What do you call those fizzy, sugary beverages, generally sold in cans, plastic bottles, or from a fast food restaurant with brand names such as Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, etc?
Growing up I called them "pop". As in, "I'd like a can of pop". Or, "What kind of pop do you have?" My parents are from nebraska, and I grew up in central Indiana. I didn't generally get funny looks when I said these words. Though, truth be told, I rarely saw the word "pop" on a menu--that section was generally called "drinks" or "soft drinks".
When I started college in St. Louis, I started getting some funny looks when I'd talk about pop. Waiters would think I was speaking a foreign language until I'd clue them in with a brand name ("Do you have Coke or Pepsi?"). And everyone here called the fizzy stuff something rather silly "soda". Soda to me meant either club soda, baking soda, or it was one of those old-fashioned things that our parents remember--getting a "soda pop" at the local "soda fountain". Well, times change, and peer pressure really gets to you, and now I call the stuff "soda" also. And, I get snickered at by my one remaining Hoosier sister for doing so (no, I don't mean "hoosier" in the Missouri sense, but in the "resident of Indiana" sense....that's a whole 'nother post).
I didn't think Charlotte had had much experience with the stuff, since we limit her menu options to milk, water, and the occiasional juice. She's sampled tea and coffee, both of which she liked (to our dismay..we thought she'd stop begging if we gave her a sip). I have been relatively caffeine free since she was breastfed (and colicky and reflux-y), and my husband has been watching his diet more in the last several months since he's been marathon training. So we just aren't drinking much soda at home, and when we do, we generally call it "juice" to Charlotte (so she doesn't realize we're having something she's not).
We had to do some shopping on Sunday afternoon, and as we were leaving Walmart (our 2nd stop of the day), my husband stopped at their row of vending machines to buy a drink. He got a bottle of Code Red Mountain Dew, which Charlotte immediately pointed to and said "pop". Huh? Did she really just call it pop? Where on earth did she hear that? I thought perhaps she was trying to say something else (her pronunciation's still at that 2-year old level, you know). But then our next stop was to another Walmart (yes, 2 in one day..I don't recommend it). On the way out, she pointed to the soda machines and clearly said "pop" again. This time there was no mistaking the word or her meaning.
I'm guessing that one or more of her daycare teachers must call it pop. In the infant room, especially, I've seen the ladies have their bottles of soda/pop stashed on high shelves while the kids play (which doesn't bother me as long as they don't share with the kiddos, and I doubt they would want to do that...). Oh well, at least Charlotte's aunt won't laugh at *her*....
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Freecycling
As I mentioned yesterday, our new washer and dryer are being delivered today. I hated to think of our old washer just being tossed in a landfill somewhere, since most likely it's fixable. We just weren't willing to spend the money on it ourselves, given its previous track record. So I found a St. Louis "freecycle" group. They're a email group on Yahoo (freecycle-stl) where people offer or request stuff for free--no selling or trading. It's kind of like how my mother-in-law appears in town with a trunk full of things they're never going to use again, but that she hates to throw away (like a little handpainted mirror with a mouse and a piece of cheese on it...it has sentimental value to her, so now it's ours....). Speaking of which, we probably shouldn't tell her about the site...she'd drive FIL nuts with the free stuff she'd collect...
So, yesterday about 10am I signed up with the Yahoo group and was able to post my offer of a free, broken washer around noon. By 4pm, I had a taker. The guy came and picked it up last night. I guess he was a little disappointed that the controls are on top instead of on the front, but otherwise quite happy to take the washer off our hands. He appears to be the handy sort, and from the sound of his conversation, likes both projects and good deals (something about buying a foreclosed house and all the fixing up he's working on). In other words, it was a perfect match. He can get some use from our washer (and might be up to handling the bi-annual floods and failures that it seems to bring), and we got it removed from our laundry room in time to do some tidying before the new stuff arrives.
I might just be taking more advantage of the freecycle group. I'm not quite the garage-sale shopper/bargain hunter that I'd have to be to take a lot of the items that are up for grabs, but we might have a few things around the house to offer up (including a few thanks to my MIL) :) And, we'd know they'll get a good home that way.
So, yesterday about 10am I signed up with the Yahoo group and was able to post my offer of a free, broken washer around noon. By 4pm, I had a taker. The guy came and picked it up last night. I guess he was a little disappointed that the controls are on top instead of on the front, but otherwise quite happy to take the washer off our hands. He appears to be the handy sort, and from the sound of his conversation, likes both projects and good deals (something about buying a foreclosed house and all the fixing up he's working on). In other words, it was a perfect match. He can get some use from our washer (and might be up to handling the bi-annual floods and failures that it seems to bring), and we got it removed from our laundry room in time to do some tidying before the new stuff arrives.
I might just be taking more advantage of the freecycle group. I'm not quite the garage-sale shopper/bargain hunter that I'd have to be to take a lot of the items that are up for grabs, but we might have a few things around the house to offer up (including a few thanks to my MIL) :) And, we'd know they'll get a good home that way.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Buy the dryer, get the washer free
No, this isn't some fantastic deal I just found, it's one I'm offering *you*. But only for a limited time (till Tuesday), when the nice appliance delivery people haul away the washer. Then the offer becomes just "Buy the dryer".
I hate Maytag. Let me start at the beginning. When we bought our house 6 years ago (in September actually), we bought ourselves a new fridge, washer, and dryer from a local Maytag store. The brand seemed to have a good reputation, and we splurged a bit to get a nice washer--their "Neptune" line. Our fridge was labeled as Consumer Reports "best buy". All seemed well. Then the appliances were delivered. The delivery was a nightmare--they brought the wrong fridge at first (an ivory top-and-bottom one instead of a white side-by-side). The installers left greasy handprints all over our laundry room walls (later prompting our pepto-bismo pink paint job), and to top it off, the washer spewed water all over our brand-new kitchen and laundry room the first time we turned it on (thank goodness it's positioned over the sump pump in the unfinished side of the basement, or our newly-built finished basement ceilings would have been ruined already). They had to replace the washer after 2 failed service calls.
