Four Weeks and Counting

@ 32 Weeks

Hello blog.  Did I mention I'm having a baby?  Since the last time I checked in here was in July, it does not appear I have made such an announcement to the world.  Indeed, baby sister is only four weeks from expiration.  If I have any say, she'll be here sooner.

This pregnancy has been different than with JW.  Plenty of distractions to help the time fly.  It could have something to do with the fact that I am chasing a two year old constantly.  In fact, I literally chased the two year old through the pumpkin patch last week and pulled an already stretched to the max ligament.  I could barely walk for a week and was sure I had induced labor.  We've been finishing our basement too, a project that is more than 99% done.  Baby sister's room has been a storage unit during the project.  That < 1% that is left to complete, which is always the worst part of any project, has me a little worried that baby sister's room may still be a storage unit when she gets here.  A problem?  Only if that fact that her crib is completely disassembled under a heaping landfill.  Her room is a hoarder's paradise.

JW seems excited to have baby sister join our family.  He likes to talk to her, feel her kick and give her kisses.  We have been reading a cute book, "Julius," about a young mouse named Lilly whose life is changed with a baby brother.  Lilly mostly wants Julius to get lost, but he "stays and stays and stays."  I tell JW that baby sister will stay and stay and stay too.  He seems content with the idea.  We'll see how he really feels when she gets here.  I'm not sure he really understands how his world is about to be rocked.  Honestly, I'm not sure I understand how my world is about to be rocked either.

 

Growing Up

I was hoping to keep JW in his crib until he was at least 12 years old, but once he started attempting to jump out of his crib (and me stressing out that he was going to break his neck), I decided it was time for my baby boy to graduate to a big-boy bed. So tonight we decided to make the transition. JW was pretty excited for the change. 

JW is going to stay in his bed all night, right Universe?

Harmons Best Dam Bike Ride 2012

Little Red Riding Hood June 2, 2012*

Family, friends, neighbors, strangers, listen up!  We've formed a team  for the Bike MS: Harmons Best Dam Bike Ride for a friend and colleague who was diagnosed with MS because we know that riding 175 miles is nowhere near as difficult as confronting a lifetime with multiple sclerosis.

 I need your help!  I must raise $250 to ride.  Every donation, large or small will go towards MS research.  Plus your donation is tax deductible!  Click here to donate then click on "Donate to Rebekah."

The National MS Society provides front-line education, support groups, therapies and other services to everyone who is affected by MS.

*these are the biker babes who I train with. We just finished Little Red Riding Hood and had a blast.  The MS ride will be with other riders, maybe some of the above biker babes too.

Memorial Day

To those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom, we salute you.

Being Mom

Since Mother's Day pretty much came and went with almost zero fanfare at my house, I just kind of let it go.  Then I saw this and it made me appreciate myself a little more.  And my moms too.

Peer Gynt

I don't think I would get off the train.

Easter, Orthodox Style

Can you say, Easter Bunny FAIL?  This bunny hopped right on past Easter leaving nothing more than an argyle sweater and new Sunday shoes for JW.  Well, thanks to the Julian calendar today is Orthodox Easter and since Easter is all about second chances, I took advantage.    

Kangaroo Zoo

If you ever need your two year old to take a really good nap, start the morning out at Kangaroo Zoo.  Kangaroo Zoo is a warehouse full of bounce houses and slides for kids of all ages.  JW is finally big enough to climb around and go on the big slides.  He's still small enough, though, that it makes me nervous and I can't watch him climb the stairs as all the "big kids" whiz by him.  What's a foot or two to the head?

Happy Easter

I wanted to get a picture of JW before church looking so dashing in his Easter best.  He refused to pose for a picture and thought it would be more fun to jump on the couch.

This is the best picture I could get, right after JW fell off the couch and bonked his head on the coffee table.

He's still handsome as ever, even with a sad face.
Happy Easter!

Sunny Days

We made our annual road trip to visit our favorite peeps in sunny Arizona. I'm pretty sure JW spent 98% of his waking hours outside on the playground and bounce house.  Actually, he grew leery of the bounce house after bouncing a little too hard off the slide, nonetheless, he always stood nearby.  Always a fun time at Auntie's house!

Cookie Bar & Ice Cream

Celebrating Uncle Riley's birthday with ice cream and a cookie bar and thoroughly enjoying it.  

Happy birthday Uncle Riley!

The Lost Toys

I was losing my mind the other day looking for JW's besties, because we all know he can't go anywhere without them.  Just as I was about to declare lost toy status on Lightning McQueen and his pit crew, I opened the back of this truck.  Lo and behold...  

BFFs

Every morning JW gets up and wants to watch Disney's movie "Cars" while I get ready for work.  Nothing can separate JW from his little Cars friends he got from Auntie for Christmas. They all enjoy the movie together. 

 As if that isn't cute enough, his little friends enjoy story time before JW goes to bed.  Lately his cars get to sit in the rocking chair while I sit on the floor and read to them all.  It should come as no surprise then that these little friends also line up in JW's crib and they have a sleepover.  

Every night.

Snow Day

 After an exceptionally warm winter, Mother Nature finally decided to bring a little snow to the valley.  JW saw this as the perfect opportunity to test out the sled he got from Santa on the hill in our backyard.  The snow was particularly wet and slippery, making this chickadee hill especially fast.  

