Insane, antic-filled, busy, FUN, full, exhausting weekend!

I don't think K and I could have fit much more into one weekend. Our dear friends from Iowa were up to stay with us from Thursday until Sunday. It was wonderful to see them and our Godson again! I had a chiropractor appointment, we had baptism class, I had a *huge* baby shower thrown for me, went out to dinner, went to the spa, ran errands and to the Mall of America and Ikea (love Ikea!), cleaned, started writing thank you notes, did 3 loads of laundry, and laughed so hard I nearly peed in my pants at a joke that was played on my hubby! And I think that's all. So, once I catch my breath, I will do another post and get some pictures up of all the fun that was had! Happy Monday everyone!

by request...a belly shot

Crystal, who shall forever be "Sneaky Crystal" (see here, and here, and here) requested a baby/belly shot. Her exact wording was, "Do you look like you enjoyed Thanksgiving AND Christmas a little too much now?" Of course, if you followed the blog about our December scrapbooking crop, you know where that quote originated from. (Go here to read all the gory details!)

Just as a refresher, here are some pictures, same shirt and jeans from October when I was 24 weeks pregnant (to read the whole blog, go here).

Above, 24 weeks pregnant...

Below, now, 35 weeks pregnant...

So, there ya go. That's what the belly is lookin' like. BIG!!! It's hard to bend at the waist and pick stuff up, I have to remember to bend the knees to go down and get stuff off the floor. Also, I don't think I'll be able to paint my toes until after the baby is born! But, I am still *loving* being pregnant! This is just so much fun and so amazing. It really is a blessing and I cherish every day that I have left of this. Sure, I am excited to meet our child and to hold it and kiss and be Mommy. I am looking forward to finding out if this is a boy or a girl...but, I don't want to wish away any of the few days I have left of this pregnancy. I am just loving every single day of this gift!

a short video

I am trying to come up with the words to explain why K and I are hoping for a home birth of our child in the coming weeks. Bear with me, as it may take a week or more to try to organize our thought process and emotions related to this...in the meanwhile, this short video of a midwife in Ohio is beautiful. Watch it, see how gentle the who birth process/philosophy can be, this is but a snippet of what we value... One last note, in Minnesota midwives *can* provide prenatal care. We have received all of our prenatal care thru or midwife and her assistant, who is a midwifery student (in her 2nd of 3 years of midwifery school). Please take a minute to watch this video. It's beautiful (and *not* graphic)!
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~tm322203/Midwife/

Why we named her ChewToy

This is our cute little dog, the Monster and his kitty, ChewToy. Just as a disclaimer...Chewy is *not* declawed, so even though it's 7 pounds vs 100 pounds, the claws help even out the odds! This is the kind of playing they do every single day. Usually ChewToy is the instigator!

I am a delinquent

Sorry for the big gap in my blogging. I don't have any excuses, I have just been lazy. We spent the New Years holiday in Iowa with our dear friends. It was wonderfully relaxing and a great way to be sure I slowed down and relaxed! I have been keeping tabs on my BP and it's looking a little better. :-)

This week, my evenings are being spent cleaning the house (which I actually am not minding!) painting furniture for the Baby room (it's almost done!) and wondering what else I am forgetting to do around here!

Have a wonderful week everyone. I promise I will try to get some pics up here and some more interesting posts!

Midwife Appointment!

We had our 34 week midwife appointment today. As usual, it was a fabulous hour! We only had a few questions and we had all of them answered. Our midwife asked us some questions and we talked about breastfeeding a little more. At the end of our appointment we got to hear Baby's heartbeat; which is our favorite part! Baby was quite busy and the heart rate was bouncing between the 130s and low 150s. It was so nice and strong! Our midwife and her assistant were pleased with it. Baby is also in a great position too, already head down. Then it was time to take my blood pressure. 138/83....ya, it wasn't so great. It was just one reading, but it was enough to concern our midwife and so I am going to be monitoring it and e-mailing her every few days with my blood pressure readings. Fortunately, our friends C & M have an at home bp monitor so I will be borrowing that. I talked to my chiropractor and our dear friend Val who is also a chiropractor and will be increasing my fish oil supplements, magnesium, folic acid and vitamin C in order to be sure that my body has all the nutrients it needs so we can try to prevent this one reading from being a trend and moving towards preeclampsia. One of the pregnancy books that we have, The Whole Pregnancy Handbook by Joel Evans, MD, has a section on preeclampsia and he also lists these supplements as helpful in preventing preeclampsia. I am also sitting with my feet up and am drinking MORE water. Apparently, too little water can also cause high blood pressure readings. So, if you have a moment and can say a little prayer that my blood pressure returns to healthy readings I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks, and in case I don't have time to post again, have a wonderful, SAFE, healthy New Year's Eve!