Fast forward 2 years, to the month. One day the washer starts up, fills with water, and then just stops. We call the repair people and take half a day off work, twice. The "control board" was fried. We paid $100 in labor, and the $200 part was (barely) still covered by the warranty.
Fast forward 2 more years, again to the month (Charlotte was about a month old at the time). Same deal. Washer starts up, fills with water, then stops. Almost the same week I get notice in the mail about a class-action lawsuit pending against Maytag for just this problem in our washer, plus a little mildew issue that we'd also noticed. This time, I was home with the baby, so I didn't lose any work, and the repair was handled for free due to the lawsuit. We eventually got our initial $100 repairs "reimbursed" from the lawsuit in the form of a $12 check and $80 in credit towards a new Maytag appliance. Gee, thanks.
In between there, while I was still preganant, our fridge stopped refridgerating for several days. The repair people (this time from Sears) had numerous issues in actually showing up for their appointments to repair the thing, and my husband ended up installing the $20 part that controls the defrost cycles. I mentioned it at work, and found that of the ~17 employees at that job, at least 5 of them had the same problem with a Maytag or Jenn-Air fridge after 3-4 years of use....hmmmm...
Now comes this past Saturday. I started a load of laundry. I walked in later to get a cleaning wipe off the shelf and there was water all over the floor, but the washer was still going (with the "door locked" button still on). I grabbed towels, and told my husband that we had to watch it. I don't think the thing ever got to the spin cycle. He tried a couple of times to force it to drain, and ended up shutting off the water to the the thing. In the mean time, the "locked" door (it's a front-loader) flew open and our laundry room and part of the bathroom and kitchen got an ample sudsing. (I really like our "floor mate" hard floor cleaner...it sucks water off a vinyl floor nice and fast).
We discussed our options over the weekend--1) Take 2 (maybe more) days off work to wait for repair people and spend upwards of $300 to fix the darned thing. 2) Buy a new washer. 3) Buya new washer and dryer and get a set that can be stacked to gain us some space in our teeny-tiny laundry room (it's like 5x5). After weighing the various costs and benefits (and the fear that $300+ in repairs now will have to be repeated in September '08 and '10, etc), we went with option 3. We have a new, stacking, Kenmore front-loading set ordered that will be delivered Tuesday.
So, back to my title. If anyone wants it, we have a broken Neptune (super XL capacity, energy star, front loader, yadda yadda) washer that you can have for FREE if you haul it away before the Sears people arrive (they will remove it for us otherwise). We also have for sale, the matching electric XL capacity dryer, which has never given us a day of trouble (1 of 3 appliances bought that day). It has a nifty sliding temperature control (anything between "air fluff" and high), a variety of cycles, etc. I love the dryer---it has a huge door that easily handles a king sized comforter. It's only crime is in not stacking with the new washing machine. The dryer cost ~$800 new, I'd be asking about $300 for it.
Ok, so there probably aren't enough folks reading my blog to actually sell this stuff too (unless we're unbelievably lucky). So, I guess I get to figure out how to place a classified ad in the Post Dispatch.
I hate Maytag. Let me start at the beginning. When we bought our house 6 years ago (in September actually), we bought ourselves a new fridge, washer, and dryer from a local Maytag store. The brand seemed to have a good reputation, and we splurged a bit to get a nice washer--their "Neptune" line. Our fridge was labeled as Consumer Reports "best buy". All seemed well. Then the appliances were delivered. The delivery was a nightmare--they brought the wrong fridge at first (an ivory top-and-bottom one instead of a white side-by-side). The installers left greasy handprints all over our laundry room walls (later prompting our pepto-bismo pink paint job), and to top it off, the washer spewed water all over our brand-new kitchen and laundry room the first time we turned it on (thank goodness it's positioned over the sump pump in the unfinished side of the basement, or our newly-built finished basement ceilings would have been ruined already). They had to replace the washer after 2 failed service calls.
Fast forward 2 years, to the month. One day the washer starts up, fills with water, and then just stops. We call the repair people and take half a day off work, twice. The "control board" was fried. We paid $100 in labor, and the $200 part was (barely) still covered by the warranty.
Fast forward 2 more years, again to the month (Charlotte was about a month old at the time). Same deal. Washer starts up, fills with water, then stops. Almost the same week I get notice in the mail about a class-action lawsuit pending against Maytag for just this problem in our washer, plus a little mildew issue that we'd also noticed. This time, I was home with the baby, so I didn't lose any work, and the repair was handled for free due to the lawsuit. We eventually got our initial $100 repairs "reimbursed" from the lawsuit in the form of a $12 check and $80 in credit towards a new Maytag appliance. Gee, thanks.
In between there, while I was still preganant, our fridge stopped refridgerating for several days. The repair people (this time from Sears) had numerous issues in actually showing up for their appointments to repair the thing, and my husband ended up installing the $20 part that controls the defrost cycles. I mentioned it at work, and found that of the ~17 employees at that job, at least 5 of them had the same problem with a Maytag or Jenn-Air fridge after 3-4 years of use....hmmmm...
Now comes this past Saturday. I started a load of laundry. I walked in later to get a cleaning wipe off the shelf and there was water all over the floor, but the washer was still going (with the "door locked" button still on). I grabbed towels, and told my husband that we had to watch it. I don't think the thing ever got to the spin cycle. He tried a couple of times to force it to drain, and ended up shutting off the water to the the thing. In the mean time, the "locked" door (it's a front-loader) flew open and our laundry room and part of the bathroom and kitchen got an ample sudsing. (I really like our "floor mate" hard floor cleaner...it sucks water off a vinyl floor nice and fast).
We discussed our options over the weekend--1) Take 2 (maybe more) days off work to wait for repair people and spend upwards of $300 to fix the darned thing. 2) Buy a new washer. 3) Buya new washer and dryer and get a set that can be stacked to gain us some space in our teeny-tiny laundry room (it's like 5x5). After weighing the various costs and benefits (and the fear that $300+ in repairs now will have to be repeated in September '08 and '10, etc), we went with option 3. We have a new, stacking, Kenmore front-loading set ordered that will be delivered Tuesday.