Olympic Torch Run 10 Year Anniversary

I was just reminded that today is the 10 year anniversary since Papa Bear ran the Olympic Torch and passed it to my step-sister, Nicole.    They ran the torch for a few blocks along 11th Avenue in Salt Lake City as part of the Winter Olympics in 2002.  It was an exhilarating moment for all of us and indeed a once in a lifetime experience for PB and Nicole.

 If I have my story straight, Nicole nominated PB for the courage and selfless act of donating one of his kidney's to his oldest son, Ben (in the red jacket).  A few years later, that kidney fell apart and Ben's brother Paul (in the blue jacket) donated one of his kidneys to Ben.  Now Paul lives on through Ben.  Pretty remarkable.

Ben, Nic, PB, Mumsie, Paul

JWasaurus

After taking over my sewing machine, JW, with his assistants by his side, won the 36th season of Project Runway.

Sparkle Punch Progress

There is no rhyme or reason to my Sparkle Punch quilt yet.  I'm just pulling out scraps as I go and sewing sparkles at random.  It's like a giant puzzle. It has come together rather quickly, that is, not until after I figured out that I don't actually sew each piece of the sparkle together until ALL the sparkles are made.  Duh.  I unpicked the first sparkle at least seven times before I figure this out.  Anyway, I've worked it out and I'll keep plugging along when JW is sleepy sleepy. 

"Tickens"

JW's favorite part of Gramma Nay's house is feeding her "tickens" (chickens).  Not only does she have chickens, but she has a beautiful Artisan well with enormous goldfish, surrounded by mountains of rocks.  Throwing sticks and pine cones into the pond and climbing the rocks is all part his outdoor adventure.  The other day he was so excited to get outside that bolted out of the house without his coat on (it was freezing!).  JW thought it would be funny to play Chase Me while Grandma tried to get his coat on, but he ran off right into the blackberry patch and was swallowed up by the prickly thorns.  It wasn't so funny after that.  He may have learned his lesson about running away from Grandma, but it didn't stop him from enjoying her great outdoors.

Cookie Cutters

JW does not enjoy getting his haircut, but it helps to have a grape lollipop, a balloon, and a playground inside the salon to make it tolerable.  These people know how to cater to a two year old.

Sleep Talking

I have noticed several of my Facebook "Friends" posting about their trouble with insomnia lately, one of which is my brother, Ben.  Part of his problem, in my expert opinion, is that he drinks three gallons of Coke a day and who knows how many Red Bulls?  He was born a little high strung, but dose him with caffeine and take away his sleep and the guy is crazy as a rat in a wood shithouse.  

I know how this craziness feels.  Any mother with a newborn has managed for weeks on end with only a few hours of sleep in a night.  It is not restful sleep either and you can never catch up.  Just when you start to dream, the baby cries.  When JW was a newborn, I really thought my head was going to explode.  Sleep deprivation made me a miserable, psychotic person x 100.

G made a New Year's Resolution to be to bed by 10:00 PM.  Not necessarily asleep, but in bed.  I can honestly say this is not a problem for me.  I turn into a pumpkin before 10:00 PM.  I rise early, exercise, and am mindful of what I eat.  My caffeine intake is minimal and sugar, well, I could work on that, but for the most part is not excessive.  I really believe these healthy habits help me sleep well.  G is a good sleeper and best of all, JW is a good sleeper. 

Do you have sweet dreams, or are you just dreaming of sleep?

Resolute to Resolve with Sparkle Punch

Picture from Oh, Fransson!'s blog.

OK, so I said I wasn't going to make any New Years Resolutions, but then I saw this quilt on a blog I follow and everything changed.  Elizabeth Hartman from Oh, Fransson! made this "Sparkle Punch" quilt and is going to host a quilt-along.  Just the picture makes me so happy that I think I'd like one of these for myself.  So my resolution this year is to be less about good intentions (because I always say, "Hey!  I'm going to do that!" and then I don't) and more about getting it done and having something to show for it.  Therefore, I am committing to one star a week and if I can find the motivation (this is the non-committal part of my resolution), I'll show you my progress.  Sparkle Punch for everyone!

Happy New Year!!!

This is the post where I'm supposed to reflect on the last year, how awesome I was, my kids, my husband, my job, life, and make big plans for the year to come.  In all honesty, I can't elicit the brain power to think about it.  I have lazy brain.  Actually, I think all the junk I've eaten in the last three weeks has made me dumber.  Tomorrow I'm back to the food pyramid guidelines (this is not a New Year's Resolution). 

I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions.  I prefer to make smaller goals more frequently with a higher probability of accomplishment.  I suppose you could still call them New Year's Resolutions, but for me it's more of a to-do list that changes periodically.  For example, at the top of my list I need to sign up for the half marathon in April.  You're probably thinking a half marathon is a pretty big to-do.  Not really.  I've run several.  I just need to sign up for the race.  Signing up may sound so simple, but I'm a procrastinator so what is seemingly simple becomes a big deal after I've put it off for so long.  I read about a photo-a-day blog challenge.  I am seriously considering it.  I was given a pretty nice camera recently and this might be a good way to learn how to use it, except that I think the challenge was supposed to start today.  Never mind that the 30 day blog challenge I did a few months ago took every ounce of energy I could muster, especially for a girl whose life is like Ground Hog Day. 

Good luck to you in the new year.  May all your resolution dreams come true.