I'm not usually one to get really gushy over material possessions. BUT, I bought something today that I am sooooooo excited about! When Chocolate Covered Peanut was a baby, I completely wore out my front carrier because she hated the stroller and loved to be close to me. I would wear her when we were out (to avoid carrying the bucket). I would wear her on our daily walks. I would wear her all over the house - cleaning, cooking (being cautious of hot/sharp things), reading, surfing the web, even going to the bathroom! When she got too heavy for it, I was wishing there was another option but couldn't find anything that was comfortable.

One day several months ago at a children's museum, a friend and I saw a lady using a baby carrier that I'd never seen before. We stopped to ask her about it and found out that it is positively the most wonderful, comfortable, useful invention ever (not to mention, it lasts forever). I did more research on my own and found out that while it is outrageously expensive, she did not over-sell it. It truly is as good as she said.

So I saved up my Christmas and birthday money, and I bought an Ergo Baby Carrier! It can be used for newborns and is strength tested up to 90 pounds!!! Although, someone please shoot me if I'm still carrying a 90 pound child that is capable of walking. You can wear it on the front, hip, or back. When I got it home and took it out of the box, I nearly fainted when I felt how thick and soft the shoulder straps are. That was my biggest complaint about my old carrier - I would wear it for so long that the straps would fold over and dig into my shoulders. I nearly cried thinking how wonderful it would have been to have known about this when CCPeanut was a baby. Now I really can't wait for this baby boy to get here so I can try it out!

I feel ridiculous being so giddy over a piece of baby gear, but so-help-me this thing could save my sanity (and the safety of my newborn). CCPeanut is going to be a great big sister, but I will not be able to leave this baby alone with her for 10 seconds. That means I'll be wearing this boy in the Ergo to do EVERYTHING. If I can figure out a way to use it in the shower, all the better!

I'll keep you posted once he's born and we've tried it out. I hope I'm not disappointed!

32 Down, 8 to Go!

I can't believe I just finished the 32nd week of this pregnancy! It's going by soooo much more quickly than it did with Chocolate Covered Peanut. And thank goodness I'm not going through the pre-partum (is that a word?) depression that I had with Peanut.

Three months before Peanut was born, my favorite dog (I know, you shouldn't have favorites because they're like children) was diagnosed with cancer. We put her down five weeks later. She was the most sensitive, intuitive, protective, and loving animal I've ever met. She was one of those "once in a lifetime" dogs. It hurt so much to see her so sick and then to lose her. This was nearly three years ago, and I'm still tearing up now just writing about it all. She was just special, and I was really looking forward to being a new mom with her there for moral support. Then she wasn't there anymore, and I just didn't care about the rest of it. I lost all enthusiasm for the pregnancy and just didn't care about anything. Fortunately giving birth to that perfect little baby girl yanked me out of that funk and threw me into the blessings of motherhood.

I think another part of that depression was a fear of the unknown. This time around I know what to expect and that the joys will outweigh the difficulties. So the combination of no tragedies (knock on wood) and fewer unknowns has made this pregnancy much happier and a lot more fun. There are worries, don't get me wrong. But most of them revolve around Peanut and how she'll deal with the whole thing. I'm pretty sure that life will go on and we won't even be able to remember a time without this baby boy in our lives.

More Valentine Fall Out

In the last week, I've either talked to or read posts from two people that were shocked at how much candy their children received in Valentines at school. As a former fourth grade teacher, I thought I would put in my two cents on the topic. All I can say is if you were shocked to see the amount of candy in the Valentine box, you should have seen what your kid ate at the party!

It seemed like each year that I taught, the amount of candy and sweets at classroom parties got more and more out of control. I know that busy working parents want to contribute to parties, but their schedules don't allow them to be there to do a craft or play a game with the kids. So they send treats instead. The problem is that when fifteen parents send 25 cupcakes or cookies each, the kids end up with waaaaayyyy too much sugar. And there's really no way to hold some of the treats back, because then you end up hurting the feelings of the child whose parents sent it. I would even make a sign-up sheet that included healthy options like fruit, cheese, veggies and dip, etc. Occasionally a parent would sign up and actually bring them, but usually sweets were sent instead. The sad thing is that when parents did actually bring healthy food, the kids would eat it! The fact that they ate it isn't sad, the fact that more parents didn't send healthier choices was sad.