So, back to my title. If anyone wants it, we have a broken Neptune (super XL capacity, energy star, front loader, yadda yadda) washer that you can have for FREE if you haul it away before the Sears people arrive (they will remove it for us otherwise). We also have for sale, the matching electric XL capacity dryer, which has never given us a day of trouble (1 of 3 appliances bought that day). It has a nifty sliding temperature control (anything between "air fluff" and high), a variety of cycles, etc. I love the dryer---it has a huge door that easily handles a king sized comforter. It's only crime is in not stacking with the new washing machine. The dryer cost ~$800 new, I'd be asking about $300 for it.
Ok, so there probably aren't enough folks reading my blog to actually sell this stuff too (unless we're unbelievably lucky). So, I guess I get to figure out how to place a classified ad in the Post Dispatch.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
August 23, 2006
August 23, 2006
Yesterday I had my first prenatal appointment, and had an ultrasound this morning. Everything looks good and on track, and my dates are right (well, duh...you could set a watch by my cycle). My weight is definitely still down from normall--with jeans and my shoes on, I weighed 144 at the dr's office (139 naked before my shower). The Dr tried to find the baby's heartbeat with the hand-held doppler thing, but had warned me that it was a little too early. So I got an ultrasound instead. I did not get an early one with Charlotte, because he found the heartbeat immediately at my 10 week appointment. So far, ultrasounds seem to be harmless to babies, so I'm not complaining a bit about getting an early photo of the pillbug.
I haven't been overly emotional yet (probably a bit b*tchier than normal, but that's more from discomfort than hormone-mood swings), but I definitely misted up when the tech turned the volume on so I could hear the heartbeat. The photo is a white blob in the middle of a black blob in the middle of a gray blob, but if you know which end is the head, you can also sort of make out 4 points that are the leg and arm buds.
Time to spread the news is getting really close. We intend to tell our families this weekend when they're here for Charlotte's birthday. I have a baby shower to attend also, so I'll probably spill the beans there too--plus, the shower's host is in possession of my maternity clothes, so hopefully I can take them home afterwards.
Tonight, we're going birthday shopping for Charlotte, while her aunt and uncle babysit. It's going to be hard not to say anything to them when they get there, especially since my husband hasn't seen the photos from the ultrasound yet, and they're in an envelope marked "Congratulations from XYZ Center Ob/Gyn". I already put away the pile of free baby magazines and goody bag the office gave me yesterday. We might still tell them tonight, but probably will wait to share the news with my inlaws at the same time.
Yesterday I had my first prenatal appointment, and had an ultrasound this morning. Everything looks good and on track, and my dates are right (well, duh...you could set a watch by my cycle). My weight is definitely still down from normall--with jeans and my shoes on, I weighed 144 at the dr's office (139 naked before my shower). The Dr tried to find the baby's heartbeat with the hand-held doppler thing, but had warned me that it was a little too early. So I got an ultrasound instead. I did not get an early one with Charlotte, because he found the heartbeat immediately at my 10 week appointment. So far, ultrasounds seem to be harmless to babies, so I'm not complaining a bit about getting an early photo of the pillbug.
I haven't been overly emotional yet (probably a bit b*tchier than normal, but that's more from discomfort than hormone-mood swings), but I definitely misted up when the tech turned the volume on so I could hear the heartbeat. The photo is a white blob in the middle of a black blob in the middle of a gray blob, but if you know which end is the head, you can also sort of make out 4 points that are the leg and arm buds.
Time to spread the news is getting really close. We intend to tell our families this weekend when they're here for Charlotte's birthday. I have a baby shower to attend also, so I'll probably spill the beans there too--plus, the shower's host is in possession of my maternity clothes, so hopefully I can take them home afterwards.
Tonight, we're going birthday shopping for Charlotte, while her aunt and uncle babysit. It's going to be hard not to say anything to them when they get there, especially since my husband hasn't seen the photos from the ultrasound yet, and they're in an envelope marked "Congratulations from XYZ Center Ob/Gyn". I already put away the pile of free baby magazines and goody bag the office gave me yesterday. We might still tell them tonight, but probably will wait to share the news with my inlaws at the same time.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory -- Not worth the wait
It could have been worse. Our family attempted to go out to dinner last night to the Old Spaghetti Factory on Laclede's Landing in St. Louis. There were 7 of us for dinner--my inlaws were in town, plus my SIL and BIL, my husband, Charlotte, and I.
We arrived right around 6:30, and were given a pager and told that it would be about a 20 minute wait. So far, not bad, since that place is notorious for 2-hour waits. They meant every minute of that 20 minute number, but at least there was plenty of room for Charlotte to run around and climb on chairs.
We were seated at a booth that might have held 6 people comfortably if 4 of them were children--with 6 adults, it was a pretty tight squeeze, and then they pulled a highchair up to the end for Charlotte. Eventually, a guy came by, introduced himself as the "assistant server", and poured us water. He asked if we wanted an order of garlic bread as an appetizer, which we answered yes. Several minutes more went by and our actual server came over for a drink order. She repeated our bread order (apparently the first guy hadn't actually placed the order?) , took drink and dinner orders, and walked off.
While we waited for our drinks, Charlotte colored, played, fussed, bounced on my lap, and then went potty (in the restroom). We got back from the bathroom and still had no drinks on the table. Our dinner was supposed to come with regular bread, in addition to the one appetizer order, but we had none of that either. After a total of probably 15 minutes, the server finally brought our drinks (how long does it take to pour drinks?), and eventually the garlic bread arrived, and then salads/soups. We polished off the garlic bread, and most of our drinks, and saw neither hide nor hair of our server. Our "assistant server" was busy bussing tables nearby and would not make eye contact with any of us to come refill drinks or bring us bread.
The food finally arrived, and my MIL needed additional butter with her meal, but there was no one around to ask. She finally got up and found a manager to ask him to have someone come refill our drinks, bring bread, and her butter. Our server never stopped back by to see if we had gotten the right meals, or needed anything (which clearly we did). By the time we finished eating, we had to wait quite a while longer to get our checks (the server did bring those, eventually). I had already speculated outloud that perhaps after a certain amount of time, we should consider our meals free and just leave, since they were clearly in no hurry for their money.
