My days consist of a lot of this:
The nice thing about Alann being gone so much lately is that Claire loves, tolerates, accepts me more. Not that she didn't before, but she chooses me more often when we are both home, which is a nice feeling. She still chooses Daddy most, but I get picked every now and then.
You can just BARELY see that little bottom tooth. His friend is even smaller, but she did finally cut it. Don't you just want to squish her little face? I know I do.
This is my belly. I'm um...31 weeks? No, according to my online tracker it is 32. Is it awful that I'm not keeping track? Mostly I feel okay, just fairly uncomfortable. The boy moves as much as his sister did, but a LOT more at night than she ever did. He wakes me up sometimes. I don't think she ever did that. He gets hiccups a lot too. Everyone who has known/seen me through both pregnancies tells me I look a lot smaller this time. I feel a bit smaller I guess. But I am still "pre-christmas" as far as the week-count goes. Christmas was when it all went to heck with Claire. The last 6 weeks were the worst. So we will see how the next two weeks pan out. I'm hoping not to get as swollen. That was miserable. Not that it hurt, but between that and all the saline they gave me at birth, I peed a lot the first few weeks after Claire was born. I'm getting ready to be done. Not that I want him early, but I'm really tired of being pregnant. It really wears on you when you feel like you have been nothing but pregnant or nursing for the last 2 years. My body was only mine for a few short months in between. I miss it. =( I don't know how other women do it. I guess maybe they are motivated to have all their kids close or to "get it out of the way" quickly. Or they just like being pregnant. I can't really complain about being pregnant. I'm not sick. I'm not huge (yet). I avoid most of the major complaints that come with pregnancy. For the most part, it's fine. And I like the baby part of it. But man, they are right when they say that being pregnant is like having an alien take over your body. I want it back. Okay, I'm done complaining for now. I am excited and starting to look forward to it more. Claire has grown up a lot in the last few weeks. It will be nice to have a little baby I can hold again. Instead of a huge squirmy monkey who can't sit still for two seconds. (Not that I don't enjoy the monkey. She is the joy of my life at the moment. But every now and then, I want to just wrap her up like a mummy and hold her still. Or have her sit on my lap without going up and down, up and down, up and down. Mommy is not an elevator. Or a jungle gym.)Anywho, this is what else I've been doing in my free time.
I don't know why these particular pictures are so blurry. I took them between others, which are fine. I think it is just the pattern that was throwing my camera off. It is a bunch of swirls in different colors. It looks awesome in person. I made this apron because I found this remnant and liked it but didn't know what to do with it. It was almost a full yard (shocking!). I have several aprons. As Alann pointed out, I don't wear any of them. But I have issues with each apron that I own. One is too stiff, one is too small. This one is soft and wraps around me enough that I can wipe my hands on it without getting my clothing. It is just a layer of muslin and a layer of cotton fabric. I think it turned out nicely. The only part I don't like is the neck tie and the neckline. I've already adjusted it once. The tie (it isn't a tie, it is attached on both ends, so a loop?) is too long. But I left it that way on purpose in case someone else wanted to wear it. I just have a little knot holding it at the right height. I could probably cut the loop in half, sew the ends shut, and just make it a tie, but I'm not sure they would be long enough. And the neckline doesn't lie completely flat. But it is much better than it was the first go round. I made this without a pattern.
This one you can see the neck poof out a bit.The following pictures are the harvest apron that I made to submit to that contest I posted about on Facebook. I think it turned out awesome. It will probably be a clothespin apron for now, since we aren't growing a garden, but I really like it.
This is it open all the way. You can see the velcro on the sides. That was Alann's idea. That way, if you put something like cherry tomatoes in it, they don't fall out. I wanted it to open up like this so that you can get the dirt and debris out easily. When I harvest, I do it quick and dirty. It's usually hot outside, so I just pull what I want and bring it inside for a wash. That equates to a lot of dirt. With this apron, you can bring the stuff in, undo the buttons, and shake the dirt out when you are done.
Folded up. It buttons where the bottom corners meet the tops. Then you velcro the edges and you have a nice big pouch to put things in.
One side. Those are pockets on the sides, for tools.
See the button behind my arm? The bias tape on the top of the pocket was a pain, but I think it really makes it stand out.
And another front view. You can tie the apron all the way around the front, or in the back, whichever. And I like that I ended up putting that middle panel on the inside. I like the way it peeps out. This was a fun project. I started with a pattern, but I adjusted and changed it so much that it really became my own. It didn't take that long either. I learned a bit about patterns- designing, following, tweaking, etc. Most of what I sew doesn't involve patterns, or they are very very basic. The tablecloth is cut 4 straight pieces, sew to a rectangle. Simple. So it was good for me to create something that other people are going to (hopefully) follow and try to make. Now I just need to post the project on the contest website and hope it wins.