A Cleanup Christmas

Ok, Hubby isn't sure who I am, but he begged me to stay! Not only did I get the coolest Organic Housekeeping book as a gift, but my in-laws gave me a Shark Steam Mop and hand-held steamer! Yes, I am a cleaning machine -- AND LOVING IT! I had fun, yes, fun cleaning the master bathroom tonite! I used vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, a nylon scrubbie and the steamers. That's it. The part that shocks me the most is that my bathroom has never, ever been this clean! For the same amount of time and actually less elbow grease, my bathroom is freaking sparkling! I told K that I was going to clean the other 2 bathrooms tomorrow and that I was looking forward to it. I think he walked away shaking his head, but afraid to pinch himself and end this dream! I love having a clean house, a house that is free of chemical pollution, and knowing that I am using cleaning agents that don't negatively impact the earth in their production and in the waste that runs down my drain. Repeatedly across the USA indoor air quality tests done in homes show that there is more pollution INSIDE our homes than outside. I am happy that I am finding ways to make our home a healthy home!

A little bit of Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my family over the weekend since my little brother lives out of town. Everyone was together at the folks place and it was fun! There was snuggling with the littlest niece and rough-housing with the middle nephews and teasing with the older ones. We had a wonderful time as a family.

My mom and dad gave me the coolest book! I am only 117 pages into it, but it's certainly a keeper and one I will use for reference for many, many years to come! It's called Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck; you can see it here.

One of the things that bugs me about cleaning is how many toxic chemicals we introduce into our home to get it clean. I *know* there has to be a better way to clean that doesn't use petro-chemicals or other toxins. This book has some fabulous resources! One that I just finished reading about is the "Domestic Spray Program". Using one opaque spray bottle for hydrogen peroxide (it breaks down in the light so you need a dark bottle) and another spray bottle for distilled white vinegar you have a 2 part disinfectant that does not require rinsing and that bacteria cannot build up a resistance to (thereby creating super-bugs like the antibacterial products do). First, spray vinegar on your counter tops, then follow with spray of the hydrogen peroxide. It's that easy. You can also use it on produce and things like meat juice that have spilled onto the refrig shelves and stuff in the refrigerator. NOTE*** DO NOT USE THIS ON GRANITE, MARBLE, LIMESTONE or other calcium based stone surfaces. The vinegar will pit the stone and dissolve it! Only use plain soapy water to clean those surfaces.

I have to get out and pick up some spray bottles now! This is going to be a fabulous all surface cleaner for our kitchen! If you are interested in more details about this 2-spray cleaner let me know!

Time for an edgy post!

It's been a while since I've had a meaty. slightly controversial post. It's time, don't you think?

I read an article on cnn.com on Friday about a woman who was selling "gothic kittens" on eBay. Ya, she pierced the kittens ears and according to the article, other body parts. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals raided the home on Wednesday after getting a tip that the woman was selling the pierced kittens on eBay. "It's unbelievable anybody would do this to kittens," said one of the officers. She will likely be charged with animal cruelty.

I wasn't too disturbed by this, are you? And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that I am not a big fan of cats (even though we have one). How many times have you been to the mall or the store and seen a human infant or toddler with pierced ears? I have, lots. None of those parents are charged with child abuse. Why is it worse and criminal to pierce an animal? It's not like the infant or toddler chose to get pierced. Don't get me wrong I am not against piercings, but I think it should be up to the person getting their body pierced, not mom or dad who thinks it's cute. How many parents out there impact their children's bodies because it's cute or because that's just what we do? Pierced ears, they are just the tip of the ice berg. (here's where it gets edgy)

What about parent's choosing circumcision for their sons. Why? Because that's what we've done, because Dad was? Did you know that in the US (as of 2007) only 55-65% of all newborn males were circumcised? (see, not all boys are) We're outraged at hearing about female circumcision in other countries and decry it as barbarian and inhumane, but we see no problem with cutting off a part of our newborn sons.

That disturbs me...pierced cats, not so much.

What's your favorite baby tool/gadget/thingy?

So, the final 8 weeks are upon us. I am happily soaking up each and every day of pregnancy because all too soon this stage of my life will pass and another new one will begin. If you know me, you know that I spend a lot of my time researching, discussing ideas and trying to learn things. Being pregnant with our first child has been no different! Both K and I enjoy the researching aspect of life and learning so there has been lots to learn and tons of wonderful resources available. I think I have gone through 26 books and other print resources. Most of what we have learned has challenged conventional thinking and things we thought we knew. It's been very very good for us!

Now I am feeling rather prepared, certainly it doesn't mean that I have all the answers, but I do have a broader perspective and some opinions that are based on information and facts, rather than "that's just the way it is" kind of thinking. So, it's time to shift gears. For your baby or child (or grandchild or niece or nephew) what did you find to be the most useful with an infant? I have some theories of things that we may find the most useful, but of course, Baby gets the final and most weighty vote. So, hints, tips, best products?