Jeremy is Skyping for the first time so I've decided to use this time to blog. There are so many topics running around my head that it's hard to pick. Let's not even talk about the many topics I've thought about and since forgotten. I often think how nice it would be to have a keyboard connected to my brain so I could blog at a moment's notice - but that's for another blog :-)
Inception has been a point of conversation in Jeremy's Skype so how about I talk about dreams.
I never had crazy pregnancy dreams with the girls. Not the case with this pregnancy. I don't know if it has anything to do with the difference in gender or some other cause...perhaps lack of sleep in the midst of a crazy life?? Regardless, my dreams have been WEIRD!
Just a couple of nights ago I had a dream that I can still vividly recall. I tried putting it into words for Jeremy and it just was not making sense. Which makes sense when thinking about the dream. Does that make sense??
I'll try to condense it to key points/phrases:
-We (myself and people I knew but can't tell you who they are) were in a stream/river...but in a confined/controlled space. It was clear/clean like a pool, but it wasn't.
-It was a "tram" station of sorts for water - although we were just playing around in the water, not waiting for the tram
-I went under and there was a lot of grossness on the bottom that I did not want my feet to touch. Also floating around were weeds of some sort.
-When I came back up I, along with two other friends, had floated down stream to a separate tram station.
-We saw a sign that stated "No beer or hamburger." We looked over at a side wall and saw a poster commemorating a lady who I believe was Typhoid Mary.
-Obviously this meant that drinking beer and eating hamburger in the water meant you were going to get Typhoid fever. What else would it mean?! Haha.
-I frantically asked the tram manager why the one upstream would allow people to swim in the water while eating beef and drinking beer (which apparently we had been doing - side note, I hate beer). He stated it was good business for his section and therefore wouldn't/couldn't say anything about it.
-I was now in a mad dash to get back upstream to warn my friends.
-I was having a very difficult time talking...my mouth was cotton. Obviously I was coming down with Typhoid fever!
-By the time I got to the station no one was in the water. I was too late!
-Suddenly I saw Jeremy (first time I knew he was there) and others waiting in line to board the tram...clean & dry I might add.
-Apparently I wasn't worried about them anymore as my attention shifted, still unable to speak clearly.
-I saw three ladies from back home (2 daughters and their mother). One was sitting on the ground singing/talking about her large multi-colored bag. The sister was standing in line (getting refreshments of some sort??) with the bottom half of her hair dyed purple. The mom was out of my peripheral vision, but I know she was there.
---Then I wake up...with a cotton mouth and unable to swallow---
Swimming, beer & beef, trams, Typhoid fever, three ladies connected themselves but not at all connected to me in my current life (other than being Facebook friends). What in the world does it all mean?!?!
Nothing, I'm sure. Except the fact that I'm pregnant.
Oh. And during this same night, though I'm not sure it was a part of this dream or another I can't remember, I dreamed of a name for the baby. Never have I had a dream that involved a name for our kids. I hadn't even been thinking about names that day. But it was quite clear and in that state of almost awake yet still asleep, I was repeating it with the middle name we already have picked and it sounded perfect. Even when I woke up I was saying it to myself over and over. Not a bad name. One I never would have thought about in a conscience state for sure, but not bad!
I ran it by Jeremy...he laughed :-/ Only because one obscure actor has the same name. How many people are going to know that?!?! Going to associate it with this one person?!?! No one, I say.
I say respect the dream.
I added it to "the list."
We'll see if it grows on the hubby or if it falls from its good graces in my mind.
We don't share the name of the baby until the birth announcement so you'll just have to wait in suspense :-) Should we not pick the name from the dream, I'll do my best to remember to blog about our other name choices and note which is the dream name.
Until then, happy dreaming!
Oh...and don't forget your "totem"
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
"No"
Piper has recently discovered the talent of shaking her head "no." She's still in the stage where the word (or actions associated with the word) are cute. You see, any question she's asked is always responded with the shaking of her head.
Piper, are you hunger?
*shakes her head "no" despite the fact that she's a bottomless pit and will eat anytime she's offered food.
Are you silly?
*shakes her head "no" after she's just made a silly faces & or goofy sound
Is your name Piper?
*shakes her head "no"
We have had a lot of fun with this lately. :-)
Sometimes I forget that she's now doing this and will ask her a question as I've always done and am suddenly finding myself laughing as she's seriously shaken her head "no" when I know, in fact, she would truly respond "yes" if she knew how.
I have tried teaching her when it's appropriate to "say yes" and nodding her head up and down but it hasn't caught on yet. She did do it once, but it has never been repeated accurately.
I have forgotten how fun this stage is. I'm blessed to know I'll get to enjoy it one more time before my baby days are over.
Piper, are you hunger?
