Too long

It has been far too long, but we have been super busy here. The semester has ended, so we are officially on summer break which will hopefully allow me some time to update a bit more often, but I am not promising anything. We had a good mothers day here and Jeff and Lilly got me a new fancy digital camera, a Cannon Rebel XIT. It is an SLR and much too expensive, but I think Jeff really wants that X-box for his b-day! I would take a pic for you but I would have to use the old camera to take pics of the new one, and that sort of complex irony might just split the space and time continuum, and so you will just have to be happy with some awesome new pictures of Lilly taken with the new camera. So I went a bit nuts with it, but isn’t that what we bought it for? We also bought a Baby Bjorn to help save our backs when Lilly wants to be held and walked around, I think it has backfired because she loves the dam thing and usually wants daddy to carry her around in it. We also got out to the mall where Miss Lilly saw a giraffe that she just had to have (she then preceded to chew on its nose). Oh yeah and we also had a primary, and while it was a landslide, can you guess who Lilly voted for?

I wish I had time to write....

more than grades on some student papers. but alas I do not, so here are some pictures of Lilly. She was six weeks on Monday and while we are tired we could not imagine life without her.

Lilly with grandparents and uncle Paul:

And some other shots of the sweet girls just being her, first walking like an Egyptian...

Loving on Spenser....

And the photo shoot with daddy and all her Disney plushies....

This last week was crazy with a trip to both grandparents and a conference and once I have the pics downloaded i will post them...but don't get too excited I don't know how long that will be....it is a crazy house right now since I went back to work on Monday. But summer is just around the corner and maybe with it, more sleep.

Finally introducing...

Miss Lillian Grace. She arrived in this world in a hurry that made mommy a little crazy and unable to get proper pain meds, but she is perfect and came out into the world raring to go. I will someday forgive jeff for taking pics right after when I look like a zombie, but in my defense I was just put on some lovely drugs. Besides which, with the lighting in some of these pictures Lilly and I I both look like extras in Dawn of the Dead.
But I am sure that you want a good story, so here goes. I awoke at 6am on Feb. 17 to find that I lost my mucus plug (I know it’s gross to hear but it is actually the least gross thing in this story, so you may want to skip down a little if you are queasy). By 10 am I was having contractions that were not horribly painful, but not fun and were about 20 minutes apart. Over the course of the day they got progressively closer and by 4pm they were seven minutes apart. By 7:30 they had moved to 5 minutes apart and had been that way for an hour, so off we went to the hospital. I had been having contractions all day, so you can imagine my disappointment when after 2 hours of monitoring me, I was not dilated at all. But since I was having contractions they decided to give me some cervidil and induce me in the morning with pic. Well as it turns out the cervidil was all I needed and within an hour and a half I was dilated to 4. Which meant it was time for the epidural, but in the 30 minutes it took to get the anesthesiologist down to my room, I had dilated to 7! I guess Lilly was more like mom then I had thought because once she made up her mind to come she was coming. The epi was not bad and thus followed the best two hours of my life. I say two hours because as it turned out the epi was misplaced, or moved, and soon I was back in very active labor. The best part of this (sense the sarcastic tone) was that the only way to fix the problem was to redo the epidural, but because Miss Lilly was coming so fast there was no time. So I had a pain med free birth, not what I had planned on at all. Afterwards I told Jeff I would do this again only if they promised me a scheduled C-section because natural childbirth with no meds was simply too painful. And you can call me a wussy right now and that is fine. I know that women have done it without meds for hundreds of thousands of years and I do not care, God invented narcotics for a reason and that is because he loves us! I will not go into the details, but let’s just say that I told everyone there I was leaving at some point, which I know was crazy, but there it was. I did not curse or yell at anyone, but let’s just say after I felt bad anyway. But the end result was worth it as Lilly came out just perfect (apgar 9 and 10). And while she was a bit bruised up her first day she soon began to fill out nicely.

