crafts.com/playdough-volcano.html

Bits of Jack

2009-02-22T14:13:41Z

Sailing Sailing Ocean Blue

Operation FTB

2009-02-21T01:06:11Z

Here comes Operation Full Term Baby.

That's four weeks' worth. 14 more to follow.

I admit I was a little more excited about getting free drugs before those big long needles showed up on my doorstep. And they brought their buddy, the lovely list of possible side effects, with them.

Matt will learn how to stick me in the butt muscle at our next doctor's appointment on March 4 (16 weeks). Jack will be with us and the only time they had is smack in the middle of naptime. Should be fun.

Please let this work! No preterm labor whammies this time.

caristy @ 2009-02-18T13:21:00

2009-02-18T18:50:32Z

Sarah, I was thinking of you yesterday. Jack and I were in the basement doing laundry. First he walked into the laundry room and said "messy Mommy!" because my laundry room floor is less than clean. Then, while I'm folding CLEAN laundry, he picked up one of my white socks and told me it was dirty. Next he found a scrap of paper on the floor and proclaimed it "yucky, Mommy, keen up." Yeah. My kid really should've been born to you, huh? At least he knows where the garbage is so he could throw the offending paper away by himself.

***

In other news, Jack's choice of pre-bed conversation with Daddy last night was to tell him "Girls Penis? Noooooo!" Hmm, maybe I started the boys have a penis and girls don't conversation a little young but he seemed curious. He likes to tell me that Daddy and PopPop have a penis. Should be fun if that comes up at a family gathering.

Big boy bed

2009-02-17T19:08:10Z

We got Jack his big boy bed this weekend. He's not going to sleep in it for awhile, I hope, but our tax refund came and we couldn't think of anything else we felt like blowing some cash on. Plus, this way he has some time to get used to it and if the doctors restrict my activity for any reason, we're all set for Jack to nap somewhere that I don't have to lift him into.

Still, a big boy bed? My baby? I am so not ready for this. If it weren't for baby #2 on the way, I would happily keep Jack in his crib for another year, even if it meant getting a crib tent if he started climbing out (so far no sign of that). I mean, the kid sleeps. He SLEEPS! All night and an hour every afternoon. I don't want to mess with that, yo. But the only alternative is to buy another crib or let baby #2 sleep in the dog's bed, so here comes Jack's big boy bed. It's an extendable bed from IKEA. For now it's toddler sized, and someday it can grow two more sizes up to twin. Not that my baby is ever going to be tall enough to need the bed to get bigger, obviously.

He loves it so far, especially the part where he got to "make bed daddy tools" and I'm kind of fond of it myself. It's a great place to sit and read books together, or you know, curl up and take a nap while your husband cleans up the boxes and styrofoam that you let your kid throw everywhere while he was putting it together.

Helping Daddy

With his plastic tools

Pretending to sleep

[

Reading in bed (book strategically placed to cover my naked face)

Mr. Frog and Pooh bear check it out (It'll be on the other side of the room eventually, right now the crib is still there)

And finally the adorable new growth chart his Grammy made him (she made the quilt on his bed too)

What I really wanted to say

2009-02-13T18:09:50Z

So I wrote about Jack the other day because what I've really been wanting to write down are a few thoughts about this pregnancy. Then I got to thinking how I've been wanting to write about Jack and how cool he is, and I felt guilty giving the unborn attention-stealer more press than the funny, wild boy I've already got. But now that Jack's been covered...

I'm still not sure the shock has worn off. Our plan was to start TTC around now because we thought we'd like Jack to be at least 2.5 before he became a big brother. I was on the pill for awhile, but it gave me the worst anxiety, so I went off in late September. We were super careful in October and then November came along. And they had the sexiest song on Grey's Anatomy that I just had to download and play right away. And after we'd thrown caution to the wind once, I saw the cutest little baby on Lipstick Jungle, aaand... Long story short, I wanted a baby, Matt thought the process could be fun, and we both thought, hey why not? It took us almost two years, surgery, clomid, progesterone, estrogen, metformin, and I don't remember what else before we conceived Jack. Surely two silly joyrides early in my cycle wouldn't matter.

The next day, I thought I saw some ovulation signs. A week later, I had a terrible headache and google gave me a bunch of hits for "headache and implantation." The day after that, I had some strange cramping that felt eerily familiar to the day before I found out I was pregnant with Jack. That night Matt came home and said he wanted to quit his job and I, very anticlimatically, blurted out "don't do that, I think I'm pregnant." The next day, I was at the mall taking Jack to see Santa (and by "see" I mean stand twenty feet away screaming "Nooo, Ho Ho, Noooo, Ho Ho.") and figured why not buy some tests at CVS. Half an hour later at home, I had my two lines and jubiliantly told Jack there was going to be a Baybee, hopefully, maybe, oh my God I'm pregnant. Baby baby baby! I tried to convince Matt to come home early and when he refused, I somehow managed not to tell him my news... by calling Alison and telling her instead. Then, when Matt finally got home that night, I had Jack hand him the pee stick and say "baby." It probably would have worked better if I let Matt take his coat off first, but whatever. I was excited.