*shakes her head "no" despite the fact that she's a bottomless pit and will eat anytime she's offered food.
Are you silly?
*shakes her head "no" after she's just made a silly faces & or goofy sound
Is your name Piper?
*shakes her head "no"
We have had a lot of fun with this lately. :-)
Sometimes I forget that she's now doing this and will ask her a question as I've always done and am suddenly finding myself laughing as she's seriously shaken her head "no" when I know, in fact, she would truly respond "yes" if she knew how.
I have tried teaching her when it's appropriate to "say yes" and nodding her head up and down but it hasn't caught on yet. She did do it once, but it has never been repeated accurately.
I have forgotten how fun this stage is. I'm blessed to know I'll get to enjoy it one more time before my baby days are over.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Ch-ch-ch-changes
A lot of changes haven taken place in our house over the last couple of weeks.
Layla
We have now entered the "why" stage. It started right around Christmas. She will continue to ask "why?" until we're nearly out of reasons and suddenly she will finally hear something that will allow her to say, "oooooh." As if she truly understands the full chain of reasons behind the source. :-) I don't remember the specific initial question, but one time Jeremy finally got to a point where he spewed out an extremely scientific response and Layla responded with her usual "ooooh" as if her little mind was just waiting to hear the specific explanation instead of our tamed-down responses. Or she finally heard something that sounded like mumbo-jumbo and didn't know how to ask "why" from that point. :-) It's still a little cute, but I can see it getting rather annoying pretty quickly.
Piper
Piper officially became a walker over Christmas break. She took her first steps on December 2. On Friday, December 17 she was still only taking a few steps at a time and only if someone was in front of her (or the couch). However, Saturday morning, the first day of break, she decided she was no longer going to crawl. She walked everywhere! No matter how long it took her or how many times she fell, she always stood back up and began walking again. She literally went to bed a crawler and woke up a walker.
Piper has also started giving real kisses (not just blowing them). It's so stinkin' cute! She will stick out her bottom lip and lean in until she touches your mouth. Many times they're very wet, but I can't seem to get enough of them!
Baby
Baby #3 has caused quite a few changes in our house. First of all...it's a boy!!! We found out the Friday break started and it's been quite exciting. Jeremy stood up, clapped and cheered as soon as the u/s tech said it was a boy. Quite funny. :-) I was happy myself. Secretly I was hoping for a boy but I wasn't verbalizing it and not really letting myself dwell on it mentally too much. I truly thought it was going to be a girl, though. That's what we've done in the past so why not this time?
The pronoun change is quite strange. I'm still not used to saying or hearing "he" or "him." I find myself still simply saying "baby" as it's easier. It will be strange to no longer reference "the girls."
Baby J has also become much stronger. I was reclining on the couch reading a book when suddenly it jumped. Yay! Now the movements I've been feeling for several weeks can be shared with Jeremy and others.
House
We are officially off the market. We have been since sometime in November, but the sign didn't leave our yard until Christmas break. We spent the entire day after Christmas clearing out our storage unit and, consequently, filling up our house. We've been pretty good about really filtering through everything and deciding what we can do without by either trashing it or putting it in a box for a yard sale in the spring. We've hit a rut and the boxes/totes that remain in our dining room and on our porch have sat untouched for over a week now. :-/ We'll get to them. Eventually...
Layla
We have now entered the "why" stage. It started right around Christmas. She will continue to ask "why?" until we're nearly out of reasons and suddenly she will finally hear something that will allow her to say, "oooooh." As if she truly understands the full chain of reasons behind the source. :-) I don't remember the specific initial question, but one time Jeremy finally got to a point where he spewed out an extremely scientific response and Layla responded with her usual "ooooh" as if her little mind was just waiting to hear the specific explanation instead of our tamed-down responses. Or she finally heard something that sounded like mumbo-jumbo and didn't know how to ask "why" from that point. :-) It's still a little cute, but I can see it getting rather annoying pretty quickly.
Piper
Piper officially became a walker over Christmas break. She took her first steps on December 2. On Friday, December 17 she was still only taking a few steps at a time and only if someone was in front of her (or the couch). However, Saturday morning, the first day of break, she decided she was no longer going to crawl. She walked everywhere! No matter how long it took her or how many times she fell, she always stood back up and began walking again. She literally went to bed a crawler and woke up a walker.
Piper has also started giving real kisses (not just blowing them). It's so stinkin' cute! She will stick out her bottom lip and lean in until she touches your mouth. Many times they're very wet, but I can't seem to get enough of them!
Baby
Baby #3 has caused quite a few changes in our house. First of all...it's a boy!!! We found out the Friday break started and it's been quite exciting. Jeremy stood up, clapped and cheered as soon as the u/s tech said it was a boy. Quite funny. :-) I was happy myself. Secretly I was hoping for a boy but I wasn't verbalizing it and not really letting myself dwell on it mentally too much. I truly thought it was going to be a girl, though. That's what we've done in the past so why not this time?