At that point, Charlotte was beyond patient (she's 2, and we'd been seated for like 1.5 hours), so I took her upstairs to run off some energy. She climbed the stairs, giggled at babies, and ran like a madwoman in circles in the restaurant's entryway. After a good long while (another 10-15 minutes), she tripped and fell and popped her balloon dog (that she had refused to let go of), and got very upset. I had no idea where the rest of the family was (we had 3 checks total--one gift certificate, one cash, one credit card...I wouldn't think it would take long to process that), so we went back downstairs in search of family and/or the balloon animal guy. The family was still waiting for their change, and the balloon guy was nowhere to be found.
Dinner took over 2 hours. For a mediocre pasta meal. Processing the checks took upwards of 20 minutes all by itself. There was not a customer comment card to be found anywhere when we left (maybe they got smart and removed them when they realized what a poor job they were doing). Apparently the manager was hard to find as well, since he or she was the hold up on processing the gift certificates. So, the best we could do was leave a bad tip and a half-dismembered balloon dog to show our displeasure.
And, of course, I can blog my complaints and hope it turns up on every Google search for the Spaghetti Factory!!!
We arrived right around 6:30, and were given a pager and told that it would be about a 20 minute wait. So far, not bad, since that place is notorious for 2-hour waits. They meant every minute of that 20 minute number, but at least there was plenty of room for Charlotte to run around and climb on chairs.
We were seated at a booth that might have held 6 people comfortably if 4 of them were children--with 6 adults, it was a pretty tight squeeze, and then they pulled a highchair up to the end for Charlotte. Eventually, a guy came by, introduced himself as the "assistant server", and poured us water. He asked if we wanted an order of garlic bread as an appetizer, which we answered yes. Several minutes more went by and our actual server came over for a drink order. She repeated our bread order (apparently the first guy hadn't actually placed the order?) , took drink and dinner orders, and walked off.
While we waited for our drinks, Charlotte colored, played, fussed, bounced on my lap, and then went potty (in the restroom). We got back from the bathroom and still had no drinks on the table. Our dinner was supposed to come with regular bread, in addition to the one appetizer order, but we had none of that either. After a total of probably 15 minutes, the server finally brought our drinks (how long does it take to pour drinks?), and eventually the garlic bread arrived, and then salads/soups. We polished off the garlic bread, and most of our drinks, and saw neither hide nor hair of our server. Our "assistant server" was busy bussing tables nearby and would not make eye contact with any of us to come refill drinks or bring us bread.
The food finally arrived, and my MIL needed additional butter with her meal, but there was no one around to ask. She finally got up and found a manager to ask him to have someone come refill our drinks, bring bread, and her butter. Our server never stopped back by to see if we had gotten the right meals, or needed anything (which clearly we did). By the time we finished eating, we had to wait quite a while longer to get our checks (the server did bring those, eventually). I had already speculated outloud that perhaps after a certain amount of time, we should consider our meals free and just leave, since they were clearly in no hurry for their money.
At that point, Charlotte was beyond patient (she's 2, and we'd been seated for like 1.5 hours), so I took her upstairs to run off some energy. She climbed the stairs, giggled at babies, and ran like a madwoman in circles in the restaurant's entryway. After a good long while (another 10-15 minutes), she tripped and fell and popped her balloon dog (that she had refused to let go of), and got very upset. I had no idea where the rest of the family was (we had 3 checks total--one gift certificate, one cash, one credit card...I wouldn't think it would take long to process that), so we went back downstairs in search of family and/or the balloon animal guy. The family was still waiting for their change, and the balloon guy was nowhere to be found.
Dinner took over 2 hours. For a mediocre pasta meal. Processing the checks took upwards of 20 minutes all by itself. There was not a customer comment card to be found anywhere when we left (maybe they got smart and removed them when they realized what a poor job they were doing). Apparently the manager was hard to find as well, since he or she was the hold up on processing the gift certificates. So, the best we could do was leave a bad tip and a half-dismembered balloon dog to show our displeasure.
And, of course, I can blog my complaints and hope it turns up on every Google search for the Spaghetti Factory!!!
August 16, 2006
august 15, 2006
Well, I'm pretty sure I'm still pregnant, but miraculously my stomach is barely bothering me. Today is Wednesday and I haven't had to throw up since Saturday, which was still in the middle of the stomach flu that I was suffering. My weight is still low, 139ish, but that's ok. I'm not craving french fries all the time, so that's definitely a good thing.
I'm 8 weeks pregnant today, and my collection of pants that fit is getting smaller and smaller. I did manage to buy a couple of pairs of early-pregnancy maternity clothes last week, but the one pair of jeans I wore this week are still huge on me. Thank goodness some of my regular clothes are pretty low-waisted--my khaki's today even button, but I normally would have to wear a belt to keep them up.
My first prenatal appointment isn't until next week, and we won't probably tell any of our friends until after the following weekend, when we can make our announcement to our families. Both my mom and my inlaws will be in to celebrate Charlotte's second birthday. We haven't really talked about what to say to Charlotte yet. I have looked once or twice on Amazon to see if there are any good books for small kids about pregnancy and/or new babies. There are a couple of them, but I think I'd really need to read them myself before deciding. There's a Sesame Street dvd that talks about Baby Bear's new baby sister (Curly Sue?). That might be worth a look too. Maybe the library would have a copy of it...
Charlotte looked at my "Pregnancy Week By Week" book with me the other day--it has illustrations of the embryo/fetus through all the stages. She pointed out the first couple, alien-looking ones and pronounced them "fish" :) After about 12 weeks or so, they look like babies with arms and legs and no tails. I didn't explain what was going on or that there was a baby in my tummy, we just looked at pictures of babies, which she enjoyed. At the baby shower over the weekend, she didn't really object to me holding a baby either (though she did object to her daddy doing so). She even wanted to hold the baby herself (with my help). We're going to get her a nicer doll for her birthday, and try to keep fostering themothering-instincts she's got going, in hopes that she'll be more interested than jealous of her new sibling.
