Bump Night

I'm about to dump the metal big girl bed and have hubby just buy one of those metal frames for the mattress. And even after hubby's hard work on painting it.

Annabelle LOVES to jump on beds, but she's been instructed to not jump on any bed without Mommy and Daddy in the room. However, she is allowed to jump on her big girl bed as long as she jumps on her knees.

Well, this evening, she bumped her head several times on the metal frame. And, they were pretty good bumps. And, for the majority of the bumps, she wasn't even jumping! She's quite the klutz in case you haven't figured that out by now.

So, the metal bed frame really makes me nervous. I'm afraid she's going to bust her head wide open one day.

This evening during her allotted time intervals when Mommy returned to check on her, she would immediately stand up and walk to the end of the bed to give me a big hug and kiss. She did this every time until she finally fell asleep. Each time though, I asked her to not walk across the bed because I was afraid she was going to hit her head on the metal frame.

Her response to me was, "It's a bump night!"

Apparently so! Because around 11:30 p.m., hubby heard a noise and said, "What was that?" Then, we heard crying. I ventured into her bedroom to see and hear her bang her head against the metal frame in her sleep. She was just tossing and turning as she usually does, and she kept banging her head. When I first walked in her bedroom and heard the sound before I saw her, I thought she had fallen off the bed. I felt so sorry for her as I know it must have hurt!

And, to add to this episode, I realized as I was comforting her that her pajamas and sheets were wet. Did I mention that I just washed those same sheets earlier today because she hadn't worn a diaper to bed last night? And now I have to wash them again tomorrow morning!

Sleeping in the crib was so much easier when it came to bed wetting!

P.S. I told hubby that I think God is testing me. He wants to make sure I'm ready to deal with these small details before he introduces Beebo.

Nesting?

I went into labor with Annabelle the day after I cleaned things in my house that probably have never been cleaned. Because apparently, it was very, very important.

Based on the following tasks completed today, do you think I'm nesting?

1. Emptied refrigerator completely and gave it a detailed cleaning. It was looking pretty nasty though!
2. Washed covers to glider in Beebo's room. I think I've only washed it once since Annabelle was born. I'm not sure I should even admit that on here!
3. Washed another load of clothes. Although these only had to be washed because someone failed to put a diaper on Annabelle last night before she slept in her big girl bed for the very first time. And just for the record, it wasn't me! And it wasn't hubby either! Annabelle got herself dressed for bed, so neither of us realized she didn't have a diaper on. Have I mentioned that the diaper before bedtime has never been forgotten? Oddly enough, she only wet the top sheet! But, that was followed by a full fledged, complete loss of bladder control, empty her entire bladder on my hardwood floors at 10:30 a.m.
4. Detailed cleaned the bathroom while Annabelle was bathing this evening.

And, the night isn't over yet. If only my sweet child would go to sleep, then maybe I could get something else accomplished! The bedtime routine started at 8:00 p.m. (and that was already after she had her bath and hair dried), and it is 9:30 p.m., and she's still not asleep!

I guess this will become my new blogging time since it has to stay quiet around here until she's asleep. We really need to invest in a DVR!

P.S. I am hoping by blogging the above that it will in all actuality make Beebo wait until at least Monday to arrive so that I am completely wrong about my instincts. Right now, I'm not sure I'm emotionally (or physically for that matter) ready to take on natural childbirth again. But, I'm going to give it a try.

Big Girl Bed!

Finally! And, Mommy is on the verge of tears. It is 10:12 p.m. I have a fridge to clean, a bed to make with clean sheets, a bouncy seat and swing to set up and get ready to wash in the morning (since the washer and dryer are in Annabelle's closet in her new big girl room) and thank you notes to write.

And, Annabelle is still NOT asleep. She hasn't ventured from her big girl bed yet, but every time I check on her after the allotted time interval (5 min, 7 min, 10 min, 10 min), she is wide awake and talkative as can be.

And she's singing her new favorite song, "One, two, free, four, five. Once I caught a fish alive. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Then I let him go again. Why did you let him go? Because he bit my finger so. Which finger did he bite? This little finger on my right." Okay, well, that does make me smile and laugh a little bit.

I cannot start on any of the above until she actually goes to sleep because her bedroom is in the center of the house. I am now thinking that Annabelle and Beebo should have shared a room!

Is this baby seriously due any day now? I'm about to wake from a dream, right?

Has anyone else noticed that a full moon is on its way? When is that due? Probably April 1st!

My Prediction

I predict Beebo's arrival no later than 3 days from today, if I'm lucky! Lucky in the sense that I have at least 3 days! The signs are all there, and it is pretty clear to me that Beebo has dropped even more.

Just three days before Annabelle was born, I had a very similar pain as to what I had today. And, I had several contractions, 8 minutes apart, with slight pain Saturday evening. And, yesterday, during our "Childbirth Refresher" course, my back started to hurt slightly.

