Less nervous

Just a quick update. Thank you all for your calls and emails. I think everything is ok. The spotting stopped Wednesday afternoon and I haven’t had any cramping or other issues. I remembered that I also did a strenuous exercise routine Tuesday morning, which may have had an impact, I’m not sure. I used to do it all the time before I was pregnant, but haven’t done it since the morning sickness kicked in. Anyway, no more of that, just in case! I’m going to take it easy for a few days and I’ll be sure to let everyone know how it goes at my checkup on Tuesday.

To end my blog spurt on a funny note, check out this girl! She cracks me up!

Eve in lumpy PJs

Sorry again for the sideways video…

Pop Tarts!

I saw a recipe for Pop Tarts on Smitten Kitchen and thought it would be fun to try. Lex was oddly excited about, considering he’s never had Pop Tarts (as far as I know!) We made the dough yesterday, but while it was chilling in the fridge he decided he wanted to make blueberry muffins instead. So we did that, but when we got to the “add the blueberries” step I discovered we didn’t have enough blueberries, so we added frozen strawberries as well. Yum! Went to bed last night with blueberry/strawberry muffins in our bellies and Pop Tart dough in the fridge.

After school today Lex reminded me of the dough and asked if we could make them. I asked if he’s ever had Pop Tarts and he said no, but a kid in his class brings them for snack and they look delicious. He also reminded me of an ad in Parents magazine for Pop Tarts with sprinkles. So he was eager to try some. I love that he’s eager to bake them and not insisting on buying them. In fact, despite the friend and the ad, he has never even asked me to buy them. I love him! Anyway, we made Pop Tarts this afternoon. I followed the King Arthur Flour recipe (though it was a bit different in the cook book I used!) instead of SK, but I’m sure all are both equally delish! By the time they were cool enough to eat it was pretty late so we all had a few little bites and Lex went to bed excited to eat a Pop Tart after breakfast. Yep, that was his idea. I told him he could have one for breakfast, but he decided he needed breakfast first. Smart boy! I think I’ll be quartering them before serving.

Making Pop Tarts

They did a great job helping, rolling the dough, mixing the filling, lining things up and making the layers. It was fun.

Finished Pop Tarts

Not exactly beautiful, but not too bad considering how much of it the kids did.

With sprinkles

Lex was really set on sprinkles, which require icing to stick. He isn't usually a big fan of sweets, so I frosted and sprinkled two and we will see tomorrow which way he prefers them. Important things to know, right?

Funny pre-K-ers

At preschool drop off yesterday morning Eve was sitting at the table playing Play-Doh with a few of Lex’s classmates. She LOVES playing there. When I picked her up to leave one of the boys said, “Eve, Cameron just said he wants to marry you!” The other boy, Cameron, got all red and started denying it, loudly. Eve just stared at them. This cracked me up. I thought that was 2nd or 3rd grade behavior, but I guess not. Silly boys.

My children are not five…

This is something I have to remind myself of often. All of the kids in Lex’s class are five, all of his other “friends” (in other words, my friends with kids his age) are five, and I tend to think of Lex as five as well. I know he isn’t, but sometimes I think he is. In fact, I had an embarrassing moment at the playground the other day when I was pushing Eve on the swing and chatting with some guy. He asked how old she was and then how old Lex is. I said, “My son is five,” and Eve quickly said, “Mommy, Lex isn’t five, he’s FOUR!” Of course, silly me.

Eve, of course, isn’t five. We all know that. But I often have to remind myself of that fact when I am getting very annoyed with her because she won’t sit still for Sorry (ages 6 and up!), or when she is dawdling in front of the neighbor’s house while Lex is on his bike at the end of the street already. I find myself hurrying her along more than I should and expecting her to keep up with a five year old (oops, four!) when she is really just barely three.

Note to self… my children are not five!

A tiny bit nervous

I’ve been debating all day about posting this, and I’m going to, mostly for my own records (as you all know, this blog serves dual purposes!) However, please, please, please don’t worry, I’m sure everything is fine…

That said, I’m a tiny bit worried today. I had some spotting last night and a bit more today. I called the midwives (the ones I’ve seen already, not the new hospital) and said “I just need to hear that this is normal.” She said basically that it’s most likely normal and fine, especially since I haven’t had any cramps, but of course she had her caveats. She told me that I can come in anytime for a heartbeat check… which I’m contemplating. I feel a little guilty doing it when I have an appointment next week with the other midwife team, but I might go tomorrow, just to ease my mind. She didn’t hear a heartbeat when I was there last week, but it’s been almost a week, so maybe she can hear it now. If they don’t… well, I’m not sure if that will just make me more nervous. I know it is still a bit early for it. Sigh.

When the midwife called me with the results from my 7wk ultrasound she asked if I’d had any spotting. I said no. Never had any with any of my pregnancies. She said something about a blood spot showing up on the ultrasound and said it may cause spotting in the future. I hope that’s it!

