26 Weeks 2 Days

I realized today that I hadn't taken any pictures of my belly, at least not intentional ones. Lauren wanted to take some pictures so I posed for her. Spencer wanted in on the action and he was too cute to kick out of the frame. More than half way there with a little over 3 months left to go. I definitely look pregnant now and I feel rather bloated all the time. Things are only going to get more squished from here.

One Word Tag

My sister in law got me so here are the rules: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four other people. Maybe you'll learn something new and with one word answers it will be short.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? Benny
3. Your hair? dehydrated
4. Your mother? talented
5. Your father? dedicated
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? weird
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal? house
10. The room you’re in? family
11. Your hobby? crafts
12. Your fear? spiders
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? house
14. What you’re not? unpregnant
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? house
17. Where you grew up? Iowa
18. The last thing you did? cross stitch
19. What are you wearing? jammies
20. Favorite gadget? knives
21. Your pets? kids
22. Your computer? small
23. Your mood? happy
24. Missing someone? family
25. Your car? Honda
26. Something you’re not wearing? pants
27. Favorite store? Target
28. Like someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Lauren
31. Last time you cried? Peoria

I tag Kristi, mom, Tara, and Allison. Yes, I know you are busy but hey, maybe you'll be bored some night.

Glucose Test

Ick, ick, and ick. I hate taking this test. I long for the day when my OB will just hand me a bag of gummy bears or jelly bellies and tell me to eat them in 10 minutes. I can do that no problem, but having to drink that horrible, almost fizzy brew is just inhumane. These would be so much better.

The baby is doing very well. My uterus was measuring a little small last month, but I think the baby just hadn't popped out of my pevic region yet. Not the case this month. I was right where I am supposed to be and her heartbeat sounded perfect. I get to start tracking kick counts come week 28. That will be tons of fun. I guess after dinner Lauren and I will sit down together and do our homework.

What type of genre is this?

My favorite books to read are histories of math and science. I'm not sure what genre they fall into because they are not text books. Right now I am reading The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio. It is so fascinating to get a brief overview of the dawn of mathematics and how this number affects so much of our world.

I also loved reading Albert Einstein, Creator and Rebel. Excellent discussion of Einstein's theories and a bit of his life history without being too confusing and certainly not dry and dull.

Dan Brown's book The DaVinci Code almost falls into the category. I liked that book not so much for the plot, but for the art history that was contained in it. Clearly this book was fiction, but I like having history told to me as a story especially when it involves science and math.

So what would you call the genre?

Space Bags

I give them 2 stars out of 5.

For any who don't know Space Bags are bags that you fill with soft items and then vacuum out the air and watch them shrink. The official site for them is spacebag.com and there you can see a nifty little video demo of how well they shrink your storage problem. As you watch this video be sure to note how 4 huge storage boxes shrink down into one of their giant cubes.

Since we live in a small apartment I thought they would be a handy investment since I save all the kid's clothes. Ben laughed and said I was just being taken in by the infomercial. Nevertheless he did find some Space Bags on ebay and I now have ten cubes ranging in size from large to jumbo. I filled four large and one giant bag plus a little bit of a second giant bag with clothes the kids have outgrown. I had no idea they'd worn that many clothes let alone that I'd bought that many clothes for them. My only consolation is that 99% of the clothing was either given to me, purchased at yard sales, or bought at end of season clearance time. I had five large storage tubs of clothes and shoes to go through once I finally found all the tubs of clothes. I saved out all the girl clothes from 0-9 months and the shoes but 'Space Bagged' everything else.

Here is what I got.

Do any of those look like cubes to you? I was disappointed that they didn't shrink down like the infomercial so merrily demonstrates. I honestly expected they'd perform just as they did on TV. Yes, silly me for being so naive. I'm going to call the company up to more and get some answers. There is no fill line on the bags saying do not fill beyond this point and the infomercial shows them clear full. They are filled with large bulky items in the infomercial and I was filling with small children's clothes so perhaps I should be pleased with my results. Maybe I just packed my bags too full and the clothes can't get anymore dense than that. (I'm thinking that last thought is the right answer)

I give them two stars because before my adventure all those clothes took up four storage bins and only two would fit on that shelf in the closet. True I now have a storage bin of shoes that can't be shrunk down so I essentially just took three bins and am storing them where I used to have only two. Not quite what they advertise.