And I still am. I can't believe I've made it to the second trimester (depending who you ask. 13.5 weeks works for me.) and so far all is good. Things are going so much faster than last time. There are entire days I barely have time to think about it, then I see the cute little ultrasound pic hanging on the fridge and it's like "right, you, you're here too. How are we going to fit you in?" But I know we will. And I think it'll be great for all of us. Okay, Jack might take some convincing when he finds out baby isn't just a fun word we like to yell in excitement, but I'm confident.

Obviously, this is old news. I just wanted to write it down for me because I've been wanting to write it down for so long now. Plus, now that the shock is starting to fade a little, I want to make sure I don't forget how cool and amazing this semi-surprise has been. I mean the odds of this baby being conceived like this were so low. I have never, not even on clomid or metformin, ovulated that early. But I did. And I have the growing belly bump to show for it.

The first one is from two weeks ago (11 weeks, 4 days) and the next two are from last Monday (12 weeks, 6 days):

I still weigh less than before I was pregnant with Jack, but I'm outgrowing my clothes faster. Here are the pics from last time at 13, 16, 19, 24, 28, and 33 weeks. Right now, I weigh about 5 pounds less than the first picture, but it's not like everything ever made it all the way back to its original spot after Jack anyway. They say you show about 4 weeks sooner with the second one, which seems about right so far.

Jack at 21 months

2009-02-11T19:08:02Z

Jack is 21 months and 2 days old. For those 21 months, and even before, I have sung him
every lullaby I could think of hoping one would be his favorite. Especially Baby Mine from Dumbo/Beaches, because that's my favorite, but also You Are My Sunshine, The Irish Lullaby, Cuddle Up a Litte Closer, Chattanooga Choo Choo, On the Sunny Side of the Street, Fields of Athenry, and I don't know how many others. He doesn't like any of them. Every day before nap and bed for the last three weeks, he says the same thing "Bye Bye Pie" as in Bye Bye Miss American Pie. Which means that instead of "You're so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine" being the last words he hears before "I love you, Good night," he hears "This'll be the day that I die."

His other current favorite songs are "Boom! Shake the Room," (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince), "If I had $1,000,000" (Barenaked Ladies), and Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggety Dog (They Might Be Giants, from the Mickey Mouse clubhouse cartoon). He can "name that tune" for any of those within three notes. He loves to play dance party. He's got a drum, maracas, and a
ribbon wand, and what he wants most is for me and Matt to hold them and follow him around
the house marching, stopping to dance in the living room and throw him around in the air.

He also loves to play with his pirate ship, castle, cars, and new Thomas train track. At least five times a day he says, "Pay Pirates Mommy Peees" (Play pirates, Mommy please). If it's not that, it's: "Read Books" or "Watch TB." His favorite books and tv show are both Curious George, though he has a new love of Imagination Movers and asks for it by the name of the pretty girl on it by saying "Watch Nina." I'd say in his opinion, the only silver lining in being sick last week was that I let him watch his shows all day under his blanket with his buddy George and his stuffed turtle.

He loves to "help." He helps me clean by using a paper towel to dust, pour the laundry
detergent in, and cook. He mixes pancake batter, pours milk from the measuring cup into
the bowl, mashes bananas, and is an excellent spoon licker.

Most of all, he loves to be outside. Playgrounds, parks, hiking, you name it, he likes it. Especially if there's room to "run cirtles" (run in circles), a slide to go "wheee" on, or best of all, a river to "boom sticks" (throw sticks and rocks into the water or on the ice). We have a map of the area in our bathroom and Jack loves to point at the Potomac River and tell me that's where we go to boom sticks.

He's verbal and sweet, affectionate, and so very stubborn, just like his Mom. He's also a huge teacher's pet like I was and is constantly grabbing his teacher's finger during gym class and getting her to play with him. He loves to talk about his day and tell Matt long stories about the things we do (No Jack, Daddy didn't need to know we stopped for donuts again, thanks kid). Matt still does bath and bedtime, and a lot of nights he'll call down random questions like
"Did you go to the store with Thomas trains today? ... Did you wait ten minutes for it to open?" and I'll be shocked the things Jack remembers and can convey all on his own. My big boy.

Pregnant again :)

2009-01-22T01:01:10Z

Make a pregnancy ticker

I know I'm in great company around here :) Actually, I know so many women who conceived in November and are due in August that Matt and I are calling it the "Obama baby boom." Here's to a happy, healthy 2009 for all!

caristy @ 2008-07-16T22:43:00

2008-07-17T02:45:39Z

caristy @ 2008-06-03T20:19:00

2008-06-04T01:14:02Z

Remember me?

I'm sorry I haven't posted in ages. Thanks to Kendell, I realized today that I never really said I wouldn't be around. I'm actually still online a lot, but usually on facebook and flickr and a few message boards, where any given activity only takes a couple minutes and minimal concentration.

I meant to give an update around Jack's 1st birthday and mother's day, but I was a little busy that weekend. Duh. So here goes.

