Tickled

Ok...I don't have pics because of various reasons....the main one being that our computer is bogged down and I can't download any at the moment. Argh.

Anyway, I'm tickled because I was able to adapt a pair of shorts from Salvation Army to fit my expanding preggo-belly! I can't stand anything on my tummy right now, as "small" as I am. So underbelly has been my fit of choice lately. And these shorts were just perfect, with enough stretch to fasten after adjusting.

I started by ripping them almost to the sideseams and then trying them on, pinning the waistband where I wanted it to fit. I just trimmed away the extra fabric, and sewed the waistband back on...made easier with my upholstery sewing machine. I think I could've used my normal machine, but I wanted stronger thread.

Anyway, it didn't take too long and now I have a pair of shorts that fit...for $1.19! After browsing the web and looking at the cost of maternity clothes, that has left me searching for alternatives.

I'll try to take pics to post later...I have another pair I'm going to alter the same way in a different wash, and a pair of pants too. The latter will have to have a hook closure or something to give me a bit more room...heh. So far so good though! I am just tickled pink...lol.

Glorious

That's the word that comes to mind these days. Winter wasn't as dreary and grey as last year, but that doesn't diminish the glory of spring...the daffodils are up and smiling, the pear trees and pink magnolias are showing color, everything is fresh and greening up. Woot! And there's nothing like the smell of hyacinth....yum.

My dh came home a couple of weeks ago and wanted to till the garden. Normally that takes some thought and preparation on my part, but I grudgingly agreed. I shouldn't have. While I was trying to dig up some canna lily tubers that showed up last year, my dh plowed across the front of the garden instead of going the other way. So it ended up with me bawling my eyes out, pawing in the dirt to see if there were any peony tubers left, a fresh burst of tears with each broken pink bud that showed up. I had such a hard time with them last year...not knowing what they were and almost killing them, pinching the flower buds off to help them get established. *sigh* Some things were not meant to be. There were probably 15-20 tubers across the front fence, and I just had it pitcured in my mind with those beautiful blossoms nodding over the fence. Boo-hoo. I'm still trying to get over it.

Fortunately there are others scattered around the yard for me to look forward to. The buds have popped up and some leaves are starting to uncurl. It's all so exciting!

I even noticed some tulip buds starting to pop out...won't be long now. I need to remember to take a picture of the front of the house while it's all pretty. There are lots of daffodils to brighten things up. I'm hoping to get some popsicle sticks to label where the bulbs are and what kind, so I can split some of them up for next year. A lot of them are in tight clusters and need a bit of room, I think. Plus, I always think about landscaping ideas around this time of year, on days when winter tightens it's grip and I'd rather be indoors.

I think I have solidified my idea of the color scheme to shoot for, so now can begin compiling lists of plants to find and start marking which ones to relocate in the yard. I need to give some iris attention...it's at the back of a deep bed and needs a place where it can be seen. All that I have are yellow, but the neighbor shared some periwinkle blue with me that will look really nice mixed in.

This house is so perfect for me (us). Light green with peachy-orange under the eaves. So anyway, my idea is to do yellows and oranges, with purples/blue for contrast with maybe a bit of red thrown in for some kick. There are already some things here with those colors, lilies in particular, so that gives me a head start. Especially since we don't have money to devote to landscaping this year. Hopefully I can find a few dollars here and there to buy a few perennials. I was so hoping to get the yard in shape before baby arrives. So I only have a few months to work on it before the garden demands more attention and I'm so fat that moving becomes difficult! I was joking the other day that I'll have to make the garden rows twice as wide this year, just so I can move around!

My dh said the buds on our snow goose cherry are getting bigger...I expect blooms in a few more weeks. Middle of April or so? I can't wait...I hope the neighbors or whoever sees it will enjoy and like the choice we made for our "replacement" tree.

I need to check the Farmer's Almanac for good planting days this week. I managed to get some sugar snaps in the ground, but have so much more I'd love to plant! Kale, spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, collards, beets, turnips, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. The last three I bought starts for...we'll see how they do. The cabbage did alright last year, but I need to be on top of things and dust with diatomaceous earth (DE) to try to keep the worms away. Hopefully starting them early will make them happier and avoid some heat.

So anyway, those are my ramblings this morning. The sun is out and I need to work on an upholstery project I've been stalling on. I moved everything to the "sun porch" where it's warm and bright, so no excuses for me today. *grin*

Oh...brief update on my pregnancy...I'm at sixteen and a half weeks and feeling great. The midwife came and checked everything last week, and we got to record the heartbeat. So amazing. My iron is a little low, so I'm working on that...pulling out the cast iron pan to season and trying to eat blackstrap molasses. The most fun things is I think I'm starting to feel the baby. Just the last day or so I have started to feel little thumps or almost twitches. I'm not positive yet, but it's exciting anyway. Hopefully it's not just in my head because I want it so bad! *lol*

Well, toodles...

Thanks...

I am much obliged for the responses to my oatmeal request! I recently bought some quick oats and steel cut oats, so we have plenty of options to try.

Thanks again for the recommendations!

I'm cleaning today in preparation for company tomorrow. A big house sure does require a lot of upkeep. Buck keeps following me around, so he must be bored. Poor dog....he can only spend so much time outside with the temps so low.

My morning sickness is getting much better week by wekk, so that enables me to do more. I'm still sleeping like there's no tomorrow, but I guess that's ok. I have put on a lot of weight for the first trimester, but I'm eating healthy so am not too worried. If my appetite doesn't moderate soon I'll start taking needed measures.

The midwife, De'ette, should be calling soon. When another woman in my area gives birth and she comes back for the PKU screen she's going to call, and hopefully we'll get a heartbeat! I'm really excited about that...right now it doesn't seem real. I mean, the pudge is real...lol...but "proof" would be nice.