Well, I'm pretty sure I'm still pregnant, but miraculously my stomach is barely bothering me. Today is Wednesday and I haven't had to throw up since Saturday, which was still in the middle of the stomach flu that I was suffering. My weight is still low, 139ish, but that's ok. I'm not craving french fries all the time, so that's definitely a good thing.
I'm 8 weeks pregnant today, and my collection of pants that fit is getting smaller and smaller. I did manage to buy a couple of pairs of early-pregnancy maternity clothes last week, but the one pair of jeans I wore this week are still huge on me. Thank goodness some of my regular clothes are pretty low-waisted--my khaki's today even button, but I normally would have to wear a belt to keep them up.
My first prenatal appointment isn't until next week, and we won't probably tell any of our friends until after the following weekend, when we can make our announcement to our families. Both my mom and my inlaws will be in to celebrate Charlotte's second birthday. We haven't really talked about what to say to Charlotte yet. I have looked once or twice on Amazon to see if there are any good books for small kids about pregnancy and/or new babies. There are a couple of them, but I think I'd really need to read them myself before deciding. There's a Sesame Street dvd that talks about Baby Bear's new baby sister (Curly Sue?). That might be worth a look too. Maybe the library would have a copy of it...
Charlotte looked at my "Pregnancy Week By Week" book with me the other day--it has illustrations of the embryo/fetus through all the stages. She pointed out the first couple, alien-looking ones and pronounced them "fish" :) After about 12 weeks or so, they look like babies with arms and legs and no tails. I didn't explain what was going on or that there was a baby in my tummy, we just looked at pictures of babies, which she enjoyed. At the baby shower over the weekend, she didn't really object to me holding a baby either (though she did object to her daddy doing so). She even wanted to hold the baby herself (with my help). We're going to get her a nicer doll for her birthday, and try to keep fostering themothering-instincts she's got going, in hopes that she'll be more interested than jealous of her new sibling.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Like greeting old friends
I'm back to real-time for a post, instead of my August series. The topic is more of the same, however. I think I've mentioned in other posts that there is a roaming collection of maternity clothes that has been shared by 4 (possibly 5) different women over the last several years. We're all a little differently sized, and our pregnancies have covered different seasons, but we've all been able to borrow heavily from the group collection and just add a few pieces of clothing as we need. I had gotten about half of the clothes a couple of weeks ago from the friend, P., who was most recently storing them. I was disappointed at the time that several things that I had bought with Charlotte were not there. Last night, we finally had time to load up the other half of the clothes, plus a few additional things that P. had found in her closet. While my husband was putting Charlotte to bed, I got to open the treasure chest.
I found quite a few more of the clothes that I had worn frequently in this half. My favorite Old Navy jeans were in there, along with two different dresses--one that my mother-in-law bought me the weekend we announced our pregnancy, and one that I wore for both my grandfather's funeral and my baby shower(that sounds kind of morbid grouped like that). I also found a linen top that I had sewed myself (and that actually turned out quite nice). That top I stashed away in my closet with tops that my mother-in-law and her mother had worn during their pregnancies--I'll pass them all to Charlotte one day.
Most of the clothes are summer clothes and are *huge*. Granted, I was huge when I wore them, but still they look like tents right now. My favorite jeans are still too big, though not a lot worse than anything else I'm wearing (my regular pants are all too small, but I'm wearing belts with maternity pants to keep them on..go figure that one out). I believe that they were uncomfortably small after about 6 months last time...maybe this time I'll mostly gain baby instead of everything else :)
I had fun pulling out clothes and remembering where I bought them, or what I did while wearing them. I also found a couple of new things that had been added, including a pretty floral skirt and matching tank top (which I probably won't wear in the winter), and several beautiful and warm sweaters and pairs of corduroy pants (which I'll probably wear a lot of). It is also fun to try things on and see the slightest hint of a bump in my shirts (I think my tummy sticks out more than "slightly", but maternity tops are meant to cover a lot more than what I've got so far). Maybe in the next week or so I will get up the nerve to wear an actual maternity shirt.
I found quite a few more of the clothes that I had worn frequently in this half. My favorite Old Navy jeans were in there, along with two different dresses--one that my mother-in-law bought me the weekend we announced our pregnancy, and one that I wore for both my grandfather's funeral and my baby shower(that sounds kind of morbid grouped like that). I also found a linen top that I had sewed myself (and that actually turned out quite nice). That top I stashed away in my closet with tops that my mother-in-law and her mother had worn during their pregnancies--I'll pass them all to Charlotte one day.
Most of the clothes are summer clothes and are *huge*. Granted, I was huge when I wore them, but still they look like tents right now. My favorite jeans are still too big, though not a lot worse than anything else I'm wearing (my regular pants are all too small, but I'm wearing belts with maternity pants to keep them on..go figure that one out). I believe that they were uncomfortably small after about 6 months last time...maybe this time I'll mostly gain baby instead of everything else :)
I had fun pulling out clothes and remembering where I bought them, or what I did while wearing them. I also found a couple of new things that had been added, including a pretty floral skirt and matching tank top (which I probably won't wear in the winter), and several beautiful and warm sweaters and pairs of corduroy pants (which I'll probably wear a lot of). It is also fun to try things on and see the slightest hint of a bump in my shirts (I think my tummy sticks out more than "slightly", but maternity tops are meant to cover a lot more than what I've got so far). Maybe in the next week or so I will get up the nerve to wear an actual maternity shirt.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
8/14/2006
August 14, 2006
It appears, much to my relief, that my morning sickness is not nearly as bad as I feared. I had awful days Thursday and Friday last week, into Saturday morning. I was keeping nothing down, and unable to drink much (any) liquid. By Friday night into Saturday, the issue had moved lower in my digestive tract than my stomach (if you catch my meaning), and I was up half a dozen times overnight emptying what little food and beverage my body had, and then some apparently. Saturday morning, I got on the scale, and saw to my horror that I was weighing in at a number I haven't seen since college--137. 140 is a pretty hard lower limit for me when I'm healthy, and a week ago I'd inched closer to 142-143. My weight doesn't fluctuate much normally, and I think the lowest I've seen in about 5 years on this particular bathroom scale is 139.8. Basically in a matter of 2 or 3 days I was down 5 pounds, which is a lot when you're worried about sustaining another life on what you're eating. I was beginning to worry that I would end up on an IV in the hospital from dehydration--I was a little fuzzy-headed, but not dizzy and no headaches yet. It was probably just a matter of time at that rate.
