Fall decor: inside

C and I finally got things in a neat enough state to get out our fall decor yesterday.  My house has so many more rooms that I feel like I don' quite have enough.  I know it will fill up when I add my Halloween stuff in a few days.

 

A quick little fall banner I made from scrapbook paper scraps.  I can't decide if I want to hang it across like this or more diagonally.  This is the only thing in my dining room, so I seriously need something else.  I do need to bring out my fall tablecloth, too. 

 

Entry table--I feel like I need more here--something with height.  You can just sort of see the pumpkins on my round table behind out of focus.  That leaf banner is coming down.  C was just so excited to put out everything. I think it just isn't going to have a home.

 

My mantel.  It's in serious need of some color...what to do.  Again, I think Halloween stuff will help.  I want to make a little wreath to hang on a small hanger though and maybe put up an empty picture frame in the center? The banner is a Halloween banner on the other side.  I hung it backwards and added the letters to spell Harvest.  Unfortunately I chose a pattern for the secondary background that is too similar to the large background.

 

I got this adorable owl jar for $4. 

These pumpkins don't photograph well, but they have lots of texture. 

 

C and I need to plant our mums in our containers and then I will get some outside shots. 

Preschool update

C loves preschool...I mean loves it.  Here are some things we are noticing this year.

C is becoming kind of a loner at school--pointed out by his teacher.  He hasn't quite figured out how to make friends.  He often times chooses to play alone instead of with others.  This makes me sad, but I just have to respect his personality while encouraging him to be kind and courteous to others.  When I come to pick him up, I often see little girls trying to play with him, but overall he'd rather play with boys or alone.  It is funny to me that he is such a loner b/c other kids always seem to know him and talk to him.  He is just such a funny bugger about interactions.  He will hardly say hi to girls when we enter school.  He says grandpa is his best friend, but otherwise he really misses his friends from Normal.

C hates to write or use a pencil.  He can do it, but he gets frustrated quickly.  I think at the root he is a bit of a perfectionist, but knows his skills don't match up, so he gives up.  He can't seem to remember not to pick up his pencil when he shouldn't.  Last week they worked on tracing lines--straight and curvy.  He was so proud and yet ashamed to show me his work.  He pointed out every mistake he made.  Even though he doesn't enjoy it, he is always so proud to show me his worksheet of the day--which starting this week has begun focusing on a letter of the week and writing skills. He was so proud how he didn't get tricked.  You can't see in the picture, but he traced his name in the yellow--poor kid just has terrible writing skills--which both Scott and I had as well.

He is keenly observant and somewhat more sensitive than I ever gave him credit.  There is a little girl in his class that speaks almost no English. He told us all about it from the very beginning.  He was very concerned about her.  He asked us to help him find some Korean words to say to her.  He tried, but I don't think she either understood him or he pronounced them correctly, but he's still very concerned.  She is one of the only girls' names in class he knows.  Crazy.  The teacher even spoke to me about his observancy. 

He is taking a biweekly computer class through school to help improve his fine motor skills and just to become a bit more tech savvy.  He loves it.  His teacher always says what a great listener he is and what a great memory he has.  I was kind of shocked about the listening part b/c he goes straight there after 3 hours of preschool, so I didn't know how he would be. 

He is very excited to be a big brother.  He asks me questions all the time like when will the baby be here and when will we find out if it's a boy or girl.  He is very aware and sensitive to the fact I don't feel well.  He tries very hard to be good and helpful.  He even helps me clean bathrooms and dust!

His eating habits are a mystery to me.  Sometimes he gladly eats whatever and then other times he sees a spice or ingredient that freaks him and out and he flat out refuses to eat anything.  He's been getting away with being pickier since I've been sick, but I was floored when he told me his favorite snack he's had at school so far were carrots with dip.  He's never shown any interest in dips/dressings.  Today at lunch he asked for carrots and ranch.  He doesn't use much ranch, but he downed lots of carrots.  Thank you preschool. 

Finally my biggest worry about preschool--lice, which was enhanced by 2 incidents this week.  First our friends who live about 30 minutes away got lice from school.  1 of the 3 children got it and the mom.  YIKES!  I don't know if any others ended up with it, but that sounds miserable.  Second Scholastic books sent a little packet home for parents with info and coupons.  Check it out.

 

Lice can affect you.  Thanks for confirming my fears.  I've never had lice, and I taught summer camps one year where I was petrified I'd get it. 