Have I mentioned that I am NOT ready for this? Besides the emotional readiness not being there, we are not set up for a newborn in this house. For example, the following still needs to be completed:

1. Hospital bags need to be packed.
2. Swing needs to be washed and set up. It is still upstairs in the shed.
3. Bouncy seat needs to be washed and set up. It is also still upstairs in the shed.
4. Beebo's clothes need to be washed and hung. Again, they are still in the shed.
5. I need to find the "going home" outfits for either sex. If only I knew where to look!
6. Baby names need to be confirmed. Yes, I'm having second thoughts on the names.

Besides the lovely pelvic pressure, I am still in complete disbelief that we are going to have a baby living with us in a few short weeks (most likely days). This has been the most surreal pregnancy ever which is so strange since I've already been through this before.

And, I just realized that 3 days from now is April Fool's Day! Hubby and I have been joking all along that this baby would probably be born on April Fool's Day. Mostly because it has been a jokester from the very start (for reasons forever unknown to everyone else). Must be a red-headed boy just like his Daddy!

One Schizoid Cat Out!

And her black sister may soon follow! Except I think I actually have a little bit of love and sympathy for Shadow.

The schizoid one, on the other hand, I have had enough! We just set up Annabelle's big girl bed last night with new bedding and all. Beautiful!

I come home to the library to find picks in it that I had not noticed the first time. Very bothersome to me! If you've ever been shopping with me you know how anal retentive I am about finding the "perfect" one of anything I buy. I won't go into details about how extreme I am with this compulsive habit.

But, I knew right away which cat was to blame! We haven't put nice bedding on our bed since she became a part of our household approximately 9 years ago because she clawed the original bedding all up in her walking alone! Not to mention her rolling and kicking with her claws.

I can only assume that she was the culprit! And, she about sent me into labor. So, out she went!

I am so irritated about the picks and claw marks in Annabelle's big girl bedding that I am tempted to go buy another $60 quilt set just so it looks pretty for my little girl. And, you know how cheap I am, right?

Do you think the pregnancy is to blame? I don't think so. I think I've just had enough of that crazy cat. She already gives my sweet daughter evil looks! She keeps her distance from everyone but me anyway, so she can now keep her distance in the wild.

Primping

This is just one of the many things that slows us down in the mornings. She is a girl after all, so primping and attempting to be fashionably late to any and everything is the way to live.

This morning she felt the need to curl her hair before we had to leave for my doctor's appointment scheduled for 11:30 a.m. She wanted to leave the curlers in for the day, but fortunately, I won that battle. Can you imagine the looks I would have gotten in the doctor's office with her hair still left in curlers?

We have already visited my doctor with her wearing a purple tutu on one occasion.

Like Clockwork

She's like clockwork, every single day!

9:30 p.m. to sleep

7:30 a.m. to rise (despite the fact that this is 6:30 a.m. the old time from just a few weeks ago)

No relief for the Mommy! Especially considering the fact that I rarely ever go to bed until 11:30 p.m., but some nights as late as 1:30 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. I guess that is my own fault, but when else am I supposed to get anything accomplished?

I think the school bus must be waking her as she will sometimes sleep until 8:00 a.m. on the weekends, but that is rare.

I just don't understand how she goes on such little sleep without a nap or down time during the day. Maybe that explains why she is such a complete grump at 7:30 a.m. It takes her a good hour to an hour and a half to be happy. Of course, she wasn't a morning person even as a baby. That doesn't go well for her Mommy who is also not a morning person! If I am not at least in the shower before she wakes up, it is destined to be a rough day for us where we cannot even attempt to leave the house until 11:30 a.m. or later.

Why did she feel the need to change her sleep needs just as soon as I got pregnant? She started this 10 hour schedule (down from 12 hours) back when the morning sickness was haunting me in August and September.

And I'm going to have to care for a newborn in a few short weeks? I'm praying for at least one child who is a morning person. I don't think I can stand another one like me! Although, just for the record, hubby claims to be a morning person, but he's a grump in the morning when he's home on the weekends. He's pleasant during the week. Perhaps he's getting too much sleep on the weekends or perhaps it is me? LOL!

I'm okay

"I'm okay. I'm going to keep being okay. Because I'm a big girl."

And the challenge begins again. 18 days until my expected due date, and I am attempting one final time to get Annabelle to "be a big girl" and go to sleep without Mommy in the room.

This time though, I gave her an ultimatum, and I stuck with it! I know that following through is the key, but it has been really hard to do so while we were living like gypsies and then again when hubby was out of town that second week in March. And, then, I just didn't want to let go of my baby. Because she is, after all, still my baby!