She came home to a very happy mommy and daddy and while sleep is at a premium here, we are plodding along just fine. So without further ado, so pics of Lilly’s first weeks of life, more will follow!

Soon to come....more Lilly pics, with grandparents and walking like an Egyptian!

Coming Home

Now anyone who knows me know that even in huge pregnancy I am a bit of a clothes horse. I like to shop and I enjoy having a large selection of outfits in the hopes that one will fit the mood that I am in when I am ready to get dressed. This process is sometimes easy as I think about what I want to wear before I get upstairs to actually put on clothes. But other times it is not so easy, I put on an outfit and it just does not work. I just do not feel it. This means that I will try on about 7 different outfits before I am happy with what I finally put on (or run out of time and just go with the last thing). And if the weather is iffy it can throw off my whole tempo and thus that is what has made it almost impossible to pick out a going home outfit for Lilly. First I could not find anything that spoke to me, and try as I might nothing seemed right. Jeff thought this made me a bit crazy as he was loath to admit that this was an important decision. Then I found the cutest little dress that would go perfect with her cute little pooh hoodie, and I just so happened to have a hat ad booties that would work perfectly. See? How cute and perfect is this? Adorable, right? Then came the news, Lilly may be a bit bigger than a normal baby, so the newborn size dress? Well that may be a no go, which meant that I needed a back up plan. So I have this outfit, in a wee bit larger size. It is cute, not as cute as the dress, but such is life. And I will still use the pooh hoodie and the same hat and booties. There, finally I could pack the outfits and be done, one more thing that I could cross off the list. Just then a cold wind blew through, and I mean that literally. A cold wind followed by a drastic drop in temperature and a dusting of snow and it hit me, how in the hell did I know what the weather would be like when Miss Lilly decided to come into this world? I mean this is West Virginia, way worse than the Midwest with the whole, you don’t like the weather? Wait until tomorrow. And this means that even if it was snowy the day I go to have the baby, the weather could be completely different on the day I leave. I needed a new back up plan. I figured that the outfits I had, with blankets and the bundle me could work with mild winter weather, but I needed something for really cold weather that could come anytime (like tomorrow for instance). So we have a really warm sleeper/bunting that could be used along or with one of the other outfits. But how cute is this? Very, I know, but I also know that this could end up never being used, I am at the mercy of the weather gods of West Virginia. I could think of better places to be. And the great saga of Lilly’s coming out outfit has come to an end, but I think she has more space in my hospital bag than I do, but I suppose I should get used to that- the countdown has started, two weeks to my due date.

Double Post

So I wrote this post for my friends at Killarney's, so I thought I would share with you!

Hello all! I know people have been waiting for an update, but I was waiting in the hopes I would have some news for you all, alas, you must wait longer. We are less than a month from Lilly’s estimated due date and are running around trying to get things ready. On Thursday I will be 37 weeks, which is considered full term and thus safe, so they will expect her anytime after that. We have had a few issues, nothing major though. She is measuring big, I know imagine that will the two of us as parents! So we are going next week for an ultrasounds so that they can see just how big she is and if they want to taker her c-section or induce early so she does not get so big she has trouble coming out. My OB does say that nothing good happens after 39 weeks, so he will not let me go past my due date (thank god! I do not want a baby born on Feb. 29th!).

Her nursery is almost done, even with all the drama we had this week. First, we ordered her crib about 6 weeks ago from a local baby boutique, it was tad more expensive, but I figured we were doing our part by using a local merchant rather than a big corporation. Well they called on Tuesday to tell me the crib has been discontinued! Now this happens, I understand that, but come on 6 weeks to let me know? So we go in and they can order another one, it will just take 6 weeks, hello I am due in four! Now she will not sleep in her crib for about a month, but still, I want stuff done! Long story short we got a refund and picked up the exact same crib from Sears for half the price. Oh well, I am a corporate whore! Of course that same day our glider came with some damage to the ottoman. And of course they wanted us to bring the whole thing back, not just the ottoman! I got pissy and Jeff fixed it, so that is that. We are waiting to pick up the last little think Monday, and then we will have nursery pics for you all to marvel at. I think we have done an awesome job, and mostly with stuff we already had!