Okee dokee...back to scrubbing. Ya'll take care!

Homemade Quaker Oatmeal?

After spending $2.50 for 8 of those little packets, I'm on a quest to find out how to make my own mix. I love that my dh wants a healthier breakfast, but I know I can buy a whole container of oats for that price!

So I'm turning to you, friends. Has anyone done this themselves, and is willing to share the recipe and any tricks involved? (I was wondering if the sugar would settle and be a problem, etc...)

Guess I'll go try a google search too and see if anything shows up.

I also want to thank all of you for your kind thoughts and encouragement on my pregnancy. It is truly a miracle, and I'm just thankful for every day and every growing pain.

I must admit that I compromised on my commitment to using only second-hand clothing. Last night I went and looked through the maternity section, and they had some great things on sale. So I bought 3 tops for really, really cheap, and hope to use one to make a pattern and replicate more for myself. That was my justification anyhow!

Later, I'd like to take a poll from all of you who have used a sling for your baby, about which kind you found to be the best and most versatile. Next time, though.

News

Ok...I can finally tell. Besides the fact that it's been crazy and hectic and I've been madly painting, there's another big reason why I haven't been blogging lately. (Thanks for the kind comments on my painting, btw.)

All my computer time lately has been spent in research. I usually do a lot of that anyway, but now I have a new topic: pregnancy!

This has been such a surprise...statistically a miracle in my book. I had "given up" this month and was very discouraged after two years of "trying"...and then found out New Year's Eve that I'm expecting! Even with all the extra stress and goings on...I'm just shaking my head.

So you wanna hear the story? It's kind of funny.

After our week visiting the family in FL we headed north to Gainsville to celebrate the New Year with friends. After eating out in town and walking about a bit, we headed home to the boonies. I happened to mention how weird I had been feeling the past few weeks...hungry but nauseous, without feeling like it was the flu, cold symptoms, etc... I was hoping that Bill, a nurse, could tell me it was some strange bug or something. Kim suggested we stop and get a pregnancy test just in case, which I was reticent to do since I hated to "waste" the money when I knew there was no way, and I had some really cheap tests at home.

Well, against my "better" judgement she turned a U-ey at the last pharmacy (they are way out in the country) and went in and got the test, with me nervous and shaking my head at the impossibility of it all.

So we got back to the house and I tried to stay casual and work up the gumption to go pee. The guys went out to start a fire, and I decided to go for it. (There was no way I was going to have everyone standing around outside the bathroom waiting on me! *lol* )

So the test line turns DARK really quick, and I'm sitting there waiting for the control line to show up, and it's not really there. So I go running in to Kim to see what she thinks, and as soon as she sees the dark test line she starts screaming, "You're pregnant!"

And then the fire alarm goes off above our heads. And the one in the living room, because she had started bruning some incense to make the house smell nice. So she's waving a towel around trying to get it to stop, and we're both yelling at each other, and the guys come running in the back door armed with the fire extinguisher.

So I'm trying to tell Aaron above the din, and show him the test, and we are just in shock. I'm crying, Kim's crying, we're all hugging each other...it was really great. I couldn't have chosen a better time and place with such great friends to find out. (I would have totally freaked out if I'd been home alone and took the test and had a BFP.)

So we stood around in a ltitle circle and they prayed for us...it was so neat. And then we went out around the bonfire in total shock and stupification. *lol* I kept trying to think of when I had my wisdom teeth out and when I took pain killer, etc...and how far along I could possibly be. SO WEIRD!!

And everything was suddenly explained. Heh. I'm glad to know what's wrong with me now. And so far so good...I'm sick and no spotting or anything.

And I talked to the local midwife who is really great and so experienced and professional, and when she talked about the home birth experience I amost cried, it sounded so beautiful and relaxing. I would go nuts in a hospital, worrying about all the crap they try to pull on you. She can do a lot more than I thought...IV's, breathing support for baby, pitocin if neccesary, the works. She has been birthing for almost 30 years, working in a hospital for 16, and in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Her c-section rate is only 4%, and she's only had to take one baby to the hospital. She also can turn babies and deliver breech, and I'm very confident in her ability.

So in a few weeks she said we'll try to get a heartbeat. I'm so excited!

I guess I'm about week 8.

An ultrasound done at this stage should show a fluttering heartbeat. Elbows begin to form in the arms and fingers start to develop. The leg buds begin to show feet with tiny notches for the toes. The face continues to change as the ears, eyes and the tip of the nose appear. The intestines start to form in the umbilical cord. Teeth develop under the gums.

Quick Hello

Hopefuly in a few more weeks I'll have a bit of time for blogging. Between sickness, the holidays, painting, and trip to FL, things have been too crazy to really sit down and think about writing something.

In fact, I should be working on finishing a painting as I write, but I have been distracted lately and try as I might, picking up the paintbrush again after "vacation" is just SOOO hard!

Oh...I could include a pic of one that I finally finished before we left. I'm pretty pleased with it, though I had a hard time towards the end before I got those last red peppers in. It's really hard to mix colors in our front room. The lighting changes throughout the day, from day to day, and I guess I'm not skilled enough to deal with and compensate for it. As I progressed, I felt like the colors were too greyed down, but oh well. It's finished and I'll have to live with it now. The reds make it pop, so I'm happy.

Later on I'll post pics of my great grandmother's magnificent new house. It will probably be the only time in my life to see a house so grand. It made me happy that it's not mine, that we can strive to find a simpler life than that. Orlando is a crazy place, and I'm not at all sorry that we moved. The traffic is insane...it wears on your brain and your life all the time. I felt anxious the whole week when we were out...how to avoid traffic, get places faster, etc... I don't think it's healthy.

And now I'm rambling just to hear my head rattle. Toodles!