The best year of classroom parties that I ever had was the year that one of my students was diagnosed with diabetes. It was a small town and a close school community, so all of the other parents were sensitive to this child's needs. We had lots of cool crafts, fun games, and healthy food! The kids loved it and the parties seemed much more calm and fun (without the sugar mania). It was just shocking to me that it took something that serious for parents to realize what junk their kids were eating at parties.

I know I've heard news stories about districts outlawing cupcakes in public schools (if I were responsible I would find a link for that, but I want to go to bed soon). People laughed at the idea like it was ridiculous and said what's the harm in a cupcake. There's no harm in a SINGLE cupcake, the harm is in 15 cupcakes!! It shouldn't take legislation, though, for people to use some common sense.

Challenge Completed!

Today, thankfully, is the last day of the seven-day challenge issued to me by Mojavi! It was really difficult there towards the end to think of something - anything - to say on this blog everyday. I think I'm just a quiet person who makes a better listener than talker. And unfortunately, posting a blog entry is all talking. When I feel like I have something to contribute to a conversation with someone, I'm more than happy to do so. I would really like to treat blogging the same way. When I feel that I have something worthwhile to say, I'll post an entry. Otherwise, just assume that not much is going on!

Thank Goodness for Saturday

Chocolate Covered Peanut and I had a fun day visiting my grandma and parents today, like we do every Saturday. My grandma just turned 90, and while I'm sure she's got many more feisty years ahead of her I do appreciate every visit. CCP loves to visit my parents' house as they have a huge stash of toys saved from my brother and I. She can busily play there for hours each week just because it's all new and different from what she has at home everyday. That's fine by me because I can park my pregnant butt in the recliner and let Grandma and Grandpa entertain her. It is disappointing, however, that she is not the least bit interested in carrying on my tradition of trolling the mall or other stores on Saturdays with my mom. Ask CCP to go to the mall for some shopping and you will get a firm NO in response. It breaks my heart, but she is her father's daughter.

Today the oil light on my car came on as we were driving to my parents' house. Yes, Hot Chocolate is an automotive technician, and no he did not change my oil when he was supposed to about 4,000 miles ago. As I was checking the oil level and adding a couple more quarts, CCP was carefully supervising me and reminding me of what Daddy had said to do. Again, her father's daughter!!!

No News is Good News

Not much to share today. I passed the blood test, so no new dietary restrictions. My sweet tooth is oh so grateful. I celebrated by purchasing a shopping bag full of half-off chocolate at Target!

Valentine, Shmalentine

If there were an Ebenezer Scrooge for Valentines Day, I think I would be the perfect candidate. Granted, it is much more fun now that I have a child to share it with. But the painful memories go way back to middle school. Grade school Valentine Days were still great fun, exchanging Valentines with classmates, seeing who would make the coolest mailbox for them, and having a fun party courtesy of the room mothers. But once puberty hit, Valentines Day was the cruelest day of the year. I was always the awkward nerdy girl in school - boys loved me if I had the right answer for their homework assignment, but their interest didn't go much beyond that. So seeing all of the popular girls getting roses and gifts from boy after boy did little to boost my self-esteem. My parents always went out of their way to give me a nice gift and card, but I was too deep in my own pity party to appreciate it. The misery just continued through high school, college, and my professional life. Even now that I'm married, my husband is not very sentimental and doesn't do much to acknowledge the day. Fortunately now I'm old enough and wise enough (ha, ha) to realize that it's just another day and has little significance in the big picture. I've always had plenty of people around me that I love dearly and who love me and appreciate me - that matters so much more than roses from a boy!

PS The only thing I REALLY enjoy about Valentines Day is the half price chocolate the day after! Meet me at Target tomorrow morning!

It's Over!

The four hour blood glucose ordeal is over! I still don't know the results, but I'm just glad it's done. Once I got past the first hour or so, it really wasn't bad at all. I discovered that reading made me sleepy and nauseous, but luckily I took another project along to pass the time. A huge box of photos and empty photo albums finally made each other's acquaintance and are now getting along quite well! As guilty as I feel admitting it, having toddler-free time to accomplish something was wonderful! When I took this test while pregnant with Chocolate Covered Peanut, I took just a book and a magazine. This time, I took books, magazines, newspapers, and the photo project (yes, easily half of my bedroom clutter). Can you tell how much more I value free time now than I did three years ago?