But I thought you might need some pics to be entertained and hold you over. So here is my fat-ass standing next to the new crib. I have not put on too much weight, only 23 pounds, but at this point it feels like it is all up front! Here is the bassinet in our bedroom that Lilly will for at least a month. We still have not found it a permanent space, so it is in the corner, but I promise it will not stay there. I like this one because it has a small light and plays music. Last but not least is the downstairs. Since I am not spending my days running up and down stairs we had to have some place for diaper changes and sleeping on the main floor of the house. We moved stuff around and here we are with her Pack and Play, which is huge but also has a diaper changing station which will be super helpful. Here is also her swing and her bouncy seat which I here is a godsend! You will have to forgive the tin foil. Ella and Louie really seemed to enjoy this stuff when we first set it up, so we have had to deter them and the tin foil works, although I feel like one of those crazy people who are trying to keep the CIA from reading my mind!

That is all for now, I will update soon with nursery pics and news about my huge baby!!! Wish me luck!

Getting ready for Lilly...

I am in love with this crib bedding from Pottery Barn kids, it is brand new and I just got the catalogue in the mail. I opened it up and there was the perfect bedding to go in the shabby chic garden nursery that we have envisioned. The downside of course is that pottery barn bedding is expensive, I do not mean designer Gucci expensive, but more money than I have planned for or can see myself paying. I mean my bedding came from Target, on clearance and there is very little chance of either Jeff or I spitting up or pooping on it. The point here is that while the bedding is not prohibitatively expensive, I am having a hard time finding the justification for spending the money when there are lots of places to buy bedding that is not as expensive. But on the other hand your first baby only comes along once, so maybe the splurge is worth it and shouldn’t my sweet little girl have the option of peeing on bedding that costs more than the rent in my first apartment? I mean it is not like I am contemplating buying the really expensive rockers from Pottery Barn kids, which I also really want. I mean I would probably give my eye teeth for this one, but I do have some self restraint and I know I can probably find something just as good for half off. So it’s not like I am being extravagant, I just really like this bedding and am looking for some good justification for ordering it. This is where you my loyal audience comes in, help me out. Give me some good reasons to convince myself and my husband (ok, really just my husband) that this is the perfect bedding and we should just order it.

In which we were showered...

Yes, yes, I am a bad blogger. I think I have finally figured out my problem. I want to wait until I have something super interesting to say and when I finally do I spend days planning out how clever I will be. This seems to be unnecessary as I am always super clever, right? Anyhow, I thought I would share what I have been doing over the last month.
First was trip to Chicago for Thanksgiving with the P’s. This is always a fun event, but more so because I had my first baby shower. My pics here are limited because, well first I let my mother take pictures and that is never a good idea as she is one of the worst picture takers in the world (and I still love her). Second, we had an awesome helper in Genevieve, who helped pull stuff out of bags and unwrap presents. But this also means that she is smack dab in most of the pictures, which is good for me because I love her, but bad for the blog because I do not think it is a good idea to put pictures of a child who is not mine up in cyberspace. So you get some of the ones where Evie decided to take a break.

While there were a lot of people who could not make it, we had a great time. And at the end of the day there was so much stuff that Jeff and I had to leave some when we went home! We received a lot of clothes, the swing and bouncy seat, exersaucer, stuffed toys, rattles, monitors, a beautiful moses basket and more clothes. We also received the car seat from my awesome Sister in law. I think that every outfit with pooh on it has been given to Lilly, which of course I think is awesome since pooh is my favorite. And we had the best cake in the world!