The pronoun change is quite strange. I'm still not used to saying or hearing "he" or "him." I find myself still simply saying "baby" as it's easier. It will be strange to no longer reference "the girls."
Baby J has also become much stronger. I was reclining on the couch reading a book when suddenly it jumped. Yay! Now the movements I've been feeling for several weeks can be shared with Jeremy and others.
House
We are officially off the market. We have been since sometime in November, but the sign didn't leave our yard until Christmas break. We spent the entire day after Christmas clearing out our storage unit and, consequently, filling up our house. We've been pretty good about really filtering through everything and deciding what we can do without by either trashing it or putting it in a box for a yard sale in the spring. We've hit a rut and the boxes/totes that remain in our dining room and on our porch have sat untouched for over a week now. :-/ We'll get to them. Eventually...
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
18 in 6
I started my master's this summer. I took 12 hours in 10 weeks! Crazy! I took another 6 this fall semester. That was also a little crazy when dealing with a full-time job and 2 little ones at home. That's a grand total of 18 hours in 6 months! The original plan was to take another 6 in the fall and then one more psycho summer of 12 hours and be done. However, baby #3 has thrown quite a curve ball into "the plan." I've decided to take one course this summer just to keep myself going but not two in order to *hopefully* allow some mental time to prepare myself for three kids. Baby is due during finals week so I may be finishing the course after baby arrives. I hope not, but chances of baby coming late aren't likely if previous baby is a factor.
I will NOT be taking any classes this summer! Complete enjoyment of my family and learning to manage life with three little ones is my only priority.
I maintained a 4.0 this summer and was really hoping to keep it up throughout my studies. However, one of my classes this semester I let "slide" a bit. It really was hard to keep up with online discussions for two classes on top of all the other stuff I had to deal with both in the classes and in my regular life. I received a B+ on 2/3 of my quizzes. 40% of my grade is a B+ average. My thoughts have been that this for sure has done me in for achieving an A in the class. The only saving grace is my project and, if my calculations are correct, I have to receive at least an A- to pull off an A in the class. This professor is quite stingy on grading and quite picky as well. His wording on quizzes is tricky and, if I do say so myself, a bit unfair. Only having the one project has not allowed me anything to compare to and not knowing how he grades these has been quite nerve-wracking. A part of me has been worried that I missed some vital part or did something completely wrong and I failed it!
I've been religiously checking my email for over a week to see what I received on this project.
Confidence has not been my friend.
I still have no email from my professor with feedback on my project! Grades were due today!
I've been checking "my final grades" online and the earliest semester I can see grades for is Summer II 2010. Ugh!
Finally, I decided to also check my "unofficial" transcript online. I was quickly scrolling down it, assuming that it would not be posted yet, when I saw the two classes I was enrolled in this semester. A and A!!!
Seeing as how I still have not received my grade for the project, I'm not extremely confident that this is accurate. However, why would it show up online if he had not already submitted my grade??? But why would he have submitted my grade and not emailed me back my project???
Please, professor, email me my project feedback before the stress kills me!
I will NOT be taking any classes this summer! Complete enjoyment of my family and learning to manage life with three little ones is my only priority.
I maintained a 4.0 this summer and was really hoping to keep it up throughout my studies. However, one of my classes this semester I let "slide" a bit. It really was hard to keep up with online discussions for two classes on top of all the other stuff I had to deal with both in the classes and in my regular life. I received a B+ on 2/3 of my quizzes. 40% of my grade is a B+ average. My thoughts have been that this for sure has done me in for achieving an A in the class. The only saving grace is my project and, if my calculations are correct, I have to receive at least an A- to pull off an A in the class. This professor is quite stingy on grading and quite picky as well. His wording on quizzes is tricky and, if I do say so myself, a bit unfair. Only having the one project has not allowed me anything to compare to and not knowing how he grades these has been quite nerve-wracking. A part of me has been worried that I missed some vital part or did something completely wrong and I failed it!
I've been religiously checking my email for over a week to see what I received on this project.
Confidence has not been my friend.
I still have no email from my professor with feedback on my project! Grades were due today!
I've been checking "my final grades" online and the earliest semester I can see grades for is Summer II 2010. Ugh!
Finally, I decided to also check my "unofficial" transcript online. I was quickly scrolling down it, assuming that it would not be posted yet, when I saw the two classes I was enrolled in this semester. A and A!!!
Seeing as how I still have not received my grade for the project, I'm not extremely confident that this is accurate. However, why would it show up online if he had not already submitted my grade??? But why would he have submitted my grade and not emailed me back my project???
