A Cup of Joe....PUH-LEASE!

Last week, our faithful coffeemaker passed away. It was a sad, sad day. No morning jolt of caffeine to wake us up and start the day. Our only jolt would be Grace - awake far too early and jumping (of course) in her crib. Why sleep when you can jump, right?

Well, that was last week and we still have no coffeemaker. (Yeah, if I've seem a bit disheveled lately or a bit 'Night-of-the-Living-Deadish' - now you know why.)

Oh don't blame me! It wasn't like I hopped on the internet, researched the hell out of coffeemakers, read 100s of reviews and found the ONE machine EVERYONE seems to love at a far cheaper price than the competition, and order it the very next day only to have it arrive DEFECTIVE!!!

What?!? Are you kidding me? This calls for a letter - you know one of 'those' letters you always swear you will write when you've been wronged by some person, place or thing.

Dear Coffee Maker Manufacturers,

You CAN NOT - I repeat - CAN NOT send faulty coffee brewing equipment to the caffeinated-impaired. It is a cruel, cruel joke. Especially to those caffeinated-impaired who are 7 months pregnant and are throwing caution to the wind and giving the bird to the medical world's recommendation of 0.0002 ounces of caffeine a day. Send me a functioning machine or send nothing at all.

Yours Truly,

The Voice of the Caffeinated-Impaired

PS Yes there is a Starbucks a mile from my house so don't act like you've thought of something I haven't. I could easily caffenate myself if I wanted to but I think overreacting to your defective machine, complaining to everyone who will listen and walking around like a zombie for two weeks is a much more effective approach.

Same Ole, Same Ole

Exactly twelve weeks OR 84 days OR 2,016 hours - give or take a few - until #2 arrives. The warm weather is killing me and it isn't even that hot yet. Only in the 80s here.

A lot of people ask if this pregnancy feels different. Let's see. I'm sick all the time, feel like I've been pregnant for 10 years AND huge. Nope - feels EXACTLY the same.

A friend recently told me that her second pregnancy was much easier - she gained 20 lbs. less, had way more energy and the nine months FLEW by because she was chasing around a toddler. Ummm...right.

But as I really think about it, there are a few differences between this time and last time - albeit most of these probably haven't kicked in yet as I start my seventh month today.

- TIRED all the time
- can not regulate my body temperature. I am hot ALL THE TIME. Even with the AC set to Arctic-like temperatures, I'm burning up.
- heat rash / chafing (TMI?!?!?)
- seems that #2 kicks and moves more
- I'm more relaxed this time around but I must say delivery still is a bit daunting as we can can safely assume that this kid will be 9 lbs +
- no linea negra (at least not yet)
- lots of heartburn this time around
- haven's purchased or decorated hardly anything yet for #2. I'm pretty sure Grace's room was done by the time I was 7 months pregnant and her name was chosen. While I am pretty sure we have the name figured out (oh you'll just have to keep checking back here if you want to know her name BEFORE she enters the world!!) we definitely do not have the room situations finalized.
- feet and hands aren't swollen (yet) but that is probably just around the corner
- haven't gotten too many leg cramps. I woke up to Charlie Horses just about every night with Grace.

So with that, Grace and I are off to swim lessons which I am hoping will knock her out for a four hour nap this afternoon so I can put my feet up, shovel ice cream into my face and take a nap. Have I mentioned I'm right on par to gain just as much weight this time around? I have no idea why!! :)

Who Needs a Pool?

Apparently Grace doesn't - thank goodness - as our pool is STILL not open! What's taking so long you ask? There is a huge rip down one side of the pool cover with a bunch of tears on the other side. If we were to uncover the pool, the likelihood of the cover getting stuck in the open position - or worse yet the half-open position - is very likely. Not good with a crafty 18 month old running around who has recently figured out how to use flat-handled door knobs (like the one on our back door). So we wait for a new pool cover to be installed - sometime the week AFTER the 4th of July. Ugh! In the meantime, Grace is making due just fine!!

WARNING: If you are opposed to "wasting" water (and when I say 'wasting' I mean using it by the bucketful to entertain a toddler while you yourself stay nice and cool in the shade) then I recommend that you NOT watch this video.

First and Only Hot Day of the Year Thus Far - June 13

The day John Andrew decided to move...of course!

Sandy Bottom

I call 'not it' on changing this diaper!

Dilemma

Yes, we are in a slight pickle. You see, we don't know where #2 is going to live.

