Belly-poking, Sobfests, and Sanity

Carter is a bit obsessed with his belly. Don't ask me why...I guess it's because most of his shirts snap at the bottom so whenever he doesn't have a shirt on or has a regular t-shirt, he is constantly poking at his pudgy little tummy.


We had a few meltdowns this morning, and it was really getting to me. Carter was insistent that I hold him all morning. This wouldn't be SO bad except that he now weighs 26 pounds and I'm 5 months pregnant, so it's not exactly easy or comfortable toting him all over the place for long periods of time. When he finally did calm down, he occupied himself by brushing his teeth.....with Derrick's toothbrush. I of course, being the great mother that I am, grabbed the camera to take some pictures. Derrick can wash it off right?? And anyway, it's better than eating food off the floor or something like that.

I did manage to maintain my sanity, which I am proud of, took Carter out to Target for a change of scenery and tried to go for a walk around the neighborhood which was semi-successful since it started pouring halfway through. But, he is a happy boy now, so it was worth it.

Bringing the Outdoors In

It's still cold here, no surprise. I remembered a friend suggesting a tent inside to entertain the kiddo, so I whipped mine out today. He loved it.

I was reading John 1 this afternoon after Carter finally went down for a nap. I particularly was struck by the verse mentioning God's grace for us. This is something I hope I can convey to Carter as he grows and matures. I hope he will someday understand that we can never do anything to merit the love of God, but that God in His great Grace, forgives us over and over again and loves us unconditionally when we believe in him. I try to think of this now as a parent too. There have been many days, even in the past week, that Carter has disobeyed me (Imagine!!) and I've grown very frustrated with him and impatient. It is a good picture for me to see, in the flesh, the way God feels too when we repeatedly disobey Him. I pray I can have the strength to show Carter the way he needs to behave and the grace to continually forgive and love him, even when I am sick, exhausted and losing patience.

Sick again...

Carter and I both got sick last week. He's doing much better but I just went to the doctor today and got antibiotics. I am so ready for winter to be over. I swear being stuck inside for weeks at a time makes it so much worse!!! Thankfully my parents were here visiting this weekend so I got lots of help with Carter which was such a blessing at a much needed time!!!

Hopefully we'll be back on track very soon!

One of those days...

Days like today remind me that being a stay at home mom is The Hardest Job out there...period. It started off smoothly but in a matter of hours I found myself sitting beside the bathtub, in my underwear, bathing my stinky son. How did I find myself in this scenario?? I was supposed to meet at a friend's home for a playdate at 10. On the way there, I stopped at the library to drop off some books and I turned around to see Carter barf all over himself. Yuck. With only a handful of baby wipes to clean him off, it was bad news. I headed back home and he threw up two more times on himself. Trying to get the barf covered kid out of his barf covered carseat was a real treat too, and finally I got him out, stripped down, and in the tub to clean off.

He seems fine now. I've spent the last hour sanitizing every nook and cranny of the house because I really DO NOT want to get sick if it is something contagious. So much fun...

Is this the direction we're heading....

I've had a busy week meeting with Moms and doulas, trying to find the best option for my second L&D. The more I read, talk to people and research, the more I realize women today are totally in the dark about childbirth and the way hospitals try to force every mother into the same shape mold resulting in more and more C-Sections. I saw this blog posting on "Business of Being Born" today...very shocking...in Brazil they have a 93% Ceasarean rate!! (You have to scroll down a bit to see the post) So many women don't realize that it is WAY more risky to the mother and child both to have a C rather than delivering naturally. It really sickens and saddens me to see the way medicine is heading, with no regard for the well-being of the patient and a drive to make the rate even higher out of fear of lawsuits, and just plain convenience.

That's my rant for the day

It's A......!!!

I'm sorry I left everyone in suspense from my big ultrasound last Friday. I wanted to post a photo of Baby #2. We decided at the last second not to find out the sex...again. So we're stuck coming up with two names...again. Oh well. :)

Derrick asked me if it was exciting having the ultrasound this time as it was for Carter since I knew what to expect. I would say, most definitely. Just to see your child for the very first time is a surreal experience. Carter actually joined us for the U/S and was so adorable the whole time. As soon as she had me pull my shirt up to begin the procedure, he pulled his own shirt up and kept poking at his belly the whole time. When she let us hear the heartbeat, he opened his mouth really wide and got really excited. I hope he is this excited when the baby arrives!!

Plant killer

I think Carter's daily resolve is to find something new each day to mess up. Some new devious way of getting into trouble. You only need to turn your back on the little guy for 20 or 30 seconds and he's into something.
I love how he looks so surprised in this picture. Like, oh my, you mean I wasn't supposed to fling mud from this plant all over your nice off-white rug???
Then the gleeful grin...oh but mom, how could you be angry at someone as cute as me??? Grrrrrr

Cleaning Fiend

So maybe I spend too much time cleaning in front of Carter. He is quite taken with the idea of "helping" me clean and loves to chip in anytime he has the opportunity. When I saw a miniature shop vac at a thrift store the other day for only $4 I couldn't resist. It even turns on and has a vacuuming sound it makes. Needless to say, when we got home with it, Carter took it all around the house for at least an hour, cleaning every nook and cranny...too bad it didn't really work!

He decided to give my swiffer a try today and was equally enamored with it. Too bad he was trying to swiffer the rug rather than the linoleum floor!

Here we go Steelers!!!