Please, professor, email me my project feedback before the stress kills me!
Sweetly Surprised
We were pretty strict on Layla's use of the pacifier. She didn't get it for nearly 4 weeks and then we only gave it to her for sleeping purposes (mostly). We took her off the paci at night when she was 4-5 months old and only kept her on it for nap knowing that it would make life easier for all when she went to daycare. When she was a little over a year old (13-14 months), I took the paci away completely just to see what would happen. She never asked for it and never made a fuss. Piece of cake!
With Piper we were much more relaxed. She received a paci while still in the hospital and definitely was not so restricted to mostly sleeping times. We tried one night (maybe around 6 months?? 8 months??) to take it away and let her cry it out...we gave in rather quickly. I'd like to say it's because they were sharing a room but it's mostly because our patience for such things isn't what it was when we had only one kid. So we continued letting her have one as I continued to say that we are going to be in for an ugly battle when we finally decide to take it away.
Christmas break began Friday night. Saturday night I figured now would be a good time to try taking the paci away for nighttime sleeping. This really is our best shot before baby #3 arrives as it is our longest span of time where we don't have to worry about sleepless nights and school the next day. So off we went on this little venture.
Saturday night she cried for five or so minutes. Of course she was very tired from not napping too well that day.
Sunday night she only cried for a couple of minutes. Of course she was very tired from a day full of Christmas fun at Jeremy's dad's house.
Monday night she only cried for a minute or so. Of course...well...nothing.
Tonight she didn't cry at all!
Is this really happening??? I've been afraid to say anything until now for fear of jinxing us, but I'm thinking maybe this won't be quite the battle I envisioned it would be.
It's quite nice to be so sweetly surprised.
With Piper we were much more relaxed. She received a paci while still in the hospital and definitely was not so restricted to mostly sleeping times. We tried one night (maybe around 6 months?? 8 months??) to take it away and let her cry it out...we gave in rather quickly. I'd like to say it's because they were sharing a room but it's mostly because our patience for such things isn't what it was when we had only one kid. So we continued letting her have one as I continued to say that we are going to be in for an ugly battle when we finally decide to take it away.
Christmas break began Friday night. Saturday night I figured now would be a good time to try taking the paci away for nighttime sleeping. This really is our best shot before baby #3 arrives as it is our longest span of time where we don't have to worry about sleepless nights and school the next day. So off we went on this little venture.
Saturday night she cried for five or so minutes. Of course she was very tired from not napping too well that day.
Sunday night she only cried for a couple of minutes. Of course she was very tired from a day full of Christmas fun at Jeremy's dad's house.
Monday night she only cried for a minute or so. Of course...well...nothing.
Tonight she didn't cry at all!
Is this really happening??? I've been afraid to say anything until now for fear of jinxing us, but I'm thinking maybe this won't be quite the battle I envisioned it would be.
It's quite nice to be so sweetly surprised.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
It Only Takes A Night
to turn a crawler into a walker.
I saw Piper take her first steps on December 2. Five was the max for the night. Since then, we haven't really seen much more. We did get up to ten steps one time which was quite exciting! But she's always preferred crawling. The only time we could get her to take steps was if someone was right in front of her prompting her to walk. And why not crawl when you're so fast at it?!
Yesterday was no different - taking a few steps here and there but crawling most of the time.
Something changed while she was sleeping.
Today Piper has done very little crawling...walking everywhere she goes! No matter if she falls, she gets right back up and starts walking again. Walking with "large" toys in her hands or a sippy cup in her mouth, her determination is deep.
Something switched within my little pumpkin. It happened in a night. She realized that the task at hand wasn't quite so daunting. She was right. She's adapted to moving around upright quite successfully. :-)
New adventures are here and it's quite exciting!
I saw Piper take her first steps on December 2. Five was the max for the night. Since then, we haven't really seen much more. We did get up to ten steps one time which was quite exciting! But she's always preferred crawling. The only time we could get her to take steps was if someone was right in front of her prompting her to walk. And why not crawl when you're so fast at it?!
Yesterday was no different - taking a few steps here and there but crawling most of the time.
Something changed while she was sleeping.
Today Piper has done very little crawling...walking everywhere she goes! No matter if she falls, she gets right back up and starts walking again. Walking with "large" toys in her hands or a sippy cup in her mouth, her determination is deep.
Something switched within my little pumpkin. It happened in a night. She realized that the task at hand wasn't quite so daunting. She was right. She's adapted to moving around upright quite successfully. :-)
New adventures are here and it's quite exciting!
Monday, December 6, 2010
I'm Back!
After a long hiatus, I am back to blogging. I've had many blog topics pop in my head over the course of the past 4 or so months, but I've simply not gotten around to writing them. :-( I'm going to blame it on starting my master's.
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