Err...what-choo-talkin-bout-Willis? (RIP Gary Coleman.)

You see, our master bedroom is on the ground floor as is Grace's room. For the past three years, we have lived only on the first floor. In fact, there was a door at the bottom of the staircase so we literally closed off the upstairs. We used it for the occasional visitor and for storing our holiday decorations. We didn't even have heat or AC up there.

When we learned that #2 was in fact on the way, we installed heating/cooling upstairs because that is where we assumed #2 would 'live'.

When we told people that we were working on remodeling the upstairs guest bedroom for #2, we got funny looks - LOTS of funny looks. You'd have thought I had told them I was downing a bottle of Jack Daniels every night after dinner. The idea of putting a flight of stairs between a brand new-breastfed-only-baby and her mother was obviously not a good idea. (Although it still seems like a good idea to me in terms of the baby weight battle. I'll get all my exercise while I'm sleeping. Win-win, right?)

Based on this reaction, we started telling everyone that Grace was moving upstairs into a new "big girl" room...complete with big girl bed and everything! Creating the drama over a big girl room would help fight off any jealousy issues that may arise when #2 comes home.  This also made sense to us because Grace's room is perfectly set up for the infant years (READ: We wouldn't have to tear apart the crib, move it upstairs and reassemble. This is huge as it ensures Court will be cast-free when #2 arrives!)

Well, that brought on even more 'looks'.

She's too young for a bed. She's just a baby. You are going to put a toddler - UPSTAIRS - alone?! Don't you know stairs are dangerous? How are you going to hear her at night? What if she is roaming around upstairs and you don't know it? What if she sleepwalks or has night terrors? How are you going to potty train her at night? She's already going to be upset regarding the new baby...then you are going to make her CHANGE rooms?!? 

You are obviously bad parents.

*sigh*

Then we get my favorite comment - have them share a room. Sure, this would be the ideal situation if GRACE WAS A GOOD SLEEPER! Grace wakes up if a leaf falls off a tree a half mile away...can you imagine what she would do if her NEW sister (who according to everyone will make Grace blind with jealousy) SHARED a room with her and CRIED every few hours because she was hungry?! More importantly, do you have any idea what this would do to me?!?!?

*SIIIGGGGHHHHH*

So now we don't know what to do. The wallpaper for the upstairs bedroom should be arriving any day and all I want to do is go forth with ordering any new items we may need for that bedroom - as that will be one less thing to do AFTER #2 arrives - but I can't because we don't know who is living where!

What we DO KNOW is that #2 will be sleeping in her cradle in our room for at least the first three months...so that gives us until December to relocate Grace or move around furniture. So we have time.

Nonetheless, the planner in me wants to know where each kid will be housed. What would you do? Who should 'live' where?

Happy Father's Day

Love,

Grace

It's My Pregnancy and I'll Pity Party if I Want To

At 4 am, I awoke to excruciating cramps. Cramps like I've never had before.

Scratch that.

Cramps like I HAVE had before...at the ONSET OF LABOR!!

For about two hours, I rocked, moaned and vomited my way through what seemed to be pre-term labor. I was so, so scared.

Horrible thoughts kept running through my head. How could I be going into labor? What can they do for a baby that is three months early? What if I have to go on bed rest for the next 90 - some - odd days? What if they tell me I can't eat anymore desserts until this child is born?

And just as I was beginning to think it was time to head for the hospital - for an epidural, if nothing else - the cramps stopped. Mind you I didn't feel good the rest of the day (not that I ever feel good when I'm pregnant) but I felt slightly worse than than the average awful I normally endure on a daily basis.

Needless to say, Grace missed her swim lesson and I've been laying low. Trying to rest as much as possible. (As I write this several days later, I am feeling better. Still not great. Really tired.)

While the incident in and of itself was scary and awful, it has since turned into a small pity party for myself. Why am I in that 1% of 1% of women who have such a hard time being pregnant? Why do I deal with morning sickness day and night for nine months? Why do other women glow and I'm just big and chalky? Why can't I be pregnant and function like a normal human being? Other 'moms-to-be' are playing tennis, planning 'Martha-Stewart-like-meals', sporting little 'softball-sized-bumps' under their 'non-maternity' shirt and going to work all day for God's sake...and here I am, finding it nearly impossible to shower, hit the McDonald's drive through and throw something together for dinner all in the same day.

All this and it hasn't even broken 75 degrees here yet. Imagine what I'm going to be like when it hits the high 90's in a few weeks.