Picture catch up

Here's how pathetic I am.  In the time since C's bday, which is 7 weeks or so I have taken less than 10 pictures. 

Here are those "lost" photos.

 

C mastering riding his bike.  He's not bad, but he's just not that interested.  We can hardly ever get him to ride it.  He really needs a bigger bike, but it just doesn't seem worth it.

 

Picnic at the park.  I took him here so we could ride his bike on a nice smooth path around Shroeder Park.  He never wanted to get his bike out of the car.  He played on the playground instead.  Stinker.

 

Our attempt at first day of preschool shots.  He wasn't very cooperative, and I can't say I had any clever ideas. 

 

Checking out his new room on the first day.

 

Warming up before soccer practice

 

Daddy showing him some juggling moves.  

 

I really can't say enough good things about this soccer program he is in through a sports center.  It is a noncompetitive program for 2-5 year olds.  The kids are broken up in those ages based on age/ability.  C's age can go to 3 different classes, but we put him in the "easiest" one b/c he has no experience and no real competitive drive.  I'm hoping he can move to the next level next session, but we'll see what his coach says.  2 more levels up they start experimenting with scrimmaging.  The program is mostly based on developing their listening skills and gross motor skills.  C's age does not use their hands, but the levels younger than him still do incorportate drills using their upper body.  He LOVES it.  He can't wait to go on Saturday mornings, and he loves his coach.  He loves to practice in the yard.  They learn all of their skills through various games, so he loves teaching us those games.  When we watch we can see his class along with 2 other younger classes, and I'm always amazed how great the coaches do keeping 2,3, and 4 year olds engaged for 45 minutes.  The kids all look like they are having a blast. 

 

Daddy brought this home for him along with the new Avengers movie.  He was more interested in his giant hand.  He wants to go to a football game now.  Last month Scott took him to a game.  He only lasted 20 minutes.  I'm hoping we can try again Saturday with some friends. 

Pregnancy Confessions

So, I have this baby growing that has been making me miserable.  Shocking, I know, right? Some of this post will be funny and some not so funny and some just plain whiny.  You've been warned. 


What I miss most!

This can itself be broken down into several categories, but mostly they involve foods, activities, and more foods, so I'll just stick to the food part.

    Food
       Of course there are the obvious ones that you have to avoid: cold lunch meat, unpasteurized cheeses, too much caffeine, pre-made deli foods, etc.  Then there are the foods that I either can't stomach the thought of consuming right now or really want, but they are too painful on the way up.  
       
   Foods I can't stand right now
        Most chunks of meat.  I am consuming much less protein than is healthy I think.  I am a walking pre-diabetic currently with the amount of carbs I am consuming out of necessity. Wait til you read the list--I'm not exaggerating.
         Coffee--I think it would hurt, but it just doesn't sound good
         Peanut butter--it just seems revolting to me right now, but normally I love it.  I ate a ton of it when I was pregnant with C

   Foods I would like to eat, but just can't, but hope to soon
       Dairy.  I miss this the most.  I eat a small amount of cheese, but that's it.  I've just started trying to incorporate yogurt back into my diet with some success.  I just can't consume too much or it makes a reappearance.
        Tomato products.  I love tomatoes--I mean love them, but they are a no-go.  They are just too painful to throw up.  This means no pizza, no marinara based pastas/lasagnas, no chili, no vegetable soups w/tomatoes, etc.  Tomatoes are a major staple in our house, so everyone is kind of suffering here. 
        Chocolate.  It just doesn't sit right in too large of a proportion.  I occasionally try a little bit, but for the most part, it is a no.
        Spicy foods.  See tomatoes above for the same reasons. 
        Water--technically not a food, but a drink, but it's my normal beverage of choice.  Having to find other beverages to consume has been painful.  If I put too much water on my stomach, it comes right back out.  I don't really understand this, but the nurse practitioner from a year ago told me it's highly normal for someone with my symptoms. 
        Eggs--I generally eat eggs for breakfast every other day.  Right now maybe once a week is all I can stomach--and it can't be fried right now--I can't stand to look at the yolk.
        Salad and other raw veggies--I seriously have dreams about eating salad. I want salad so badly, but see tomato products.  Salad is not pleasant.
        Nuts are the exact same.  They tend to get caught in your throat.
        Fresh fruit--this is something that I can sometimes eat successfully and sometimes not.  If I'm feeling okayish, I usually try.  I have had some miserable experiences with peaches, grapes, kiwis, and applesauce previously during the weeks I was at my worst.