Sometime around mid afternoon, I was able to keep down one of Charlotte's pedialyte popsicles. An hour later I had a little less than half a cup of ice cream. An hour after that I had one of Charlotte's kid-sized yogurts. Things stabilized. I was able to sip on ice water. We were invited to the baptism for the son of some friends, and managed to make the 5pm mass and dinner afterwards. When it was time to eat, I found I could actually eat a plate of food--not french fries either--they had a nice array of salads (lettuce-based, chicken salad, one with various beans and corn, fruit salad, one with veggies and slices of meat). It was all very healthy, yummy food and actually felt really good. This is stuff I wouldn't have touched when I was pregnant with Charlotte (when french fries, red meat, and ice cream reigned supreme).
Sunday I didn't get sick at all. I had plenty of queasy moments, but also plenty of nearly-normal times and kept all the food that I ate. Today is more of the same so far--queasiness and excess saliva, yes. Puking, no. Charlotte had a stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, followed a week later by bad diarrhea (blowing out several diapers while we were out of town--not fun), and I think it just took longer to hit me. Morning sickness + stomach flu = really bad. Here's hoping I don't have any more of this. Ever.
It appears, much to my relief, that my morning sickness is not nearly as bad as I feared. I had awful days Thursday and Friday last week, into Saturday morning. I was keeping nothing down, and unable to drink much (any) liquid. By Friday night into Saturday, the issue had moved lower in my digestive tract than my stomach (if you catch my meaning), and I was up half a dozen times overnight emptying what little food and beverage my body had, and then some apparently. Saturday morning, I got on the scale, and saw to my horror that I was weighing in at a number I haven't seen since college--137. 140 is a pretty hard lower limit for me when I'm healthy, and a week ago I'd inched closer to 142-143. My weight doesn't fluctuate much normally, and I think the lowest I've seen in about 5 years on this particular bathroom scale is 139.8. Basically in a matter of 2 or 3 days I was down 5 pounds, which is a lot when you're worried about sustaining another life on what you're eating. I was beginning to worry that I would end up on an IV in the hospital from dehydration--I was a little fuzzy-headed, but not dizzy and no headaches yet. It was probably just a matter of time at that rate.
Sometime around mid afternoon, I was able to keep down one of Charlotte's pedialyte popsicles. An hour later I had a little less than half a cup of ice cream. An hour after that I had one of Charlotte's kid-sized yogurts. Things stabilized. I was able to sip on ice water. We were invited to the baptism for the son of some friends, and managed to make the 5pm mass and dinner afterwards. When it was time to eat, I found I could actually eat a plate of food--not french fries either--they had a nice array of salads (lettuce-based, chicken salad, one with various beans and corn, fruit salad, one with veggies and slices of meat). It was all very healthy, yummy food and actually felt really good. This is stuff I wouldn't have touched when I was pregnant with Charlotte (when french fries, red meat, and ice cream reigned supreme).
Sunday I didn't get sick at all. I had plenty of queasy moments, but also plenty of nearly-normal times and kept all the food that I ate. Today is more of the same so far--queasiness and excess saliva, yes. Puking, no. Charlotte had a stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, followed a week later by bad diarrhea (blowing out several diapers while we were out of town--not fun), and I think it just took longer to hit me. Morning sickness + stomach flu = really bad. Here's hoping I don't have any more of this. Ever.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
August 11, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
You are hopefully reading this at some point later than I am writing it. As of today, we're not ready to make our announcement, though it will likely be in the next couple of weeks. I am now 7 weeks pregnant with our second child. I don't know how long we'll be able to keep the secret, since I'm having a heck of a time fitting into any pants I own, and am sick as a dog the last couple of days.
Neither is a particular surprise--I threw up for the entirety of my pregnancy with Charlotte, though with her I started feeling queasy at about 3.5 weeks instead of 6. I got a good 2 week reprieve this time, though it is hitting me harder. Last time, my record was 3 barfs in one day, not counting the weekend I had the stomach flu (thanks to a friend's kids, who were also barfing that weekend). Yesterday I did 5. I'm on ~4 today--really 5 sessions of hovering over a toilet seat, but 2 were dry and very quick. No, I have no qualms about sharing the details of my puking with the world. Just wait till the baby comes and all I can talk about is the color and consistency of various diaper contents :)
Today I finally broke down and re-discovered one of the few foods that seems to calm my tummy and fill the aching void at the same time--McDonald's french fries. I barely touched the hamburger that also came in my happy meal, but the fries made my tummy quite happy for over an hour. Hooray! Of course, this is the start of the slippery slope that leads to a 60 pound weight gain, but I think I prefer to diet later rather than pass out of combined nausea and hunger right now.
Since this isn't my first pregnancy, you would think the clothing situation wouldn't be an issue. I do have some clothes that are a couple of sizes bigger than what I've been wearing, but that wardrobe was from my psuedo-stay-at-home days and is limited and exceedingly casual (some jeans, and sweats). It will not get me through a workweek. For maternity clothes, I shared in a sort of communal maternity clothing collection that at least 3 or 4 other women have also partaken of. One of my friends is currently in posession of the box (or boxes by this time) of clothes where my favorite maternity jeans (nice low-waisted ones with a wide elastic waistband from Old Navy--no big panel, and not overly maternity-looking) are currently housed. In order to request the clothes, I'll have to tell the secret, so it'll wait a bit longer.
I realize that all of the books and most of the women you talk to claim that you don't need maternity clothes till closer around the second trimester, and that you can get by with a size or two bigger of regular clothes for quite a while in the meantime. Apparently I am not built the same as these women. I sport narrow hips and a short spine from hips to ribs, and of course all my extra body fat collects around my belly to start with. So my waistline barely fits in the same jeans that are falling off my hips, and that's without a uterus the size of a grapefruit squishing all my innards up and out my belly button. Add in the constant queasiness, and the last thing I need is a tight waistband digging into my midsection right now--there's enough pressure down there as it is. If I bought pants in say, a size 16, to fit over my belly without compressing it, then I would look like a clown the way the legs would be bagging over my thighs.