Ben’s response to all this: “I told you so, but at least you had fun.” I did have fun. I love reorganizing things and there is nothing better when expecting a baby than to go through all the cute tiny clothes you have and imagine dressing your cute little baby.

Like Daddy

With two children and only one bathtub, someone has got to compromise when it is bath time. That someone turned out to be Spencer because he didn't seem to care as much as Lauren.

Usually when I say it is bath time I get groanings of despair about how the ‘funnest’ game in the whole world has just started and now it is being disrupted all for a 'stinky' bath. The minute I say that Spencer will go first in the tub the tone changes into one of bathing necessity and how unfair life is when Spencer always gets to go first. Of course by this time Spencer has heard about the bathing opportunity and is very interested in the desirable prospect of swimming in a tub full of bubbles. Enter strife, contention, and much whining as I try to explain how we can all share the one bathtub fairly and equally. It never works to let one go first while the other waits and since Spencer is just as happy to shower in the master bathroom it all seems to have resolved itself perfectly. Just pretend that California is not currently suffering a water shortage that will soon require more stringent rationing of water.

Spencer actually really does enjoy taking a shower because he can pretend to be daddy. He loves stepping out of the shower and wrapping up in a hand towel just like Ben wraps up in his big green towel. Then he prances out of the bathroom chanting "I like daddy now". The other day he was a bit wound up and began jumping on the bed. Here he is just "like daddy".
Shortly after this series of photos was taken his towel fell off to which he dismally cried, "I not like daddy anymore!" Sorry I am not providing a photo of that because I was laughing to hard to take one.

Family in California

We had some family in California finally. It wasn't until you all left that I realized just how much I missed being close to where we could hang out with family on a regular basis. We had a great time with you guys and appreciate you making that drive from Utah with two little kids.

We went to Disneyland for one day, though I did not get any pictures taken. Sorry. It was really hot and I think I got a little dehydrated so I wasn't really thinking about capturing the moments on camera. We also went to the Spectrum and held a $1000 dachshund. Spencer and Lauren loved him, but that's just a bit too pricey. Even Sandi agreed it wasn't a good food storage investment. ;)
Here we are at the lion fountain in the Spectrum. Dad and I are both taking pictures. Ben was at work, and by work I mean he was out at a fancy lunch culminating the summer program at his office. Tough life.
We stopped at a fountain to play at for lunch. The kids had a blast. Spencer was wearing a pullup and it got so soaked it split and started falling apart. I didn't ever get a good shot of just how big the bulge was but it was pretty funny.

The first day in town we took things easy and went to a great park for the kids. It had play equipment and a water zone. The adults got to sit close by in some nice shade and enjoy a picnic lunch.

Spencer and Topaz had a lot of fun in the water zone. Spence would throw the tennis ball to the ground and then call for it and Topaz would go get it for him. Topaz tired of the game first.

I love the water splash on this shot.

My little mud pie. She also threw a couple of mud balls but none got me, fortunately. Ben wore his nice work clothes and avoided the mud as well, but Lauren did manage to wipe grape jelly on his shirt.

Spencer's bath tub.

On Saturday the ladies went to the gem fair in Costa Mesa. Amber got lots of ideas for new baby names and Emerald got a little piece of her namesake. It was fun, but hot and crowded. I didn't realize the Orange County Market would be occuring at the same place.

We had a great time and are so glad to get to see family. Amber, I have Topaz's cup and Emerald's bottle. Would you like them now or can I mail them at Christmas time? I haven't found anything else. . .yet.

The Art of Flattering the Pregnant Lady

It is always an awkward step into the realm of 'flattering with delicacy' when one attempts to compliment a pregnant lady. You always run the risk of complimenting someone who is not pregnant or has recently given birth. How unfortunate for you if that happens. This post will not save you there, but if you have ascertained correctly that the woman you are addressing is indeed heavy with child and not just heavy, you will be able to deftly compliment her without offending her. Personally I do not question any woman on her belly unless it is blatantly obvious she is pregnant, thus avoiding that whole social misstep entirely.