But, this evening, I told her, "You have a choice to be a big girl Annabelle. If you don't make that choice to be a big girl, Mommy will make it for you. If you aren't a big girl on your own, you won't get a sticker or a prize."

"Or a big girl bed," she added.

So, here we go again! She cried the first time I left her room after I had already left, but apparently, she had just wanted a blanket. I did not go back to her crying until the 5 minutes was up for me to check on her. And when I did, she requested two blankets and then stated the first quote in this post.

Me-Me

Annabelle loves to make up words. The best part is that she actually tells you the definition, and she's pretty consistent with the word and definition from one day to the next.

Today she said, "Me-Me means I'm done going potty."

Yesterday, she kept calling out to me while sitting on the potty, "Me-Me! Me-Me!" She even explained yesterday that "Me-Me" meant she was finished going potty.

To each his own!

We get what we get

"We get what we get, and we don't get upset."

I'm not sure where I heard that saying told to 2 and 3 year olds, probably some parenting book as I just read that exact saying in a magazine in the past few weeks. But, I've been telling Annabelle that for awhile.

On Sunday at my niece, Molly's, birthday party, everyone was asking Annabelle if she wanted a brother or a sister or if she thought Beebo was a boy or a girl. I don't think anyone else (besides hubby and myself) heard her as she is quite timid in big crowds, especially when the attention is all on her.

But, her response was "we get what we get." And, in all honesty, I don't think she cares. I've tried to instill that attitude in her although it is tough with everyone voicing their preference on the sex.

So, I was telling my mom about her response today. Annabelle was obviously listening (as she doesn't miss a thing). She chimed in with the following.


Annabelle: "We get what we get, and we don't mail it back."

Insert snicker from Mommy.

Mommy: "Where are we going to mail it back to?"

Annabelle: "Jesus and God."


As for the "we don't mail it back" part, she thought that up all on her own!


Dear Annabelle,

You have brought the most joy to this pregnancy with your sweet and innocent sayings. When I've been down and in complete denial about Beebo, you have lifted my spirit to remind me what a true miracle and gift from God you and Beebo both are.

I love you, and I know that your sweet, loving spirit will always mend my heart and lift my spirit when needed.

Love always and forever,

Mommy

Princess Gone Fishing

That's my girl!

Freebie fun day at Bass Pro Shop, and she yet again wanted to dress fancy! I can only imagine the looks that her and hubby got as they walked around Bass Pro Shop to complete the free activities.

It was a fun day for just the two of them, and it has been wonderful for her to spend more one on one time with her Daddy. She's really started opening up a lot more to his affection, and over the past few weeks, she's been making some of the following comments.

"Mommy, I miss Daddy and Shadow and Jezebel."

When asked this morning (after she crawled in bed with the two of us) if she was ready to get up and eat breakfast so we could actually attempt to make it to Sunday School on time, she said, "I want to give Daddy a hug because I've missed him, and I love him." So, a big wake up hug he got!


Dear Annabelle,

I hope your girly, frilly side will always shine, but I also hope you know you can do anything any old boy can do!

If Beebo is a brother, I hope you'll always insist that you go camping and fishing along with your Daddy and brother. I hope you will help your Daddy with any and all woodworking projects.

As an old bag I used to have as a child said, "anything boys can do, girls can do better!" I think that bag alone motivated me to do anything and everything my brother did (except better).

You show 'em girl!

I love you, my sweet, sassy, frilly tomboy!

Mommy

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

There is something about the near birth of a newborn baby that causes things to break in our household. Before Annabelle, I probably would have adjusted the above sentence to say "that brings bad luck our way." But, slowly, very slowly I must add, I am learning to not sweat the small stuff. Maybe it is knowing that we have been very fortunate and very blessed in our almost 10 years of marriage. Or maybe it has been watching our economy crumble around us over the past few years and still knowing that we are going to be alright because we have planned accordingly. Or perhaps it is the simple joy that a child brings that makes you realize that money is just that, only money.

Before Annabelle was born, I remember specifically telling hubby, "We just cannot get ahead! Every time we are doing well, something else happens!" Those things that happened seemed to be big ticket items such as a new transmission for my lovely first car, a 1998 Mazda 626. Or a new roof required by our homeowners' insurance policy. But now I laugh at that comment. We were living very comfortably on two incomes. I should be making that comment now instead of 5 years ago!

Within a week before Annabelle was born, we realized that our furnace was not working after we turned it on for the first cold wave. It was supposed to be a $500 fix, if I'm recalling correctly. Of course, that freaked me out as we were attempting to live on just one income in a few short months when my maternity leave ran out. But, I think I was more freaked out about bringing home a newborn into a very cold house. It turns out that the part was actually covered under warranty (after hubby demanded more information), and the company acted fast and got the furnace working again the day before Annabelle was brought home from the hospital.