I almost forgot- I also made, but have no pictures of, a few things for Alex. I made a couple of light blankets for the bassinet (I use them as sheets. They tuck in securely, so there is no worry.) or maybe for him. Being May, he might just need a light blanket. We will see. I also made "his" blanket, or what I hope will become his blanket. It is cute. It's green with froggies. Just flannel, not soft and fuzzy like Claire's, but it's what you give them that they attach to right? I also finished up a new stack of wipes, so that we have lots more. I was worried we might run out with two needing wiped every day, all day.
I'm also working on hospital gowns for when I am um, in the hospital (duh). I've seen/ heard about "designer" gowns, but they are like $50 per gown. I'm making mine for less than $20. I've got two that I am making. One is almost done. The other I haven't started. But I wanted to get one done and figured out before I did both. That way in case there were problems, I had it figured out before I used all my fabric. And I do have one problem. For some reason, the front is about two inches longer than the back. Not sure how that happened to be honest. I used the same pattern to cut them. Oh well. That's what a hem is for right? The one I am working on is pretty cute. It is cherries on a yellow background. Both shoulders and one side are held together with velcro, so I can nurse or if there is an emergency. I only plan on wearing them after delivery. The nurse said I could wear really anything I wanted (I called and asked the hospital), which I hadn't even thought of last time, to be honest. I think I only brought my going home outfit. But really, I didn't WANT to wear anything else. The gown was easy and comfortable, if ugly. So having a cute gown fits with my feelings of what I will want to wear. Then maybe I won't feel so gross. (Of course, it was like 48 hours after delivery before they let me shower, thanks to the dumb IV and the bleeding and all that jazz. So that may have added to the gross feelings.) (Total tangent- I had this dream I was in labor last night. I went to the hospital with my mother in law Debbie and my sister in law Sarah, who was also pregnant (but isn't in real life). I was still having contractions, waiting for active labor, when Sarah came in. She had had her baby, and was released to go home and take a shower. We had been there like 20 minutes maybe. Then Debbie decided she couldn't wait for me any longer and started packing her suitcase to go to AZ to golf. I was really upset that Sarah could go home and shower so soon, because I wasn't allowed to shower or do anything and I hadn't had the baby yet. And then I was upset because Debbie thought I was taking too long. Totally random dream. I don't even want to analyze what these ideas mean.)
In another side-topic. Last time I was at the doctor's, I asked about alternatives to epidurals. The epidural was okay, but I HATED not being able to move my legs. It was miserable. My legs were on fire, pins and needles, and every time I asked someone to move them they looked at me like I was crazy- the nurses, Alann, my imaginary friends. (Just seeing if you are paying attention.) I could not get comfortable. I know childbirth isn't the most comfortable of ordeals to begin with, but I didn't expect the leg problems. That was the last thing I wanted. This time around, I still hope/plan to do it natural, but I like to know all my options ahead of time. The doctor told me about intrathecal anesthesia. It is basically an epidural without the lidocaine, so you don't lose control of your legs. It is a one-shot deal. They put it where an epidural goes, but you only get it once. They wait until about 7-8 centimeters. It is just the narcotics, so you don't feel the pain, but you still feel contractions, are in better control of yourself, don't have to deal with all the yucky stuff that comes with having NO control below the waist (I'll let you all figure out what that entails). If I decide I need something, that is what I am going to get. He said you can still walk, but need support just in case. He also said it is not for new moms, just those who have had babies before, so that they can time it better. Since it is a one-time thing, if they give it too early, you could end up with nothing when the big finish comes. So I thought I would bring that up in case any of my readers needed the information for upcoming child births.
Otherwise, I cook, I clean, I take care of the baby (I guess she is really a toddler now. Sad). I sew when I can. I pack up things around the house. I've taken a few boxes of stuff out of the office in the past few days, but it is still a giant mess. Mostly it is Claire's toys. (Yeah, that's a lie. But I like it.) I think it just comes down to the fact that there is SO much in here to begin with, it will take a while to get it pared down to just essentials. (And when we move, I might pitch the non-essentials.) The house is starting to look ready to sell. Instead of a whole week to redo the office next week, we only have Friday and Saturday, because of Alann's new job. I'm thinking we will have to just break it into chunks. We were planning on doing both the office and bedroom, and possibly laundry room at the same time, but we will probably have to concentrate on the office first. Once we can move our bedroom in here, then we can paint the green room, finish it off, and put up the office stuff in there. It will be quite a production I think. Lots of living around boxes of stuff for a while. But I know it will be worth it.
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