Then just last week the lovely people at work threw me a shower in WV. It was a super good time and since there were no children there, lots of pics. I think everyone was excited because the last time someone in the department had a child was ten years ago. It has been demanded that we bring Lilly in for many visits. The food was awesome and once again we were given many lovely things: more clothes, books, blankets, toys, the changing pad, diaper genie and the bathtub. It was a bit easier to get this stuff home as we had no suitcases or dog.

I have one more shower to go, at my Aunt La’s house over Christmas break when we get back to the Quad Cities this weekend. I am sure that will be as fun as the others have been and people will be more than generous. As it goes now I wonder if Lilly will need us to buy any clothes during her first year, I doubt it. My mother has given us the bassinet, and I think we will have the crib well in hand by the time we get back into WV after the first of the year. We will have some baby gear to buy, but not a lot. We will need the stroller (which we figured we would purchase as it is expensive), bottles, slings (to carry Lilly around), boppy, bumboseat, sheets and most importantly the pack ‘n play. I think these might be the first thing we buy because we live in a house with two floors, and I am not walking my ass up and down those stairs constantly!

More updates will come soon as we travel around Illinois for Christmas and New years, but the good news is that MLA is in Chicago, which means we will not have to go on a another trip!!!

I think we have a mouse..

Yes, you read that correctly. And it seems to be a pretty smart mousie as well, he has found a way to the food without having to play chicken with the cats. Unfortuantely mousie has worn out his welcome and there is an electric trap waiting for him, and that is a human death for him, I was just going to open the door and let Ella and Louie go after him, so he should be grateful.

So this all started with Louie. I had noticed that Louie, for the past few weeks had taken up sentry right in front of the cabinets under the sink. He just sat there and stared for hours in the evening, occasionally scratching at the door. At first I thought that maybe a bug had gotten in there. We have a lot of camel crickets try to come in when the weather starts getting cold. Now Louie really does not like the crickets and tends to leave cricket corpses scattered across the basement, probably as a warning to others. So I thought that maybe a cricket had gotten into to the cabinet, but I was wrong. Just this week we started to hear the unmistakable sounds of mousie scratching coming from the cabinet. I, of course being a wussy when faced with the thought of rodents, made Jeff go look. He did not see a mouse, but did find a hole that came up right into that cabinet. Now this is below the sink, where we keep the garbage. So this mouse had found a way into the house and right to the garbage without having to face any cats. Now this is a smart mousie, because if he ever came outside of that cabinet Louie or Ella would have him. But an intelligent mouse is still a mouse and so must die. Last night a spoke to the cabinet, telling the mousie not to come back, and if he did he would not be happy. Then today I bought and electric trap, one that will kill mousie inside a nice box and I will never have to see him. I do not feel bad. He was warned and if he comes back he is responsible for his own death.

On a different note, I will be trying to cook a small t-day dinner for Jeff and I on Sat. Yes I said that I would cook it, and I think I will do very well. (And Jeff will be there the entire time, so calm down!)

Even Hal knows...

I have to agree with Jeff whose argument is that in my past life I must have been good at drinking the blood of kittens, that is the only explanation for the karma that follows me around. And I must be still being punished, which is the only explanation for how even my own computer likes to screw with me. Honestly I wonder what the hell I can do to change my luck, but nothing seems to work. As far as my computer goes I have had the cable people out to check the modem, I have had the computer itself checked and I have run every virus checker and nothing works. What is the problem you may ask? Well it seems like my computer likes to decide that random websites are off limits to me. They will no download, and I can not get to them for days on end. There is no rhyme or reason to what sites are down at any given time, except of course that it is usually a site that I need or what to get to. Do I want to check my email? That will be down. Do I want to add stuff to the baby registry? Go to a message board or blog that I read regularly? Down. Do I want to look at new jobs offered in my field, research some 19th century publication from the London Library? Down. Now these sites are not always down, they are down when I need them. There is no reasonable explanation for this other than even my computer hates me. Honestly I am starting to feel persecuted here and I can not get work done that I need to get done. I guess I should just give up and watch more TV, give up the chase for a good job with a decent wage and maybe move into a trailer. For right now I am blaming my pregnancy hormones, but if this keeps up I am not sure what can be done, does the internet carry a grudge?