If you wish to give a compliment to a pregnant woman bear in mind that no matter how imperceptible her growing belly may be to your untrained eye, she is fully aware to the minutest detail the changes her body has undertaken. Never, I repeat, never tell a pregnant woman that she does not look pregnant. However truly sincerely the compliment is given the reception will almost always be bad. I am currently five months pregnant with my third child. I have been told numerous times while taking Lauren to school that I do not look pregnant or people would have never guessed I was pregnant. Now I do not wrap myself in a sheet nor do I wear baggy moo moos every day so I find it slightly depressing that these people think I am not pregnant considering the shape of my body right now. True they just met me and I them, and yes they are trying to tell me I look really small, but I am still offended that they think I always look like I stuck half a basketball up my shirt. Yes, a lot of celebrities are having babies so it seems fashionable to be sporting that type of belly, but I hardly am the type to appear pregnant just because it is a fad.

To avoid inflicting the above mentioned affronts here are the three compliments you may pay to any pregnant lady without fear of negative repercussions. If the woman says she is pregnant and you honestly could not tell she had done more than drink a few extra glasses of water that day, then you simply say “wow, you look so small I would never have guessed you were that many weeks/months along”. This will invariable boost the lady’s self-esteem because doubtless she is excruciatingly aware that certain items of clothing are getting a bit tight. There are many variations of this compliment depending on if you know how far along the pregnancy has progressed. Simply adapt it for your situation, but as long as you compliment how small her belly is you will not offend unless it is clear the woman is giving birth to a whale. In that case you need compliment number two.

If the woman clearly looks pregnant and none too small you can simply compliment the cuteness of her belly. Everyone likes to think they look cute and no one more so than the woman whose body is being taken over by a rather large parasite. A quick note about how cute she is looking with her growing belly and maternity clothes is all that is needed to brighten her day.

There are the few cases, especially later in pregnancy when the woman does not look small nor cute. I have a picture taken two days before Spencer was born and I look like I’m ready to pop and that is anything but a cute look. Please do not patronize a pregnant lady in this condition because she’ll know you are lying. If she looks horribly huge and not very cute then simply say “you look good/great” and then in your mind add “and by you I mean the nail polish on your left big toe, or the eye shadow so perfectly applied to your upper right eyelid.” In this way you have honestly complimented her but it is ambiguous enough of a compliment that surely you can find something about her person to which it can refer. She will in turn be grateful that you didn’t tell her she looks like she is carrying twins, should have been induced three weeks ago, or just plain terrible.

There you have the iron-clad method for flattering pregnant ladies. May you go out into social situations free from the fear of awkward pauses that seem to necessarily precede compliments to a pregnant woman.

Lauren's Kindergarten Experience Update

Lauren really is enjoying kindergarten as long as you don't ask her about it right when she gets out at 11:35 or when she is tired. She's usually pretty hungry for lunch right when she gets out so is sometimes a bit grumpy. I send her with big snacks, but something happens to them, more on that later.

I dread the day she tells me school is boring and she doesn't want to go anymore or the day something bad happens and she stops liking it so much. The main key in my mind is to make sure she gets plenty of sleep. If she is well rested, then if things happen, they aren't nearly so dramatic and terrible. She did tell me last week that she didn't like having to do everything her teacher told her to do. She would much rather stay home with me and do whatever she wanted to do. That right there is why homeschooling wouldn't work so well for her.

I worried about Lauren making friends at school since she doesn't live in the school boundaries and didn't have the experience of going to preschool before kindergarten. Sometimes after a hard day she'll tell me that she doesn't have any friends at school. It makes me sad, but then she tells me about the times that some of the girls in her class have forgotten their snacks and how she has shared her snacks with them. That warms my heart. I know Lauren is a kind, sweet, thoughtful little girl and she is making friends. The days she says she doesn't have friends are probably days when she is a bit hungry and tired.
The school has this great program where the kindergartners are assigned a reading buddy in the fourth grade. Every Friday they have some time with their reading buddy to read stories. At the beginning of the year the fourth graders read to the little kindergartners, but the goal is to have the kindergartners reading to their buddies by the end. Lauren loves the reading buddy program. I asked her about her buddy last Friday. Lauren said she was a girl but could not remember her name. I asked if she was in fourth or fifth grade. Lauren thought for a minute and said, "I think she is a teenager and in first grade." All in all she is having a great time and I am very happy for her and pleased with the way she is growing and learning about the world around her and demonstrating who she is even when I'm not there.

Spencer's New Hiding Place

So I hear Spencer calling for help yesterday and I got into his room and find him stuck head first in his chair. He didn't wait for me to get the camera before he freed himself, but he was happy to redo the whole thing so I could catch it on tape.