Not Much to Say

Obviously, I'm only posting tonight because Mojavi challenged me to post for seven days straight. I'm suffering a slight depression due to my fasting for the blood test - I really wanted a brownie after dinner, but decided it wasn't worth the risk of messing with my blood sugar. It will be nice to get tomorrow over with!

On a more positive note, Hot Chocolate did an excellent job of dealing with Chocolate Covered Peanut's tired bedtime meltdown tonight. I think he's realizing just how freaked out I am over the two nights that I'll spend without her while I'm in the hospital. I'm sure that when the time comes he will step up to the plate and be the epitome of patience, but it's nice to have the chance to see it beforehand.

Also, I just watched this week's episode of October Road while walking on the treadmill (that's got to be good for blood sugar levels, right?). That show gets more and more melodramatic and cheesy every week. Yet, that big hunk of man, Eddie Letekka, keeps me coming back for more! I'm telling you, he would waste any of those Jack's Big Music Show guys in a game of Hot or Not (that will only make sense to the only two people that will read this).

Little Miss Whinypants

Is it the curse of the sweet tooth or just plain rotten luck? I freaking failed my blood glucose test AGAIN!! I was soooooo careful to consume NO carbs last night or all day today leading up to the test. I don't know if that actually helps, but I figured it couldn't hurt. This, of course, means that I have to go for the three hour glucose tolerance test (which is a misnomer because it actually takes four hours) next week. I had to do the same thing while pregnant with Chocolate Covered Peanut, and it was a complete waste of time because the results came back normal. I'm sure it will be fine this time, too, but I can't risk skipping the test (even though I have to admit I'm tempted) and then having gestational diabetes. I'm trying to look at the bright side and think about how many of my past due magazines I can read while getting stabbed by needle after needle, drinking NASTY bottles of liquid, and waiting, waiting, waiting. But really, is there a bright side? I know, those cuddly little newborns are SO worth all the suffering and sacrifice. But seriously!

PS Thank you, Mojavi, for the adorable profile to the right! As I look at that, I realize that the theme of this blog could have a lot to do with my current situation!!

Elmo Mania!

Finally, the long awaited day arrived yesterday! Chocolate Covered Peanut, Hot Chocolate, and I went to see the Sesame Street Live production of When Elmo Grows Up. CCP was very excited in the days leading up to the big day, but I don't think she had any idea what she was truly going to see. It was an awesome show! Well worth the ridiculous amount of money we spent between tickets, service fees, parking, and concession stands. When the show started and all of CCP's favorite tv friends appeared on stage, she couldn't stop pointing and exclaiming, "Elmo, Elmo!" And the moment he left the stage (every time he left the stage), she demanded that he return. Oddly enough, she was almost equally enamored of Oscar the Grouch. She loved finding Oscar and his trash can as they moved about the stage for each number. And she thoroughly enjoyed his song "I Love Trash."

The show was the perfect length and included an intermission. The most amusing part for me was the fact that vendors sold huge Elmo helium balloons at intermission (with no weights on the ends of the strings). I don't know how expensive they were, but I'm sure it was outrageous. I couldn't wait to watch and see how many of those balloons ended up hundreds of feet above our heads! Shockingly, I only saw one by the end of the show. Thank goodness CCP is still too young to demand one of her own!

I think the best part of the whole afternoon for me was watching CCP's face during the show. I'd been looking forward to that ever since I bought the tickets (yes, the DAY they went on sale), and I wasn't disappointed. Being able to make her so happy nearly had me in tears. The only thing that held them back was the fact that Hot Chocolate would be very perplexed as to why Sesame Street Live was moving me to tears. I'm not sure if CCP will remember that day as she gets older, but the joy on her face will stay with me forever. I know a lot of people spend their kids' baby and toddler years wishing that they were older and in school. I don't think I've done that once (unless it was regarding sleep). I have savored every cuddly, difficult, tearful, and joyful moment of CCP's two years, and I hope I'll do the same for her brother. These years go too fast, so I'm doing my best to keep my eyes wide open and live in the moment.