In other words, I'm off this afternoon to look for a pair or two of "0-6month" maternity pants--the kind with an elastic-enough low waist to get me through until the basketball pops out and I need enormous underwear and big stretchy panels. My one such pair of jeans from last time worked until about 4 months (I look huge in a hurry--see my earlier comments about lack of hip room), but were well worth the minor investment. Unfortunately, they're in the box with the rest of the communal maternity closet.
Now I just hope that my tummy stays calm for a walk through the mall, and that I am able to find refreshments and restrooms in a timely enough manner :)
You are hopefully reading this at some point later than I am writing it. As of today, we're not ready to make our announcement, though it will likely be in the next couple of weeks. I am now 7 weeks pregnant with our second child. I don't know how long we'll be able to keep the secret, since I'm having a heck of a time fitting into any pants I own, and am sick as a dog the last couple of days.
Neither is a particular surprise--I threw up for the entirety of my pregnancy with Charlotte, though with her I started feeling queasy at about 3.5 weeks instead of 6. I got a good 2 week reprieve this time, though it is hitting me harder. Last time, my record was 3 barfs in one day, not counting the weekend I had the stomach flu (thanks to a friend's kids, who were also barfing that weekend). Yesterday I did 5. I'm on ~4 today--really 5 sessions of hovering over a toilet seat, but 2 were dry and very quick. No, I have no qualms about sharing the details of my puking with the world. Just wait till the baby comes and all I can talk about is the color and consistency of various diaper contents :)
Today I finally broke down and re-discovered one of the few foods that seems to calm my tummy and fill the aching void at the same time--McDonald's french fries. I barely touched the hamburger that also came in my happy meal, but the fries made my tummy quite happy for over an hour. Hooray! Of course, this is the start of the slippery slope that leads to a 60 pound weight gain, but I think I prefer to diet later rather than pass out of combined nausea and hunger right now.
Since this isn't my first pregnancy, you would think the clothing situation wouldn't be an issue. I do have some clothes that are a couple of sizes bigger than what I've been wearing, but that wardrobe was from my psuedo-stay-at-home days and is limited and exceedingly casual (some jeans, and sweats). It will not get me through a workweek. For maternity clothes, I shared in a sort of communal maternity clothing collection that at least 3 or 4 other women have also partaken of. One of my friends is currently in posession of the box (or boxes by this time) of clothes where my favorite maternity jeans (nice low-waisted ones with a wide elastic waistband from Old Navy--no big panel, and not overly maternity-looking) are currently housed. In order to request the clothes, I'll have to tell the secret, so it'll wait a bit longer.
I realize that all of the books and most of the women you talk to claim that you don't need maternity clothes till closer around the second trimester, and that you can get by with a size or two bigger of regular clothes for quite a while in the meantime. Apparently I am not built the same as these women. I sport narrow hips and a short spine from hips to ribs, and of course all my extra body fat collects around my belly to start with. So my waistline barely fits in the same jeans that are falling off my hips, and that's without a uterus the size of a grapefruit squishing all my innards up and out my belly button. Add in the constant queasiness, and the last thing I need is a tight waistband digging into my midsection right now--there's enough pressure down there as it is. If I bought pants in say, a size 16, to fit over my belly without compressing it, then I would look like a clown the way the legs would be bagging over my thighs.
In other words, I'm off this afternoon to look for a pair or two of "0-6month" maternity pants--the kind with an elastic-enough low waist to get me through until the basketball pops out and I need enormous underwear and big stretchy panels. My one such pair of jeans from last time worked until about 4 months (I look huge in a hurry--see my earlier comments about lack of hip room), but were well worth the minor investment. Unfortunately, they're in the box with the rest of the communal maternity closet.
Now I just hope that my tummy stays calm for a walk through the mall, and that I am able to find refreshments and restrooms in a timely enough manner :)
Friday, September 08, 2006
The Zoo
I like the St. Louis Zoo. I never really thought about a zoo as being anything overly special. I grew up in Indianapolis, which also has a nice zoo, though theirs is not free. But still, we probably went one or more times a year, either with my Mom or some school or girl scout event.
Over the weekend, we attended the wedding of some friends in Minneapolis. We stayed until Monday to enjoy some of the sights, treating it as a sort of mini-family vacation. Before we headed to the airport on Monday, we spent some time at the Minneapolis zoo, which was also nice, though we didn't really see much because we were more pressed for time than we wanted. Because we're members of the St. Louis Zoo, we actually got free admission--it saved us $24 in entrance fees. Way to go, Zoo membership!
While we were there, my husband commented that he'd been there once or twice growing up. He's from northern Iowa where Minneapolis, Chicago, or St. Louis are the closest cities with a zoo. His family spent a lot of time here in St. Louis visiting his grandparents, so he got to visit the zoo here quite a bit. But it certainly made me think about all the kids who grow up in areas like that and might get to see a tiger or elephant close up only on a rare trip to somewhere else. That's kind of sad.
I was thinking about how lucky we are to not only have such a nize zoo, but that the regular admission is completely free. It makes me even more glad that we did pay for the zoo membership to help support it. To be fair, we didn't do it completely selflessly--we get free parking in a close lot, free railroad passes, free admission to the petting zoo, and apparently, a hefty discount to some other zoos around the country. So, I guess this post has turned into a bit of a plug for the zoo and for paying to join it, but that's ok. We're lucky to have the opportunity to do so.
Over the weekend, we attended the wedding of some friends in Minneapolis. We stayed until Monday to enjoy some of the sights, treating it as a sort of mini-family vacation. Before we headed to the airport on Monday, we spent some time at the Minneapolis zoo, which was also nice, though we didn't really see much because we were more pressed for time than we wanted. Because we're members of the St. Louis Zoo, we actually got free admission--it saved us $24 in entrance fees. Way to go, Zoo membership!