And now we have another newborn baby due in 4 short weeks, and within the last week, our television and vacuum cleaner completely died!

I am blaming Pigs' Tales for the television. Only kidding Pigs! But, perhaps I shouldn't have commented on that blog post or maybe the television would have lasted just a little bit longer.

As for the vacuum cleaner, I am sure I can find someone to blame. Hubby! Aren't men to blame for most everything anyway? Again, only kidding hubby!

So, I have spent this week reading up on televisions and vacuum cleaners in Consumer Reports as well as shopping online.

And along with those big purchases, I have also been desperately pricing twin size mattresses and box springs (aka foundations now) for the best deal. Let me tell you people, shopping for mattresses is like shopping for cars. Perhaps worse! The choices are endless, and there really is no ability to compare properly. Thank goodness we are only looking for a twin mattress for a 34 lb toddler right now. I'm not looking forward to replacing our queen mattress that needed replacing 5 years ago!

As for having another baby, I think we'll hold off another 3.5-4 years as the expense seems to get bigger each time! Oh wait, I probably shouldn't have made that comment either!

Three Times is a Charm

Or is it?

Annabelle and I have literally spent 2 weeks away sleeping either at my parents' or my mother-in-law's house. The day we are free to finally come home, we get snowed in at Nonnie's. She is on the edge of the Fulton/Forsyth line, and we apparently got a lot more snow here than we did at our house. I guess we weren't technically "snowed in," but I get antsy driving in the rain, so I figure it is best to stay put when it snows if I can help it.

And, just for the record, we have spent 2 weeks away from home for hubby to paint, paint and paint some more. The fumes were pretty much intolerable to me, and we didn't want to harm Annabelle or Beebo, so off we went in hopes that he'd accomplish all of the inside painting before the baby makes its arrival in a few short weeks! Oh my!

Fortunately, I had packed all of Annabelle's winter gear. It was completely by chance though. I had her Hello Kitty rain boots because she loves them, so she's allowed to wear them any time it rains, and this past weekend, I had happened to grab her warm hat and gloves still inside the dirty clothes bag to wash all of her clothes at Grandmama's house. I, on the other hand, desperately needed some boots! Tennis shoes and gallon size Ziploc bags did not do the trick!

This blog post is for you hubby! Since I know you miss her (and hopefully me) like crazy, and you said you've been checking my blog all week, I thought I'd post some pictures of our fun in the snow for the third time this year! We are so looking forward to spending our nights at home with you starting tomorrow, hopefully!!!

As for this first picture, what happened to my baby? She looks so grown up! I think it is the new coat that she didn't start wearing until this weekend. I found it while sorting through "junk" stored in the shed. "Junk" I've been hauling around town for a week because I am determined to get something accomplished while away from home. I bought it at a garage sale (along with a bunch of other clothes) probably 18 mos - 2 years ago, packed it away, and promptly forgot about it. Great use of space, huh?

And here she is building her snowman. I asked her if she wanted to build a snowman. She did, but she wasn't ready right away because she first needed to make "soup" out of snow. This girl loves to cook! I just wish she'd start preparing the meals for us daily.

However, when she was ready to build her snowman, she got the ball rolling all on her own! Literally! No joke! I didn't even have to tell her how to start. I asked her, "who taught you how to build a snowman?" "My Daddy," she said. I just wish her Daddy was there to help her build it! She wanted to make a big, big snowman like Daddy did last time, but I somehow, after much persuasion, was able to talk her into the smaller one. My feet were freezing, and I didn't know how much more I could take. Not to mention, I don't think I needed to be lifting the pieces to the snowman as big as she wanted to make them.

Isn't he cute though? With pinecones for ears, grapes for eyes, a stick for a nose and a carrot for hair! Yet again, all Annabelle's ideas!

And, she had to "make my rivers" yet again (see below). Yes, I have one strange, but very creative child. Last time it snowed, she tromped through the snow making what appeared to us to be trails. We were informed that she was "making my rivers." We had to help her make her rivers by following behind her. And, then, she filled in the river beds that she had made with additional snow. All completely her idea! Don't ask because I don't understand this strange child I have, but it makes for some good laughs.


And then after we had finished playing for the day, we had to go back out one more time to get some snow in a bowl to make snow cream. Yummy! Annabelle, of course, had to dress herself accordingly. The light pink snow hat was already on her head. But, she finished her attire with the purple "pimp" hat, the pink "pimp" hat and the fireman's hat.


And, these pictures were not taken on August 16th, 2003. That is what happens when you leave your camera at home and have to borrow Nonnie's camera. I wish there was a way to remove that date from those pictures easily. Oh well! I guess it is pretty obvious that it didn't snow in August!

As for the cold and the snow, I've had my fill of it for this year! Annabelle, on the other hand, thanked God for the snow to build her snowman during the blessing before dinner this evening.