New hospital

We were going to be adventurous with this third pregnancy and go to the smaller, more personal hospital in the area. I’ve thought about it each time, but always ended up at the big place because it just seemed safer. After two easy (if you can say that about L&D!) and uneventful deliveries I thought we’d try something different. Silly me! I’ve gone to the midwives there for a few years now for gyn care and never had a problem, but it turns out that although the midwives are in-network with my health insurance, the hospital is not! Ooops! I assumed it was one and the same, but you know what they say about assuming?! So now, as I send an enormous payment for my 7wk ultrasound, I am settling my mind with the big hospital again. The midwives there are nice, the birthing area is top-notch, the food is available 24/7 (an important criteria for Alan!), and we will be happy there. I called to set up an appointment with them and heard a familiar voice on the other end of the line, and she remembered me! The scheduling lady is Tatha and I think we remember each other with the close and unusual names :) Anyway, next week Eve and I will go in and see a midwife I’ve seen before with my previous pregnancies and hopefully hear a heartbeat this time! So, friends and family, you’ll know where to find my come early November!! :)

Birthday parties and birthday hats

On Saturday we had a birthday party for Aunt Katie. It was fun. Yummy food and funny family! Mema brought a birthday hat and balloons and the kids worked very hard not to play with them.

Happy birthday Katie

Happy birthday Katie!

A birthday party

A birthday party

Lex went to bed that night saying he wanted to make birthday hats in the morning, so at 6:30am on Sunday we were sitting at the table making birthday hats :) Maybe we’ll save them for his birthday!

Making party hats

Lex making party hats. He was very specific about how he wanted to make them and went right to work when he woke up.

Party girl Eve

Party girl Eve

Funny Lex

Funny Lex

We played hard today, but the kids had an adorable snuggle break with daddy midway through.

Cuddling with daddy

Cuddling with daddy

A (cold, windy) day at the beach

On Friday we took a day trip with our neighbors to York Beach in Maine. It was fun. We got a late start and ended up eating our picnic lunch in the car, but it worked out ok anyway because it was cold and windy at the beach!!! This was Lex’s first trip to the Atlantic and Eve’s second, but she was young and probably doesn’t remember her first. They were both eager to get there and feel the water. They discovered pretty quickly that it was COLD!!! Parrish managed to boogie-board twice, but Lex and Eve just barely got their feet wet. Actually, Lex got his feet wet and then stumbled and fell, getting his clothes all wet, so he spent quite awhile cuddled on the blanket with Mema. We spent awhile on the beach with Eve digging in the sand and burying everything she found and Lex cuddling on the blanket and then Parrish showed the kids a nearby playground and we spent a lot more time there. I was laughing that I drove 2+ hours to get to a beach and spent most of the time at the playground. It was a pretty cool playground though!

When we were all cold and ready to move on we headed up the beach aways to check out a lighthouse. The kids were mildly interested in the lighthouse (once they realized we couldn’t go in it), but they had fun on the rocks. Eve and I were in sandals and couldn’t do much climbing, but Robina took Lex pretty far and he had a blast.

On the way home we were going to stop for dinner with the group, but Eve fell asleep about five minutes after we got in the car so we just headed home. Lex was out pretty quickly after that. They napped the whole way home, bounced around the house for a bit while we ate dinner, and then passed out nicely in bed. Overall a good day was had by all!

Lex and Eve heading to the Atlantic

Lex and Eve eagerly heading to the Atlantic

Lex and Eve going wading

Lex in the ocean

Lex in the ocean

Chilly Lex

Chilly Lex and cuddly Mema

Happy Eve

Happy Eve burying something in the sand

The beach

The beach

Big slide

Eve was the first one down the big slide. It was a great playground, but packed with kids because the beach was so chilly!

Waiting for sunscreen

This picture amuses me because they were sitting patiently waiting for me to get sunscreen. It was necessary, but looking at the picture it seems silly to be thinking of sunscreen.

Lex on the rocks - pic 1

Lex and Robina exploring the rocks

Lex on the rocks - pic 2

Lex on the rocks - pic 3

Looking out over the ocean

Lighthouse

The lighthouse on an island

I should also add that before our lovely day at the beach we had a quick visit with the midwives. Nothing too exciting. I was bummed that she couldn’t find a heartbeat, but I know it’s still early. We will hear baby next time. Next time may be with different midwives at a different hospital, but more on that later.

Monsters

We’ve had an influx of monsters in the house lately. I made a rule awhile ago that we only allow friendly monsters in the house, so when the kids encounter a monster they immediately ask if it’s friendly. If so they invite the monster to have breakfast with us and play games. I found Lex in the living room one day playing chess with a monster and another morning I played a game of Trouble with Lex, a stuffed kitty, and a monster. The monster almost won! A few days ago Lex decided to draw a picture of his monster for me. I appreciate it! Later I asked how the monster ate his Kixx (a favorite of monsters) and Lex said, “oh no, I forgot to draw his arms!” :)

Monster

Lex's monster friend. Eve tried to draw her monster friend too, but it mostly looked like a blob.

More playground pics

My mom was here this week. That was great! We went to the playground one day. Sometime I might go back through the years and post a series of pictures of the kids each summer at the same playground. That would be fun. I know I have similar pictures of them each year.

Eve on a slide

Eve on a slide

Upside down Lex

Upside down Lex

Sweet kids

A camp of kids took over the playground so we took a little break to eat snacks and watch the bigger kids.

Feels like rain

Feels like rain