While we were there, my husband commented that he'd been there once or twice growing up. He's from northern Iowa where Minneapolis, Chicago, or St. Louis are the closest cities with a zoo. His family spent a lot of time here in St. Louis visiting his grandparents, so he got to visit the zoo here quite a bit. But it certainly made me think about all the kids who grow up in areas like that and might get to see a tiger or elephant close up only on a rare trip to somewhere else. That's kind of sad.
I was thinking about how lucky we are to not only have such a nize zoo, but that the regular admission is completely free. It makes me even more glad that we did pay for the zoo membership to help support it. To be fair, we didn't do it completely selflessly--we get free parking in a close lot, free railroad passes, free admission to the petting zoo, and apparently, a hefty discount to some other zoos around the country. So, I guess this post has turned into a bit of a plug for the zoo and for paying to join it, but that's ok. We're lucky to have the opportunity to do so.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
The big girl bed
Over the weekend, we went out of town for a wedding. For the first time, we got a hotel room with two double beds instead of a king bed and rollaway crib (which means cheap play-pen these days...). Charlotte took to sleeping in the big bed with no problems. We didn't expect any, since she's also quite a fan of sleeping in our bed. She has a bad habit of stretching out in whatever direction she feels like, frequently horizontally. That's a problem in our bed since it means that one of us is getting kicked. Of the three nights we stayed in the hotel, she slept one night with me, one with her daddy, and one all by herself. The arrangements varied by wherever she happened to be when she finally sat still long enough to fall asleep (unlike at home where we can shut the door to her room and give her 5 or 10 minutes to put herself to bed, which she normally does without much fuss).
Once we got home Monday night, I threw her brand-new sheets in the wash, and stripped her big-girl bed of its guest-room bedding. We put a pair of bedrails up, though she's never actually fallen out of a bed that we're aware of, and added a step stool so she can get in easier (she gets down with no trouble). We didn't actually get her sheets dried, so we threw the quilt on and figured she'd get to test-drive it the next night. But, the little princess insisted on sleeping on the big bed instead of her little toddler bed. She slept right on top of the quilt, with her Pooh fleece blanket nearby (I think it started out covering her, but she uncovered herself overnight).
I had figured that by Christmas we'd have her transitioned to the big bed and be able to move the toddler bed out of her room and turn it back into a crib for the new baby. It doesn't look like that will be much of an issue at all.
Once we got home Monday night, I threw her brand-new sheets in the wash, and stripped her big-girl bed of its guest-room bedding. We put a pair of bedrails up, though she's never actually fallen out of a bed that we're aware of, and added a step stool so she can get in easier (she gets down with no trouble). We didn't actually get her sheets dried, so we threw the quilt on and figured she'd get to test-drive it the next night. But, the little princess insisted on sleeping on the big bed instead of her little toddler bed. She slept right on top of the quilt, with her Pooh fleece blanket nearby (I think it started out covering her, but she uncovered herself overnight).
I had figured that by Christmas we'd have her transitioned to the big bed and be able to move the toddler bed out of her room and turn it back into a crib for the new baby. It doesn't look like that will be much of an issue at all.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Surprise!
I suppose I can finally admit via cyberspace that I'm pregnant. We started telling people a week or so ago. I haven't told everyone I know in person, but many of the people we see frequently have heard, and our families know. I could keep the info off my blog, but it has been hard enough not to complain about various things, and, as you have probably noticed, I like to use my blog to whine and complain about my life :)
I'm about 11 weeks right now, due in March. Technically the date (the magic 40 week number) is at the very end of March, but given that Charlotte came at 36 weeks, lets just call it March. I'm not counting on going past the due date because 1) my dates are really darned accurate (You can set a watch by me, so there is no fudging the numbers) and 2) I had a C-section with Charlotte, and I suspect the chances of my doctor letting me get 1-2 weeks "post-date" are slim, especially given that there' s no question of the date. My doctor is open to the possibility of a VBAC, which is probably what I would prefer to try, though I have a good friend who swears that scheduling a repeat C-section was the best way to go (we had similar experiences in our first births--long labor + pushing followed by a C-section). I'm probably not up for scheduling things, but won't cry if I end up with a repeat C-section either, as long as we all come out of it healthy.
Let's see, other vital statistics: so far I have actually lost about 4 pounds :( Charlotte brought home the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, and I hit a weight I haven't seen since probably college. That took a week or two to really get out of my system, and I've actually felt pretty darned good for about a week now. This is amazing, since I puked right up to the end with Charlotte (and gained 50lbs in the process....). We had an early ultrasound right at 9 weeks--standard practice since it was too early to find the heartbeat externally. The little black and white blob apparently measured fine for the dates, and has a beating heart, which is most of what they check for at that point. And, there' s only one. Twins don't run in either family, so that's no suprise.
I have a series of posts that I haven't yet published that ya'll may get to read, whenever I get around to posting them.
I'm about 11 weeks right now, due in March. Technically the date (the magic 40 week number) is at the very end of March, but given that Charlotte came at 36 weeks, lets just call it March. I'm not counting on going past the due date because 1) my dates are really darned accurate (You can set a watch by me, so there is no fudging the numbers) and 2) I had a C-section with Charlotte, and I suspect the chances of my doctor letting me get 1-2 weeks "post-date" are slim, especially given that there' s no question of the date. My doctor is open to the possibility of a VBAC, which is probably what I would prefer to try, though I have a good friend who swears that scheduling a repeat C-section was the best way to go (we had similar experiences in our first births--long labor + pushing followed by a C-section). I'm probably not up for scheduling things, but won't cry if I end up with a repeat C-section either, as long as we all come out of it healthy.
Let's see, other vital statistics: so far I have actually lost about 4 pounds :( Charlotte brought home the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, and I hit a weight I haven't seen since probably college. That took a week or two to really get out of my system, and I've actually felt pretty darned good for about a week now. This is amazing, since I puked right up to the end with Charlotte (and gained 50lbs in the process....). We had an early ultrasound right at 9 weeks--standard practice since it was too early to find the heartbeat externally. The little black and white blob apparently measured fine for the dates, and has a beating heart, which is most of what they check for at that point. And, there' s only one. Twins don't run in either family, so that's no suprise.
I have a series of posts that I haven't yet published that ya'll may get to read, whenever I get around to posting them.
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