Dance of the Sugar Plum Strollers

Now I knew when I got pregnant that our materialistic why make it simple when it could be complex society would make buying baby gear an exercise in frustration, but no where in my imagination did I see the dance of the strollers coming. There are literally thousands of strollers out there and they all do different things, are made by different people and have different safety standards and accessories. Now I am a smart girl who does her research and makes mostly good decisions, but this stroller thing might just be the end of me. It is driving me so crazy that I am having dreams that I am being attacked by strollers, like a scene from Hitchcock’s The Birds. Jeff thinks I am stressing too much about this, but I would like to put my baby in a safe mode of transportation that is stylish and practical, is that too much to ask for? Apparently so, so let us go over some of the top contenders, well for funnsies.

First there is the ultimate of baby strollers, the Bugaboo. If all things were equal, and I was rich, I would buy this thing in a heartbeat, it has everything that I want, it has a bassinet for an infant and then a regular stroller for an older kid. It comes in a variety of colors and looks good. And if I had a grand to blow I would certainly own this (maybe, I still don’t know if I would spend that much on a stroller).







I thought about travel systems, but every review I have read urges not to buy one. I guess the cons outweigh the pros. The pros are of course that you can take the infant seat right out of the car and click it into the stroller without waking the baby or moving them. Of all the travel systems I have found I like these two the best, the Baby Trend (green and gray) and Chicco Cortina. I like the Chicco a bit more, but of course it is more expensive. But I guess the cons of travels systems happen after the baby is out of the infant seat. I guess it turns out that the strollers are kind of crappy. And of course since the baby outgrows the infant seat I do not want to be stuck with a stroller that falls apart.

Besides I have decided that I like the pram kind of stroller that can convert into a regular stroller, and with most regular strollers you can also snap in an infant seat. Or I could go this way, and skip the stroller altogether for the first few months. This is a snap and go system that is just a stroller frame into which an infant seat snaps in. This is good for keeping the infant seat going and forgoing the stroller altogether. But I don’t know if I like this system, I am not sure why.

So let’s move on to the strollers I do really like, the ones that convert from a pram to a regular stroller. First there is the Combi Thru.

Now this is the perfect stroller, and the price is just right so of course that means that it is too good to be true. This stroller is not made anymore. Bastards. Now I also really like these two, the Britax (black and tan) and Fischer Price (green), both of which convert, but neither of which can also support an infant seat, where most of the other convertible strollers can. So with these I would get the aesthetic, but not the practicality that I would need.

So now the last of them, the ones I have narrowed my search down to. First is the Peg Perego Pramette (gray right). This stroller is perfect, it goes from a pram to a stroller, has a high safety rating and looks good, it also comes with a price tag to match, around $450. This is still a bit expensive for a stroller. There is the Everbright (below), which is in my price range and comes with all of the things that I want, but of course there is a downside, the reviews for this product are only so-so and there is no ability to snap in an infant seat. This is also a really new product, so there is not a lot that we know about it yet. And so at the end of the day the one I really like is the Peg Perego Centro Completo (hey it’s Italian). This converts from a pram to a stroller, has a high safety rating and is pleasing to look at. Also important, it has an adjustable handle that will come in handy seeing as both Jeff and I are taller than average. So this stroller is almost perfect, it would be more perfect if it was a wee bit cheaper than $300. I mean it is not crazy expensive, but I do wish it were just a little less cash. The upside is that this allows an infant seat to be snapped in, most easily the Peg Perego, but also the Snugride. But for all of that I am still not sure. I mean I like this stroller, but can I justify the cash?

I can not answer all of this yet, I am hoping with enough time I will eventually stumble onto something or make up my mind, but I am not promising anything. And until then I guess the dance with just continue.