  Foods I am so tired of
    Any carbs--seriously it's getting old. I generally choose one carb item and binge on it for a week and then can't stand the sight of it.  I have blown through goldfish, regular pretzels, Ritz crackers, honey nut cheerios, animal crackers, and honey wheat pretzels.  The bad thing about the reflux/morning sickness problem is you have to keep food on your stomach at all times, which leads to a week binge (not really a binge, but just a constant eating), so then I'm so sick of that item after about a week, I can't return to it.  I'm out of ideas for a new snack next week, so I'm hoping this general queasy feeling is ready to relent. 
   White bread--I am a whole wheat girl, but whole grains are too hard to digest, so I have to eat processed white bread.
   American cheese--it seems to be the most gentle on my stomach, so I eat a cheese sandwich almost daily for lunch.
   Ramen noodles--these often accompany my cheese sandwich at lunch.  There's something settling to my stomach about that sodium overload. 
   Pop tarts/toaster strudels--my usual breakfast choice (along with almost all the above these are not normal staples in our house, but fit the non-nutritive, easy to digest requirement. 

      
What I worry about most (some are pretty irrational, but based on past experiences)
These are mostly irrational fears, but they are what I'm feeling

I am paranoid that I will start bleeding at any given moment.  I am paranoid that because I've started to feel a little bit better that there is something wrong.  I just keep waiting for my next appt (every time).

I struggle keeping my house clean to a level I like.  The stairs are daunting. This week has been better, but I just don't have the endurance or motivation that I normally have. It stresses me out to not have things picked up and clean, but at the same time, I just can't seem to get it done.

I am paranoid I will have gestational diabetes b/c I have been so sedentary and have eaten so poorly.
I
 am paranoid about my teeth--but the dentist told me yesterday that things look surprisingly good and gave me some tips on how to manage caring for my teeth with all the acid I throw up.

I feel bad for how little stimulation I am providing C.  We mostly watch tv.  Any activity beyond that (up until this week) is just too much.  I can play outside for about 10-15 minutes, but then I generally start to feel bad.  My mind is kind of foggy, so planning things is difficult.  Until this week I could barely read. I hope to start doing activities, but honestly before this week, driving/riding in the car for more than 10-15 minutes was stressful and being away from home was equally stressful. 

2 weeks ago I was losing weight b/c of how little food I could keep down, now I'm gaining weight--and probably too much b/c of all the stinking simple carbs. This does not bode well for the coming months.

I need to exercise, but I'm unmotivated (and prior to 2 weeks ago it just wasn't possible).  I'm so out of shape, the stairs wind me.  Up until 7 weeks ago, I was working out hard 6 days a week, so there goes all that work). 

I have felt a lot more melancholy with this pregancy.  I felt sick with C, but it never really depressed me.  I think b/c I had too much going on with keeping up with a new job and such that I just didn't have time to worry or feel down.  Last time I really thought everything was going to be okay b/c everyone (doctors, etc) kept saying everything was fine/looking good even with my complications until the very end, so even though I felt really sick, I didn't worry too much.  Now I feel like I have to protect myself more just in case.  I think some of this is Scott has been gone a lot.  He started another new job this month, so it has changed our schedule completely.  He used to work from home about 50% or more of the time, so he was just around a lot more, and home almost always by 5 and never gone before 7:30 usually.  Now he's gone by 6:30 and home by 6 or so.  He's been OOT a lot recently for holiday kickoff stuff, so it's just made everything harder.  Then he is so tired from his long day and long commute. 

Dear, untendend blog

Dear blog,

I'm sooo sorry for not paying any attention to you lately.  I haven't even been reading blogs lately if that makes you feel any better.  I think I'm starting to feel better, so hopefully we will do more exciting things in our life to document.  I was supposed to come up with a family photo for a MOPS book and for C's preschool last week.  We have no photos of the 3 of us together that are newer than 1 year old.  Sad!  I don't have any photos of myself with C since March or so.  I have been a very deficient photographer and organizer of fun things.  On a happy note, I have been busy baking a little baby, so maybe you can cut me some slack.  As you know my dear blog, pregnancy and I do not have a loving relationship as it treats me very roughly.  Ahhh, that's for another post though.  Hope to see you soon!

Your loving author