Jack is doing great. He loves to be on the go, seeing and doing new things, and he's walking all over the place. If you try to slow him down or keep him from what he wants, he'll be sure to let you know. He can be shy and uncertain around new people, but he's a total charmer and giggler with friends and family, and he loves to chase Matt all over the house and play "hide and seek" and peekaboo. Taking him new places is my absolute favorite thing. I can't expain how good it feels to see him point and squeal at something he's excited about.

He's a man of few words. I'm sure he's said Mama, Dada, doggie, car, boat and banana, just not frequently. But he knows a ton of words. Every day he surprises me when I ask him things like "point to the baby's foot" or "bring Mommy the car" and he actually does what I ask. Last week, I was playing around putting his little shoe on my foot and complaining that it wasn't the right shoe, and he went around the corner, got my shoe, and brought it to me. My boy is wicked smart. He's a great eater and sleeper too, which I know is the luck of the draw and I'm grateful for it.

As for me, I'm loving this. What can I say? I feel more me, more alive, more fulfilled than ever before. That's not to say every moment is perfect. Just today I was pushing the jogging stroller around Burke Lake and Jack wanted out. I let him out to check out a tree, but I guess I put him back in before he was ready because he cried the entire 1.5 miles back to the car. It was getting close to lunch, so I kept going, but I honestly wanted to park the stroller in the woods and just walk away until he was done crying. This is what I signed up for though. All the temper tantrums in the world don't stop me from being grateful every day that my perfect, healthy little boy is here. It also helps that he goes to bed by 7:30 and Matt and I eat a leisurely dinner together and have the rest of the evening to ourselves. I don't know what I'd do without that downtime.

I think about working now and then. Some days I wish I never had to work again, others I'm tempted to start part time asap. The thing is, I have major trust issues (which I doubt is a surprise) and since I am lucky enough not to have to trust someone else with Jack now, I'm not going to do it. Besides, when I imagine working, it's some imaginary perfect job. If I think about the six years I spent at my last job doing very little, being bored and unmotivated and trapped in a cube, I mostly feel regret and I am very, very glad to have a break from that. I think it's like when someone says they don't believe in marriage and people tell them they haven't found the right person yet. In hindsight, I know it wasn't the right job for me but that doesn't mean I might not find one to like someday.

If anyone's wondering, my current plan is to stay home until our youngest (hopefully we'll have one more someday) starts school, then teach for a few years to broaden my education experience (and have the summers off while our kids are young), then use my teaching experience to get back into something education-related like before. That's a long way off, so we'll see what actually happens.

As for how I spend my days now, mostly outside. I go somewhere every day, even if it's just shopping, to the playground, or a walk with the dogs. Most of the time, we meet up with other Moms and babies. We go to babywearing meetings, get-togethers with a local Moms group, classes at the Rec center, and individual meet-ups with friendly people I've met in those groups. We spend a lot of time at the farm park looking at cows and sheep and goats and at the playground watching the big kids run around. It can get a little tiring making sure our week is full enough, but overall, it's a lot of fun. There are a lot of days I'm standing outside in the sun, watching Jack explore some new thing, just feeling completely happy and grateful for everything I have.

So, there you go. That's my long, probably really boring update. Really, I know it was boring. I'm sorry to anyone who read the whole self-indulgent thing. I can't promise I'll post more, but I do still read here sometimes, and if you want to know what I'm up to, flickr and facebook are definitely the places to find me.

Lots of recent pics:

caristy @ 2008-03-16T19:54:00

2008-03-17T00:05:19Z

Although I was the one who called Matt for directions, I take no responsibility for what happened when he turned his back on a 10-month-old within arm's reach of a container of sweet potatoes.

Matt picked red socks to go with this outfit:

He's starting to stand for a few seconds here and there:

The mega block tower after Jack knocked it down:

New spring outfit:

10-month froggy pic:

caristy @ 2008-01-05T15:33:00

2008-01-05T20:33:32Z

84% John Edwards
83% Chris Dodd
83% Barack Obama
82% Hillary Clinton
76% Bill Richardson
74% Joe Biden
71% Mike Gravel
67% Dennis Kucinich
45% Rudy Giuliani
37% John McCain
31% Tom Tancredo
29% Mike Huckabee
26% Mitt Romney
18% Fred Thompson
12% Ron Paul

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Thanks kalki

I don't have time to see where they're different, but this one gave me different results. Maybe I've just changed my mind on some key issues since yesterday :P

2. Dennis Kucinich (76%)
4. Barack Obama (68%)
6. Hillary Clinton (66%)
7. Christopher Dodd (withdrawn) (63%)
8. John Edwards (62%)
11. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (55%)
15. Ron Paul (39%)
17. John McCain (33%)
18. Rudolph Giuliani (32%)
19. Mike Huckabee (25%)
21. Mitt Romney (20%)

caristy @ 2007-12-31T14:27:00

2007-12-31T19:39:04Z

It's official. I didn't meet my goal of losing 35 pounds by the end of 2007. Still, I'm not disappointed in myself. I've lost 31 pounds since Jack was born and that's good enough for me. New goal is to lose 9-10 more by summer, at a pace of about 2 pounds a month.

If I do this more than once in a blue moon, it shouldn't be difficult at all.